A Short Biography of Your Pastor:

One of the most enjoyable parts of being a pastor is hearing people’s stories.  As I begin my term as pastor, I thought you might enjoy hearing my story (the Readers’ Digest Condensed Version).

I was born in Nashville, Tennessee 54 ½ years ago, and grew up in the small town of McKenzie, Tennessee where my mom and dad taught college. I have one older sister, who is now a music professor at the University of Cincinnati. I was raised in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, a denomination whose churches are primarily in the South. I graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville with a degree in political science.

In my youth I strayed from my religious upbringing, but eventually I returned to faith in Jesus Christ. I heard a call to the ministry and attended Princeton Theological Seminary. During the summer after my first year in seminary, I met my future wife, Irene, while I was volunteering at an inter-racial ministry in Mississippi. Irene is originally from Salem, Oregon.

After graduating from seminary, I served a three-year pastorate in a Cumberland Presbyterian Church in rural Arkansas. During this time, Irene and I were married, and we began to explore possibilities for mission work abroad. We accepted an assignment in the Central American country of El Salvador with Mennonite Central Committee. Our service in El Salvador at a time of war convinced us of the futility of war and the Gospel’s clear call to peace. During our time in El Salvador, our two oldest sons, Nathan and Joel, were born.

We returned to the U.S. after four years of service in El Salvador. For 3 ½ years we worked through the Mennonite Church with migrants and refugees in Harlingen, Texas. When I heard a call to return to pastoral ministry, I did so in the Mennonite Church. I accepted a call from Warden Mennonite Church in Warden, Washington. We spent twelve years in Warden. During that time, we adopted our youngest son, Andrew.

In 2006, I left Warden to give my family a break from the pastorate and to care for my father. We moved to Wenatchee where Irene was employed as a nurse practitioner and diabetes educator at Central Washington Hospital. I became a bilingual para-educator at Pioneer Middle School where I worked until last month. Nathan is now a senior at Goshen College in Indiana, Joel is a freshman at Pacific University in Oregon, and Andrew is a seventh grader at Orchard Middle School. In my spare time, I enjoy skiing, camping, and music. I look forward to getting to know you over the next few months!

Blessings, Pastor David