ST. JOHN’S UCC is in the process of choosing a new Senior Pastor. Our last Senior Pastor, Rev. Sue Bertolette, passed away in 2022 after serving as our Associate Pastor from 1980-1999 and Senior Pastor 1999-2022. While we search for a new, permanent Senior Pastor, we have been led by our Associate Pastor, Rev. Addie Stong, along with an Interim Senior Pastor and a ‘Bridge’ Pastor.
ST. JOHN’S UCC BRIDGE PASTOR 2024
From June, 2024 until our new, permanent Senior Pastor is selected, we will have a “bridge pastor” to assist our Acting Senior Pastor, Rev. Addie Stong (our permanent Associate Pastor). Our Bridge Pastor is Rev. Thomas (Tom) Adil, from the Reading, Pa. area. Rev. Adil has served as a UCC ‘freelance’ bridge pastor since 1987, “Helping congregations say goodbye to their previous pastor and hello to the next one”. He is also a licenced professional counselor with a private business in Birdsboro, Pa. He has a Master of Divinity degree from Drew University and a post-masters certificate in therapy from Marywood University.
ST. JOHN’S UCC INTERIM SENIOR PASTOR
Rev. Dale Davis served as our interim Senior Pastor from September 19, 2022 until his retirement on May 19, 2024.
May 19 2024 will be Dale Davis’ last Sunday at St. Johns as he is retiring. A retirement celebration is being planned during our normal Social and we are looking for volunteers to help make this a festive occasion. Dale has been with us for over a year and a half as our Interim Pastor and has led us with wonderful messages and inspirations.
Please contact Debby Hendricks (267) 664-5490 or email dchendricks111@gmail.com
About the Interim Pastor (from the Herald May 29, 2022)
What is an interim pastor?
When a minister (Rev. Sue Bertolette) has served the same church for over 4 decades, finding someone to replace that person is hard work and takes time. Based on guidance and procedures provided by the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference (PSEC), the search and hiring of an intentional Interim Pastor is a necessary first step in this important process.
An intentional interim pastor’s purpose is to provide continuity in worship, pastoral care, and program/staff oversight. This pastor will not be a candidate for the “settled” position as our pastor but will help to facilitate our transitional work in preparation for the settled pastor search. Currently we have two very good candidates that we are in the process of interviewing.
Why do we need an interim pastor?
Some people may question why not just hire a “settled” pastor, instead of an interim. The process for recruiting and hiring a Settled Pastor can take 18-24 months to find the right candidate. An Interim pastor provides a bridge to our new senior pastor and is intended to help us in many ways:
- To guide us through our feelings of loss as our beloved senior pastor retires
- To lead the congregation in a self-study and community learning process that will identify our church’s vision for the future and corresponding pastoral needs
- To give St John’s the time to do a thorough and careful search for our next senior pastor
- To give a break between the existing and new senior pastors to ensure the new senior pastor is not immediately compared to our current pastor, giving them a better chance to be truly welcomed and successful.