Welcome Pastor Dan
Dear Park Avenue,
I write as an old friend and a new leader of Park Avenue United Methodist Church. Over more than four decades of ministry I’ve been friends with Park’s former pastors, I’ve served on district and conference teams with Park’s committed staff and laity, I’ve partnered with Park’s community ministries, and I’ve been inspired by Park’s engaging worship. With these deep ties, it’s a privilege to step in anew as your part-time, interim, pastor. All three of these titles describe important aspects of my calling to Park Avenue Church in this season of life and ministry.
Part-time means twenty-five hours per week and two Sundays per month. In retirement, this level of commitment has been effective for local churches, life-giving for me, and honors my other important covenants to health and family. However, Park Avenue needs leadership full-time. Part of my role is building a team that meets the worship, membership, and organizational needs of our congregation. The goal is not a bandage for the moment, but the development of leaders that can benefit Park Avenue Church for years to come.
Interim means that I have been appointed to Park Avenue by our Bishop and Conference Superintendents for a prescribed time and for intentional reasons. It’s not a period of passive waiting. On the contrary, I come with a genuine sense of urgency to address important organizational needs with just one year among you. Our Leadership Board identified five key priorities for this interim season:
Wellness, wholeness, belonging
Reengage shared focus and strategy
Youth leader and youth program
Building and maintaining relationships with new members
Financial stabilization
And finally, Pastor means that I am your spiritual leader charged with the responsibilities of Word, Order, and Sacrament. Even when I’m not with you physically in worship I collaborate in planning and participate online. I will assess and support the ministry systems and build the resources that undergird Park’s work and witness. And through it all, we hold to the promise that it is the grace revealed in the waters of baptism and the elements of the eucharist that empower this congregation far beyond our human efforts.
Yet Pastor is not just a role, but a relationship. For me, a paperweight received as a parting gift from my first parish captures this well. “A Pastor is one who speaks to your spirit, listens to your heart and understands what words can never say.”
I am grateful for the warm welcome you have offered and invite your ongoing prayers as we lean together into all that God holds before us!
In Christ’s light and love,
Pastor Dan