Rockville Centre's Rev. Gunn to retire

    The Rev. Dr. Robert Kaizen Gunn will be celebrating two milestones in his career — 40 years in the ministry and his retirement. On July 16, the congregation of the United Church of Rockville Centre will honor Gunn at a catered dinner in the church’s Rickert Hall.

The festivities will begin with a service at 4 p.m. followed by a dinner and entertainment. Reservations can be made by calling the church (before July 9) at (516) 766-2975 or by sending a check for $25 to the church at 430 Morris Ave. c/o Jeanne Treccasi.

    Dr. Gunn’s first church was the Moose River Congregational Church on the Canadian border in Jackson, Maine in 1969. In August 1970 he was ordained in the Kennebee Valley Association of the United Church of Christ and installed at the Congregational Church of Gardiner, Maine. In 1974, he became the associate pastor at the Garden City Community Church under the Rev. Ralph Ahlberg, who also served as the United Church of Rockville Centre’s pastor during the 1960s. Rev. Gunn’s parish ministry took a hiatus for 20 years when he focused on the private practice of psychotherapy.

In 1999 he served as interim pastor of the Fillipino American Church for two years.  After serving as interim pastor at the United Church of Rockville Centre from 2001-04, and after nearly two years as interim senior pastor for the Broadway United Church of Christ in Manhattan, he returned to United Church in Sept. 2006 and accepted a call as the Settled Pastor here in Feb. 2007. He is retiring as of July 17, after more than 40 years in the ministry.

    Dr. Gunn has two daughters, Allison and Lara; four grandsons, Mario Jr., Issac, Yakiim and Xavier. His brother Bill lives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and his sister Jeanne lives in Gainesville, Fla.