Rev. Vincent Santis

Vince Santis was born and raised in Pawtucket , R.I. where he attended local schools. He met his wife Louise in high school and they were married in 1954. They have four children and God has blessed them with ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren as well.

Vince is a graduate of the Bentley School of Accounting and Berkshire Christian College earning a bachelor’s degree in theology. He also studied at Conservative Baptist Seminary of the East at the branch location in Worcester, Ma.

He came to a saving knowledge of the Lord through the preaching of his former pastor on Reformation Sunday in 1961. The call to the ministry came shortly after his conversion, with a concern for the rural churches of New England. They relocated their family to Richmond, MA so Vince could begin his studies for the ministry at Berkshire Christian College. While a student at Berkshire he served as minister to the youth group at the yoked parish of Becket, MA. Subsequent to earning his degree Vince was called as pastor to the churches he had been serving in the capacity of youth minister. He was ordained in the First Congregational Church of Becket in the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference on May 26, 1974, and installed formally as pastor in the Becket Federated Church that evening. The toll of serving two congregations eventually resulted in complete exhaustion and frustration. Vince resigned and we moved back to Connecticut.

Vince was subsequently called to a second pastorate in Palo, MN, another rural church but far from New England. He was the first settled English speaking pastor at Palo Congregational Church. His service in Palo besides, preaching and teaching, was to reach out to families in the region who were curious about what was going on in the Palo Congregational Church. There was excitement about what God was doing in their midst. Vince introduced a more formal worship service, Louise served in the Sunday School with a structured curriculum and attended the women's group. He resigned after getting a settled work of the kingdom up and running and we returned to Connecticut, thinking we were retiring.

The yoked churches of Becket called Vince back as a fill-in when they learned I was back in Connecticut and subsequently called him to a second pastorate so we moved back to Becket. I finally retired from there in 1995 and have lived in Winsted since that time.

On June 20, 2010 the Second Congregational Church of Winsted called Vince to be its Pastor of Visitation.