Senior Pastor
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I have felt a call to ministry since receiving my first communion in the Roman Catholic Church at age 7. I was raised in a strong Christian home with strong Christian values. I have always known Jesus Christ and have had a relationship with him. My parents nurtured my call to ministry as I began to feel God’s call. After graduating from high school I entered St. Meinrad Seminary and was ordained a Roman Catholic Priest on June 5, 1982. I was a priest for nine years in the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois and enjoyed the ministry I shared with God’s people. I struggled, however, with the loneliness of the celibate lifestyle and finally made a decision to leave the active ministry and marry my wife, Cathy. After leaving the priesthood I went back to school and earned a Masters Degree in Social Work from Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri. I enjoyed my work as a social worker but continued to feel a strong call to ministry. While working as a part-time therapist with Hoyelton Youth and Family I met people affiliated with the United Church of Christ and knew I had found a home. The call to ministry became even
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| stronger. I began a Privilege of Call process and was granted Privilege of Call in the United Church of Christ on May 22, 2005. After a two year call at St. John United Church of Christ in Wood River, Illinois I accepted a call here at EvUCC and began serving in March, 2008. It has been my privilege and honor to serve this church as its senior pastor. My hope and prayer is we all remember that we are called to serve and worship Jesus Christ, our Savior who can make all things possible. May we as a people of faith continue to recognize it is Jesus who empowers us to reach out to our community, and truly welcome all who are in need of his love. |
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Associate Pastor
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Growing up in the church outside of Cleveland, Ohio, faith became an issue of resentment for me in my teenage years. Disillusioned and rebellious, I became fed up with “always talking” and “rarely doing” when it came to living out God’s word. I turned my back on the church and had a brooding darkness inside of me. I was ready to throw in the towel on faith and life. Christ saved me in what I can only call a miraculous way in 1998. I felt the Spirit of God plunge into my heart with the words, “I love you for you.” I can’t adequately describe what happened that night. After that experience I decided to stop being a follower of the world and became a leader for Christ. I joined the Track and Cross Country teams, started playing guitar, joined Drama Club, wore different clothes and made different friends. While still deeply imperfect, I had a confidence in Christ and a joy that seemed insatiable. From my perspective, God literally saved me from myself. My friends and colleagues couldn’t grasp a modern-day miracle and wondered why this God wouldn’t do the same for them. Unsure how to answer them, I went to college |
| focusing in Psychology and Philosophy so I could use language outside of religion to talk about God in pragmatic and relevant ways. Now serving at EvUCC, my heart sings as I see the fruits of God all around me through people’s excitement to serve, youth experiencing God left and right, and a general understanding that God has big things in store for each of us, if only we are willing to open ourselves to it. My thoughts to you as you read this are: 1) No matter where you’ve been or are at in life, you are welcome here. 2) God can do something greater with your life. I am now and forever sold out for Jesus Christ, and while the road of faith continues to have plenty of potholes, it is a ride I invite everyone to join us on. |
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