Dear Maple Street friends and fellow ministers, 

I know it’s what you expect to hear (or read), but really I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to be your pastor.  I know I am stepping into a place where the hand of God is already working, and I hope to walk alongside of you in the journey and do my best to stay out of the Spirit’s way.  I will probably have a lot more to say about where I am already sensing the working of the Lord, because I tend to talk a lot.  But I thought I would try to make this short, and give you some helpful biographical information.

I am 57 years old… according to my daughters I was over the hill at 30, so I have been sledding downward for about half my life now.  I am married to Sue and we have four grown daughters, three of whom married in the last 5 years, and the fourth planning to be married in September 2019.  We wish we would have the previous wedding paid off before that one, but that’s not likely to happen.  I have no grandchildren yet, because my daughters want them, and everyone knows children don’t come when you want them.  Sue has put up with me in marriage for 31 years (this might be entered into the next dictionary under ‘saint’); I don’t know how she’s done it, each of my daughters was out of the house before she was 20 (I know, if we can ever figure out how we managed that, we can write the book and make MILLIONS).

I’ve been an ordained pastor for 31 years, but as a preacher’s kid I’ve been in church all my life.  I moved to Toledo at age 1 (because they either didn’t ask me, or they didn’t understand what I was saying). The church that I left when I was four years old is now closed (not my fault!). The next church I had to leave when I was eight years old because it closed (ok, a little suspicious, but still not my fault!).  After school at Ohio State and Boston University, they sent me back to Toledo to be a pastor.  The first church doubled in size shortly after I left it.  The next two churches merged with other churches about 3 years after I left.  Then they sent me to Columbus to see what I could do there.  The first church I served there is still going, but the second closed its doors last year, though about 12 years later than most people thought it would.  So that’s probably more than you wanted to know about my 31 years of pastoral ministry.

I am excited to get to know Lancaster.  I do have relatives here, but I don’t know if they will admit to that, so I can’t tell you who they are.  I haven’t seen them in 35 years, so if I wander onto their property they might not put down the rifle.  Back then my cousin told me, after he found out I was going into the ministry, “Whenever I see one of the pastors here, I ask him, why is it I only see you hanging around the good people?  I thought Jesus hung around with sinners, like me…  Now, whenever they see me, they just cross to the other side of the street.”

I am much more interested in getting to know you than this stuff about me.  I know a little about some of you through your Lenten Devotional (loved it! – I am still re-reading).  I believe that God knew what He was doing when He placed you here, and I am grateful for everything He is doing for me in putting me here with you.  (And this is the shortest newsletter article I have written in 30 years.) 

Yours in Christ, 

Beth has one daughter and four grandchildren in Columbus.  She loves spending time with her grandchildren, also reading, crocheting, volunteer work, and singing any- and everywhere.