490 Broadway, Pawtucket, RI 02860
Worship & Sunday School | Sundays 10:30 a.m.
(401) 723-0408
490 Broadway, Pawtucket, RI 02860
Worship & Sunday School | Sundays 10:30 a.m.
(401) 723-0408
The Church of the Good Shepherd is a community of faithful Christians, committed to the proclamation–through word and action–of God’s redemptive love for the world. We are a friendly, welcoming congregation with members who have long ties to Pawtucket worshiping alongside people new to the area.
We are committed to the welfare of our neighborhood, city, and world. We love rolling our sleeves up to help one another and those around us–for us faith is lived out in action and service.
We are an Episcopal church, part of the Diocese of Rhode Island. As our denomination’s Presiding Bishop says, “We are the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement.”
Good Shepherd was established in 1868. We celebrated our 150th anniversary in 2018!
In 2005 the Church of the Advent, an Episcopal Church located on lower Pawtucket Avenue, sold their building and merged into Good Shepherd. The funds from the sale of their property endowed our Advent Fund, which enables many of our outreach ministries. The merger was one of the most successful in the diocese, and today we are all simply “Good Shepherd.” The parish records from the Church of the Advent, such as baptismal and marriage registers, are at the University of Rhode Island Library Special Collections and Archives.
The Rev. Dennis Bucco went to seminary in 2004 after working in financial services for twelve years. He was ordained deacon in June 2007 and priest in February 2008. He served as curate at St. Luke’s, East Greenwich, RI from 2007 until 2009. During this time, Dennis assisted the rector with all aspects of parish ministry, which included being a chaperone for the Youth Group on their mission trip to the Dominican Republic.
He was called to be the rector of St. Luke’s, Pawtucket in September 2009. In Easter 2019, the Diocese asked him to also serve as the rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd, also in Pawtucket. The two churches operate as separate congregations, but they have come together to support each other’s events and have joint worship services during Holy Week.
In his spare time, he serves the West Greenwich Fire Department as chaplain, Safety Officer, and is a licensed EMT. He lives in West Greenwich with his wife and son, Midge and Harrison.
The Reverend Mary Ann Mello is a vocational deacon ordained in 2013 by Bishop Nicholas Knisely in the Diocese of Rhode Island. After serving as deacon at St. Stephen’s Church in Providence, Mary Ann was assigned to the Church of the Good Shepherd in 2015. Her ministries include liturgical functions, preaching, pastoral care, and assisting the congregation facilitate new and ongoing ministries.
Mary Ann extended those ministerial skills to St. Luke’s as a clergy team was created toserve both congregations. Mary Ann also serves as Diocesan Administrator on the bishop’s staff in the Diocese of Rhode Island.
Caryl coordinates our choir and accompanies our congregational music on organ, keyboard, and guitar. She is known to multiple generations of Rhode Island Episcopalians thanks to her many years as one of the former directors of our diocesan camp, the Episcopal Conference Center in Pascoag. She also coordinates our outreach committee and our community garden.
490 Broadway
Pawtucket, RI 02860
Phone: (401) 723-0408
(voicemail checked only on Tuesdays)
maryann@episcopalri.org
® 2026 | Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Pawtucket