Honoring Past Pastors of the Chapel
As we approach the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Chapel in the Pines it is only proper that we recognize all of the pastors that have been called to serve God by shepherding this interdenominational flock. I have compiled as complete a list as possible from the historical information available to me, but if anyone can add to the list please feel free to contact me, so that on November 15th we will celebrate each and everyone of our former pastors.
Being an interdenominational chapel, as you might expect, the fine ministers who have served the people of God who worship in this place and the greater community, have a mixed bag of denominational backgrounds. The Methodists lead the way with twelve pastors, the Presbyterians come in second with nine pastors, the Baptists contributed four, one was Lutheran, and one was a lay-pastor…combined there were twenty-six men and three women.
In addition to their service to the people of this Chapel these twenty-nine also achieved many community, denominational, academic, and professional goals. Three of these ministers had doctorate degrees, three were college professors, one was a college dean, and one was a college president. Two were military chaplains, one was a college chaplain, one was a Hospice chaplain, and one was a chaplain at Samarkand Manor. One was a founding member of Hospice in Moore County, one was a founding member of the Food Bank of Moore County, and one was a founding member of the Robbins Area Christian Ministry. Two of these high achievers had been the pastors of churches with over three thousand members. Among them there was one Methodist District Superintendent and one Presbytery Executive.
Cumulatively they were missionaries to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Cuba, Guatemala, and the Soviet Union. And, last but not least, one was named “Tarheel of the Week” by the Raleigh News and Observer.
I’m not sure that even the largest churches in our nation with massive professional staffs could boast of twenty-nine ministers in fifty years, but remember, for the first thirty years the Chapel was served by an ever-changing rotation of four or five pastors operating at any one time. That system did not come to a halt until the hiring of Reverend Don Welch as the Chapel’s first part-time solo pastor from 2004 until 2013 . In 2006 Reverend Welch was joined by Reverend Fran Stark as part-time associate pastor who served until 2016. I was lucky enough to be called as part-time Lead Pastor beginning in 2012 and later as the first full-time solo pastor in 2014. So, in the first twenty-eight years the Chapel was served by twenty-six pastors and in the last twenty-two years only three pastors were called.
As you look at all these men and women of God who excelled in preaching, teaching, and living the gospel of Jesus Christ in this place through fifty years, let’s thank God for each and every one of them. And, let us pray that God will continue to bless the ministers and the people of this Chapel in the exciting years to come.
Peace,
Pastor Paul
The Pastor’s of the Chapel in the Pines
Cecil Callis Presbyterian
William Neil Presbyterian
Charles Hinson Baptist
Robert M. Stone
Kemper Fitch Presbyterian
Douglas Jesse Methodist
James Garrett Presbyterian
Joe Bostick Methodist
Glen Stancik Lay Pastor
Dudley Crawford Presbyterian
Marshall Old Methodist
Paul B. Nickens Baptist
Wallace Fisher Lutheran
Henry Duncan Methodist
William Smith Methodist
Robert Bundy Methodist
William Clark Presbyterian
Thomas Groome Methodist
Ann Hock Methodist
Pamela Hudson Methodist
William Lawrence Methodist
Glenn Miller Presbyterian
Mary Ann Koffenberger Baptist
Paul B. Nixon
B. Maurice Ritchie Presbyterian
Andre Vlok Baptist
Don Welch Methodist
Fran Stark Methodist
Paul James Presbyterian
Comments