By Joyce DeWallace, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Cyrano de Bergerac have been called Renaissance men. They excelled in a wide range of different fields. Whatever they pursued, they did extremely well. The new minister of congregational life at the First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury comes from that same kind of background and received his calling to the ministry after many other pursuits.
Reverend Robert Henry Hyde grew up in the Berkshires. After high school, he served in the Air Force, became an electrical and environmental specialist working on F-15 fighter jets, and served in the second Gulf War in Iraq. He used his Air Force benefits to attend the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, graduating from the elite Eisenberg School of Management with a degree in business administration focused on finance and investing.
“I was 25 when I finished. I had had a small stint with a private equity company in Waltham as an investment analyst intern for four months,” explained Hyde. “I was offered a very good job in finance.”
But a career counselor recommended that Hyde explore his creative side before settling down, so he took a number of theater classes, loved them, and did well. A professor encouraged him to apply to an acting program through Boston University held in Los Angeles. He was accepted, left for the West Coast, and held a number of theatrical jobs. In 2007, the writers’ strike hit and work stopped. Student loans were coming due.
So it was back home to Pittsfield where Hyde worked as a farm apprentice at an organic farm.
“By then, I was engaged to Catherine Wojtkowski, whom I met at UMass and dated throughout college. I proposed to her before I went to L.A.,” said Hyde. They were married in 2009.
An experience in California became the catalyst for Hyde’s calling to the ministry.
“I realized that everything I had done to this point in my life was using my energies inward for what was good for me, but I wasn’t doing much in using my energies outward to help others,” confessed Hyde. “This philosophical shift led me to wanting to serve others.”
This resulted in yet another career change, teaching math for two and a half years.
He and his wife became much more involved in a local church working in many areas. People at both church and school encouraged him to become a minister. He enrolled at the Andover Newton Theological School earning a Master of Divinity. He continued his studies at Boston College where he focused on biblical languages and scripture. This Renaissance man learned Hebrew so he could read the original version of the Old Testament and Koine Greek to interpret the New Testament.
As part of his training, he worked at the upbeat and progressive First Church in Somerville. There, Hyde learned the full gamut of spiritual practices doing everything from preaching to pastoral care to Bible studies.
His newest assignment as the minister of congregational life makes him primarily responsible for Christian education programs. He works directly with high school students and oversees Stephanie Dozois, who works with the younger students. He will lead the adult education classes, the Bible study program, and share the pulpit with Senior Pastor Rev. Lynne Dolan. His pastoral care work will include visits to the sick and elderly.
On his wish list, he said, “I’d like to expand more on spiritual practices within the church to reconnect the congregation with contemplation and prayer.”
Rev. Hyde moved to Shrewsbury earlier this summer with his wife and two children, daughter Penelope “Penny,” who just turned 2 and son Ezra, 8 months.
“Each aspect of what I’ve done has helped me discover the many pieces of myself, which has led me here,” Hyde said. “It feels like home.”