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Pastor's Message Sept 2010 |
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September 2010 CONGREGATION VOTES FOR NEW SENIOR PASTOR At a special congregational meeting on Sunday, August 29th, the members of Bethlehem voted to issue a call to The Rev. Daniel Patrick Smail to serve as senior pastor. The Rev. Sarah Lee-Faulkner, Assistant to the Bishop, presided at the meeting. The voting members present accepted the recommendation of the Call Committee and the Council by a unanimous vote of 184 to 0. Pastor Smail has accepted the call and will begin serving at Bethlehem on October 1st. The vote came at the conclusion of a weekend of activities to introduce the candidate to the congregation. At an informal reception on Saturday evening, members had the opportunity to individually meet and greet Pastor Smail, his wife Pastor Kari Smail, and their daughter, Hannah. Then on Sunday, Pastor Daniel Smail served as preacher and presiding minister at the 9:30 a.m. worship service. Pastor Smail was born and raised in Vandergrift, PA. A graduate of Thiel College in 1997, he received the Masters of Divinity and Sacred Theology from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg and was ordained in June 2001. He has served as the only full-time pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church, Bethel Park, for the past nine years. During his time of service, the congregation has been blessed with tremendous growth, welcoming a significant number of new members and building and fostering new small groups.
Beyond his congregation . . .
Pastor Smail has been involved in the local ministerium and South Hills Interfaith Ministries, has served as secretary of Conference 6, and as president of the Lutheran Campus Ministry Board. He has been involved in capital fund drives for LUC in Oakland and for Glade Run. He currently serves on Synod Council and on the Executive Committee of Synod Council, SWPA. Family . . .
Married for more than nine years, his wife is The Rev. Kari B. Smail, who currently serves as Associate Pastor at St. John's of Highland Lutheran Church. They have a four-year-old daughter, Hannah Lynn. Pastor Smail loves the outdoors and finds “peace and comfort on a trout stream or hiking trail.” We are enthused about the gifts and talents Pastor Smail will bring to our ministries. He is excited about mid-week teaching of adults and retreat opportunities. Well respected individuals in Synod leadership positions gave tremendous references to Pastor Smail’s strong theological background and his leadership abilities. Both Pastor Tony and Mark have met with Pastor Smail and feel strongly that he will enhance the ministries at Bethlehem and are looking forward to working with him. With a new Senior Pastor and a strong staff team, Bethlehem is poised to move into the future and grow our ministry together, to both be and make disciples. |
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We hope your visit to our Web page will be a similar experience to a visit with our church. The first Bethlehem, located in the hills south of Jerusalem, was the site where the world first encountered Jesus Christ. Guided by a bright, shining star, magi from far to the east and shepherds from the nearby hills were drawn to this child who would change the world.
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, located in the hills north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA is working to be a place and a people where Jesus is able to still be encountered! We are committed to sharing Jesus Christ in a way that is faithful to the caring and yet challenging style Jesus modeled. There is a joy that comes from following Jesus that we hope to exhibit in all of our activities. There is also an opportunity to grow as people through Christ that we seek and that we share.
We are a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (the ELCA). Need our worship times? Scroll up just a bit and see the box on the left. Need directions to our church? Just click on "Directions" in the About Us menu at the top of any page and you will be taken to a map to our church building which includes an elevator and air conditioning. Just click here: ELCA and you will be taken to the ELCA website which has all kinds of information about our denomination. If you just have some life or faith questions, you may find it helpful to click here , which will take you to an ELCA site that seeks to address some of the basic life questions. You will find further resources on our Links page which is available by clicking on Links at the top of any page. Please come and browse the pages available across the heading above and feel free to respond to what you see. We would love to hear from you. |
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