He will officially take over Sept. 1

By Eric Freehling

Eagle Focus Editor

Eric Park will take over Sept. 1 as senior pastor at First United Methodist Church, 200 E. North St., filling the spot left empty when longtime First Methodist senior pastor Rev. David Panther passed away May 26.

Park and his wife, Tara, were in Butler recently house hunting in preparation of their move from Washington in mid-August.

Park, who spent his elementary school years in Grove City before moving to Indiana, Pa., is the current district superintendent in the Washington District.

“In our system of polity, there are 10 districts in Western Pennsylvania,” said Park. “I superintended 87 churches in Greene, Washington and parts of Allegheny County.”

Park said, as superintendent, he works with Bishop Thomas Bickerton in making pastoral appointments and supervising the pastors and churches of the district.

“We help the clergy and laity of these churches to accomplish their mission, which is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.”

Before becoming superintendent in 2009, he spent nine years as pastor of Central Highlands Community United Methodist Church in Elizabeth.

“If one does not retire from the district superintendency, one moves back into local church ministry,” said Park.

“There was a lengthy period of prayerful discernment in the matter of who would be senior pastor in the wake of Rev. Panther,” said Park.

Park said it took about a month for First Methodist to make its decision.

“Normally, this is an appointment process, but we were treated very well by the bishop,” said Christine O’Brien, executive director at First Methodist.

She said the bishop brought in representatives of the First Methodist’s staff parish relations committee and the administrative board to be part of the selection process.

It was a lengthy process, said Park, because First Methodist “offers such a diverse and creative ministry that it took a unique dialogue to discern who would be pastor.”

Park said First Methodist sees an attendance of nearly 1,500 at all five weekend services.

“Initially, the plan is for me to preach at all the services. Yet to be determined is how others might fit into a more creative preaching rotation,” said Park, adding associate pastor Patricia Nelson would be staying on.

“She will remain on staff. That’s one of the things I’m most excited about is working with Patricia Nelson, whose ministry I’ve long appreciated,” said Park.

Park said he intends to bring “preaching and worship oversight and work on what I call vision casting, which is coming alongside other gifted leaders in the congregation to come to some prayerful understanding of where God wants us to go with the ministry and doing everything I can to help the congregation to realize that vision.”

“Priority one is building relationships with people I am very looking forward to getting to know,” he said. “And learning the rhythms of worship and ministry and working with the highly gifted and capable staff to enable the Butler First community to become more faithfully a growing community of believers where Jesus Christ changes lives.”

He has been married 21 years to Tara, who is chief administrative officer for the human relations department of BNY Mellon in Pittsburgh.

“I’m used to long commutes. It’s very doable,” said Tara Park of the distance from Butler to Pittsburgh. “I’ve had longer commutes in other places that we’ve lived.”

She said Butler looks very familiar.

“Having grown up in the Sharon-Hermitage area, it feels very much like home,” Tara Park said.

“I would love to get involved in a musical capacity with the church,” she said.

Music brought the Parks together, they said. They met in 1986 when they were both students at Dickinson College in Carlisle and were cast as the romantic leads in a college musical.

Both Parks play the keyboard and sing. They are working on their third CD of Christian music. The proceeds of their last CD, “Glutton’s Graffiti,” went to the United Methodist ministry in Africa, he said.

“We already have had kind words of welcome on Facebook,” he said. “It’s made us feel at home before we got here.”

“These are unique circumstances,” he said. “For 20 years, Rev. Panther provided stellar pastoral services.”

“I knew David since 1992 when he affirmed me and assured me of his continuing prayer on the occasion of my ordination,” he said.

“The congregation continues in its grief in many significant ways. Yet part of honoring David, of being faithful to whom Jesus calls us to be, is moving ahead in the ministry,” he said.

“We’re excited to be moving forward. We are excited to see where God takes us as a church under Eric’s leadership,” said O’Brien.