I grew up in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, with my parents, Cindy and Alan, and younger brother Gary. Nazareth is near Bethlehem and Allentown on the east side of Pennsylvania. I grew up in St. John’s Lutheran Church in Nazareth and met my wife Tricia through the confirmation program. We started out as friends in confirmation, got pretty close and seemed to hang out quite a bit. Since confirmation was only for two years, 7th and 8th grade, I was unsure if I would see her again. But as fate seemed to have it, we both were in high school marching band together. She was in Colorguard and I was in the trumpet section. Knowing I had feelings for her, I asked her to be my girlfriend at band and we have been together ever since.
We both went to Kutztown University and she graduated with a degree in German Education and I with a Communication Degree. I was blessed with the ability to graduate a semester early, which gave me the
NOVEMBER 2020
opportunity to start in a Master of Business Administration program at Kutztown. I
started that program, as my wife was finishing up her degree. She then got a job at
Central Dauphin High School. She moved to the Harrisburg area, and then soon after we got married in December of that year and I moved in.
I finished my M.B.A., and started Seminary with a commute to Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. During my time there, we had a merger or yoking, as they called it, between two historic seminaries, Gettysburg and Philadelphia. This brought unique challenges and opportunities to my seminary education. I truly believe that these challenges, however difficult, helped prepare me for life as a Parish Pastor beyond the typical seminary curriculum.
My internship was at St. Peter’s Lutheran in Middletown under the supervision of Pastor Richard Eckert. After completion of internship and seminary, I was blessed with the opportunity to serve as Vicar at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Enola.
During our time in Harrisburg, my wife and I have also been heavily involved in the CD Marching Band and other art programs in the Central Dauphin School District.
That is just a snap shot of my story and I cannot wait to share more about myself with you all and to hear your stories as well!
It’s interesting to note that Martin Luther was living through a global pandemic, well, really a plague, during his pursuit of reform.
