New Philadelphia News Across the Pastor’s Desk For the last several years, the Vice-Chair of our Elders, Br. Tim Ward, has been lobbing the Provincial Elder’s Conference (PEC), and the Board of Cooperative Ministries (BCM), of which he is a member, to develop a system for placing recent seminary graduates into a local congregation as a Pastoral Intern. This would allow graduates to get a taste of ministry while waiting for their first call. It is fitting that New Philadelphia will be the first congregation in a long while to host a Pastoral Intern for a one-year period beginning on October 25, 2013. Br. Aaron Thomas Linville will be with us to put into practical application what he has learned in seminary. We anticipate that Aaron will spend his first several months simply shadowing members of our staff as we go about our rounds. He will make visits, attend meetings of the boards, serve with various committees, teach some Sunday school classes, and assist our Youth Workers with the performance of their duties. A complete job description has been prepared and is available to those who are interested. Aaron’s presence among us will not necessarily slow down our call process, nor will it drastically slow down the call process for Aaron himself. Aaron grew-up in the Union Cross Congregation, where his parents Ron and Alice are still members. He has two older brothers, Ted and Brent. Aaron attended high school at Salem Baptist, and then attended Lees-McRae College from the fall of 2006 to Spring 2010. While at Lees-McRae Aaron participated in the Donner Leadership Program where he volunteered more than 1,600 hours of community service. He also took advantage of the proximity of the Linville Gorge where he spent many happy weekends back-packing and rock-climbing. While a student at Lees-McRae, which is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA), Aaron kept up his Moravian connection by working four consecutive summers on the M-Staff at Laurel Ridge Moravian Camp. Aaron attended Moravian Theological Seminary from the fall of 2010 to the spring of 2013. He found that he loved the study of Moravian History and Theology, and is eager to share his insights where appropriate. It was while working at Laurel Ridge that Aaron met
his future wife, Amy Gardin, a member of the Advent Congregation. For the last twelve months Amy has worked for the Board of Cooperative Ministries, first serving as the Interim College Age Ministries Director, and then, after the arrival of the Rev. Douglas Rights, she moved over in to the role of communications coordinator. On Tuesday, October 22, even as I write this, she is beginning a job at Wake Forest where she will be writing grants for various individuals and departments in the University. Aaron and Amy were married on September 7th, 2013. I asked Aaron to tell me a little about himself. The book that he has read more than once is “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy” by J. R.R. Tolkien. The movie he has seen over and over again is the screen adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper’s “The Last of the Mohicans,” which was filmed in the mountains of North Carolina. Aaron says that he is excited to be working at the church that he has heard so many good things about, and is eager to see what our congregation has to teach him. He said, “I am eager for the surprises that God has in store for me at New Philadelphia.” Aaron’s favorite text of scripture is the prolog from the first chapter of John’s Gospel, which speaks of God’s Eternal Word that was made flesh in Jesus Christ. We on the Boards believe that God has led us into this adventure. Let us welcome Aaron and Amy, and the adventure itself.
Blessings, Pastor Green