The Rev. James H. O’Brien Jr. will lead the service at the Wilson Chapel at Ocean Point on Sunday, Aug. 26. The service is at 9:30 a.m. All are welcome.

O’Brien is a retired United Church of Christ minister, who serves as chaplain to the Newcastle Fire Department, is a member of Second Congregational Church, UCC, where he sings in their choir, and is a resident of Newcastle.

O’Brien spends his winters in Vero Beach, Florida, where he attends Community Church of Vero Beach, UCC. In addition to singing in their choir, he is a charter member of the Atlantic Schola Cantorum, a select 24-voice choral group that presents a major concert every spring.

A graduate of Defiance College in 1955, Jim was a member of the Defiance College Choir, which at the invitation of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, opened his first inauguration in 1953. In preparation for ordination, O'Brien graduated from Harvard Divinity School in 1958.  He subsequently served churches in Worcester, Quincy, Brockton and Holliston, Mass.; Barrington, R.I.; Augusta; St. Augustine and Windermere, Fla.; Atlanta, Ga.; and Marietta, Ohio.

He is a senior chaplain in the Federation of Fire Chaplains, and serves as their regional director for New England. He is also an active member of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation and serves on a local critical incident stress management team. 

He has two children: David, who lives in Newcastle, and Kathryn Maeda, who lives in Bartow, Fla., with her husband and three children.