The Rev. Don Francois (Pastor Don) was called to serve as the Designated Term Minister at Somers Congregational after a membership vote on April 1st. Prior to that, he had been serving as our a temporary pastor for 7 months.

Pastor Don was raised in Prospect, CT.  He received his B.A. in Sociology/Psychology from the University of Hartford, an M.A. in Religious Studies from St. Joseph College (now University of St. Joseph) and his M.Div. from Andover Newton Theological School in 1998. He served as a Director of Religious Education and Youth Minister in the Roman Catholic Church for seventeen years.  In 1993, he joined the United Church of Christ and began ministry at the Ellington Congregational Church the same year. He served as Director of Christian Education (1993-95), Student Minister (1995-96), Associate Pastor (1996-2003) and Senior Pastor (2003-2017). He was ordained in June 1998.  Following retirement he has served as Bridge Pastor at the Enfield and Columbia Congregational Churches and Interim Pastor at the Second Congregational Church of Coventry (2021-2023) which is where he holds Ministerial standing.

Don is married to Laurie Francois and has two children and one grandchild: Danielle and her husband, David and their daughter Maeve; Jonathan and his partner, Sinclaire; and two stepchildren, Aaron and his partner, Tessa, and Amanda and her partner, Devon. Don and Laurie live in Ellington.

Don enjoys windsurfing, disc golf and mountain biking but, alas, only from the comfort of his recliner. Instead, he loves history and is an avid philatelist with particular interest in Franklin D. Roosevelt, the US Bicentennial, the sacred art of Christmas, and tiny countries (Vatican City, Christmas Island and Pitcairn Island). He also enjoys cruising with Laurie and all things Harry Potter.