Ed Horstmann is a pastor and artist who has served the Round Hill Community Church in the Back Country of Greenwich for the past eleven years. He is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, and prior to coming to Greenwich, served an urban church in Hartford for fourteen years. He has been active in ministry for over 43 years, and while a pastor in New Hampshire was a chaplain of that state’s House of Representatives.
Ed and Susan, his wife, live in the Parsonage next to Round Hill Community Church with their feisty Miniature Schnauzer, Dot. Ed’s two grown children, Catriona and Kyle, live in Edinburgh, Scotland and Concord, New Hampshire respectively. Ed and Susan are dedicated fans of the Minnesota Vikings, and Ed is also a longtime fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. Ed and Susan enjoy movies, trips to New York City, and simply savoring each other’s company. It also has to be said that Ed enjoys tennis a lot.
If there is a guiding passion in Ed’s ministry, it involves helping congregations and the people in them to find their many callings and act upon them. His greatest joy in ministry is to see the way that people come alive to new purpose when they feel inspiration through the Spirit and the sacred stories of their traditions. He carries forward that spirit of empowerment through his work as a trained coach with the International Coaching Federation.
Concern for the well-being of current and future generations on the planet has inspired Ed to become increasingly involved in organizations and causes that are dedicated to environmental healing and justice. He is a member of our town’s Sustainability Committee, a volunteer recruiter for Third Act, and a board member for the Inter Religious Eco-Justice Network. He also works alongside leaders in his congregation to make Round Hill Community Church a demonstration of creation care. Since the pandemic the congregation has solarized its campus, gone electric with its groundskeeping machinery, become a location for composting, and hosted numerous educational events to foster caring stewardship of the creation.
