‘First Couple’ with diverse religious backgrounds now lead Agawam Congregational Church

AGAWAM — Pastor Daniel Cohen and his wife Christine are the “first couple” of Agawam Congregational Church. They are a multi-racial, multi-ethnic pair with radically divergent religious backgrounds, but they are leading their church community in lockstep with each other.

“I grew up in a Jewish household and I was bar mitzvahed when I was 13. We celebrated the high holy holidays, and I was raised by Jewish parents who didn’t believe in God,” the Rev. Cohen. told The Republican.

Cohen, now 62, said he was a journalist and is now an author, private practice psychotherapist and spiritual leader.

He turned from Judaism to Buddhism in college before having a spiritual awakening at a Southern Baptist Church in Connecticut in 1993.

“At the end of the service, the pastor said, ‘Raise your hand if you felt anything special.’ I raised my hand because I was feeling tingly. I thought maybe they pumped something in the air vent that’s making me feel this way,” Cohen recalled.

Realizing that was unlikely because he was the only one with his hand in the air, Cohen concluded he had encountered the Holy Spirit.

“That was the beginning of my relationship with Christ,” he said.

Cohen said he became a Christian, preached in African American churches for 25 years, met and married his wife on one of those assignments, and landed in Agawam five months ago.

Christine Cohen, 57 was born in Jamaica and came to America in 2002. She has been a high school teacher, is now a registered nurse and sees religion as the foundation of both her marriage and life.

“There is a church on every street corner in Jamaica. I grew up in the church and sometimes, even when your parents don’t go, you’re always going to Sunday school. Religion keeps you in check. It teaches you to love, respect and care for each other,” she said.

Married for 21 years, the Cohens have two sons, 19 and 30. While the couple has varied backgrounds, Christine says that has been a blessing, not a challenge. But, she added, the relationship got off to a slow start.

“When I first met him, I was not impressed,” she laughed. “But I grew to love him, and his family loved me. I respect their beliefs, and they respect me.”

“You never think of that as a challenge. In Jamaica, our motto is out of many there is one. You can find every race and ethnicity there. I’ve never looked at being married to a Jew or Caucasian as anything but family,” she added.

Agawam Congregational Church had spent five years searching for a pastor before Cohen took the job. He has authored a book, “It’s Not All About You,” which he says teaches humility. It is a message he delivers in his sermons.

“I’m trying to show them Christ through me. I’ve been called to serve them, and I’m at my best when I think about that, rather than my own wants and needs,” he said. “Jesus said the law comes down to basically two things — loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself.”

Cohen says corporate America instills endless need and desire in consumers. He believes people feel unfulfilled unless others value them. The pastor said he tries to refocus their belief in how God values his parishioners.

“I’m worth much more to God because my soul is going to live on forever when all the gold in the Earth is gone. You are worth so much more than your weight in gold to God even though in America, you may not be worth more to other people. America thinks about money a little too much,” he said.

The Cohens work alongside their parishioners in local soup kitchens, feeding people in need as part of the church’s mission. By living in the parsonage at the church, they feel embedded in the community. In the past, they have lived up to an hour from their flock.

Christine said she is happy to be living in this small Western Massachusetts city. Like her husband, she felt a tingling, but hers was for Agawam.

“When I visited Agawam for the first time, I fell in love with the town. When my husband got two other job offers, I said, ‘Wait until you hear from Agawam because this is the one you should take.’”