Sloat

The Rev. John Winfield Sloat passed away peacefully at Passavant Senior Center in Zelienople, on April 28, 2022, at the age of 89.

While best remembered for his 31 years as the minister of Northminster Presbyterian Church in New Castle, Sloat was also a talented musician, artist, and the author of seven books.

Born on Oct. 19, 1932, in Cranford, N.J., to Francis and Dolores Sloat, John’s love of music began early when he started piano lessons at age 8 and traveled weekly to New York City for organ lessons. He attended Denison University in Ohio, and was a member of the American Commons Club, a progressive non-Greek fraternity.

He met Helen Burdick at Denison, and they were married in 1955, while John was studying for his Master of Theology degree at Princeton Theological Seminary. John received a call to his first pastorate in Pataskala, Ohio, in 1957, where he served for four years before being called to Northminster Presbyterian Church, building a vibrant ministry over 31 years.

John developed many unique programs to engage the congregation at Northminster, including a young married couples class called The Winfield Workers, intergenerational church retreats, a long standing interfaith partnership with Temple Israel in New Castle that included shared services between the Christian and Jewish faiths, and community Christmas programs called The Joy of Sharing, and A Journey to Bethlehem that transformed the entire church into a wonderland enjoyed by thousands in the community and which has been widely emulated by other churches.

John was a storyteller, and his Sunday morning services always contained a relevant story which made Scripture come alive and relevant to everyday life. As well as leading worship services on Sunday, over his career, John officiated at nearly 500 baptisms, 400 weddings and 600 funerals.

In the early 1970s, John received his Master of Divinity in Advanced Pastoral Counseling from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He also was a trained PET leader (Parent Effectiveness Training), and counseling, creating small group studies, and teaching classes became an important part of his ministry. John developed a suicide prevention help line called EARS (Emergency and Referral Service) and trained volunteers who staffed phone lines 24/7 to answer calls. He founded a company to create and sell needlepoint and latch hook kits of the Presbyterian seal, selling thousands to all 50 states.

He helped found the New Castle Christian Academy, an interdenominational school. He was a board member at Jameson Memorial Hospital and a board member of the McGill Presbyterian Community Center, and a member of the McGill Community Band. After he retired, he volunteered for Meals on Wheels.

As a writer, he published seven books on a variety of topics including faith, history and humor. After his retirement, he founded a website that curated thousands of stories on reincarnation, near death and out of body experiences from people around the world, and was interviewed multiple times for books on the subject.

After retiring from Northminster, John served as interim pastor in Hubbard, Ohio, and later at First Presbyterian Church in New Castle. He and Helen retired to the Passavant Retirement Community in Zelienople in 2013, where John became active in the model train room where he applied his lifelong passion for model making. He also lived out his lifelong dream of becoming the minister of music, serving several years as the campus chapel organist and choir director.

Most important to John beyond all of his accomplishments was family and his role as father and grandfather, with trips to the beach, Disney, and motor home tours of historic locations, nightly games of ping pong and water skiing from his boat Serendipity. He was ever present with Helen at the events of his grandchildren, and made it his mission to be interested in the things they were interested in.

Helen passed away in 2018. That year they would have celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Barb (Donald) Deer.

John is survived by his three children, Linda (Ron) Burig of Charlotte, N.C., Laurie (Mitch) Silverstein of Philadelphia, and David (Amy) Sloat of Cranberry Township; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

SLOAT — Visiting hours for the Rev. John Winfield Sloat, who died Thursday, April 28, 2022, will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday, June 16, 2022, at R. CUNNINGHAM FUNERAL HOME, 2429 Wilmington Road, New Castle.

A celebration service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Friday, June 17, 2022, at Calvin Presbyterian Church, 415 E. Grandview Ave., Zelienople.

Please visit www.cunninghamfh.com.

Please sign the guest book at www.butlereagle.com.