The Rev. Bob Mathias has presided over 248 weddings, performed 453 funerals, and baptized 300 children and adults.

For many pastors, these numbers might be typical, but Mathias has accomplished all this over 40 years while simultaneously pastoring two congregations.

The congregations consist of Concord Presbyterian Church in Concord Township and North Washington United Presbyterian Church in North Washington, yoked churches that unite for special events but worship independently on Sundays.

Mathias has pastored both churches for his entire career, beginning as a student pastor in 1969 while completing his Master of Divinity degree at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

With a combined membership of 210, some of the weddings and funerals were performed for people outside the churches.

"It doesn't matter if you're a member of his church or not," said Candie Campbell, 58, an elder at Concord Presbyterian. "He puts out for anyone in the township — anyone in the area."

Barbara Fair agrees, praising Mathias and his wife Ione.

"They aren't just church. They belong to the community. They help with everything," said the 81-year-old Fair, a member of Concord since her youth.

Mathias has served with the Washington Volunteer Fire Department for all 40 years, working as a paramedic for 12. He has run the Moniteau Food Pantry since the 1970s, when it was formed.

Mathias also has remained active in his local ministerium and with the Beaver-Butler Presbytery, which governs the area's 87 churches that belong to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

He has served as moderator of the presbytery and participated in its committee on ministry. From 1993 to 2001, Mathias also served as the stated clerk, the presbytery's highest elected position.

"He's always been a very engaged member of the presbytery — and well respected," said Alan Adams, executive presbyter, who said Mathias' 40-year term exceeds the norm.

"The average pastor will stay at a particular church seven or eight years on average," Adams said. "So 40 years ... is quite an extraordinary commitment."

Adams said the denomination has no guidelines to influence the length of service for pastors.

"They and their congregations make that decision themselves based on where their calling is," he said.

Given the longevity of his service, Mathias said he has experienced a complete turnover in the congregation since he was installed.

"What we have now are the children of the people who called me as pastor," Mathias said. "There isn't one person in the congregation that was on the committees that called me 40 years ago."

Mathias said according to church records, he is the second of 18 total pastors to exceed 40 years since the church was founded in 1799.

The other served in the 1800s, when pastors typically signed on for life.

Even though Concord and North Washington have occupied all of Mathias' professional life, his faith was launched in childhood.

His father served as a Presbyterian pastor in Rockville Centre, Long Island, where Mathias was raised.

"My grandfather was a presbyterian pastor in Northumberland, Pennsylvania. So I'm third generation," he said.

Mathias received his Bachelor of Arts degree at the College of Wooster, a Presbyterian school in Ohio, before earning his master's in Pittsburgh.

During the course of his career, Mathias said he has written 2,000 sermons.

"I never repeated," he said, excepting one that featured a masking tape analogy requested as a repeat.

"I tried to do a new one every week."

Although Mathias' retirement will begin in January, his farewell service will be preached by Adams at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 20 at Concord Presbyterian. A lunch for church members will follow in North Washington, where an open house will begin at 2 p.m. at the fire department social hall.

Mathias and his wife plan to remain in Butler County, where he plans to continue hosting small group mission trips previously led through the churches.

"That's one of the things we've done here in our ministry," Mathias said, listing trips to Nicaragua and Louisiana.

"You find with a lot of our smaller churches you can't get enough people from one church to go," he added.

Mathias also plans to volunteer in the denomination and community.

"I'm really going to go out on a positive note — a new chapter in my life," he said, noting the community support has made it easier.

"These folks have been wonderful to me," he said.

<B>WHAT: </B>Retirement open house for the Rev. Bob Mathias, pastor of Concord Presbyterian and North Washington United Presbyterian churches<B>WHEN: </B>2 p.m. Sept. 20<B>WHERE: </B>North Washington Volunteer Fire Department Social Hall, 739 Fairview Road, North Washington<B>INFO: </B>Call 724-894-9182.