Our Pastor, Rev. Doug Dyson, grew up one of four sons of a United Methodist pastor in New Jersey, spending most of his childhood in Princeton, NJ. After high school he married his high school sweetheart, Linda and together they raised their two married biological daughters Casey and Heather along with six adopted children Shayne, Evan, Chris, Tyler, Samantha, and Daymon.
Rev. Dyson studied psychology at Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, NJ. He received his Masters of Divinity, with a focused specialization in Church Revitalization and Renewal from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH. Pastor Dyson is currently working on completing his Doctor of Ministry degree from United Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg, PA.
Rev. Dyson began in ministry in the same conference in which his father served, starting as a student pastor in 1996. Through his ministry there he served in rural, suburban, and urban settings in both small and large churches, crossing denominational lines. Although he got his start in the United Methodist Church, in 2002 the family relocated to Punxsutawney, PA to run a youth center for the Salvation Army. For a time, he served as interim pastor for the Independent Reformed Church, St. John’s in Sprankle Mills, PA, before returning to the United Methodist church as a local pastor in 2007 serving in the Marchand, PA area and began the process towards full ordination in the Western PA Annual Conference. He is now a Rostered Minister of Word and Sacrament in the ELCA.
Pastor Dyson now brings his 29 years of pastoral ministry experience to the role of Assistant to the Bishop for Congregational Revitalization for the Northwestern PA Synod of the ELCA. His goal is to create vital ministries among smaller town and rural congregations by providing a collaborative model for shared pastoral leadership and mutual ministry. Pastor Dyson believes that each and every small congregation is vital to the ministry of the Kingdom of God because only a “neighborhood church” best understands its unique community identity, rather than larger “merged” congregations. To help these small congregations live into that community ministry calling, Pastor Dyson and the Synod a working to provide regionally focused pastoral care and leadership. We called Pastor Dyson in October of 2023 after he had served as our interim pastor for 18 months. He now brings that wealth of experience to our parish leadership.
Pastor Doug’s passion is summed up in the quote, “A great commitment to the Great Commission lived out through the Great Commandment makes a great church.” He believes that Jesus calls us to love God with all that we are (an ever-deepening discipleship for every believer) and to love our neighbor with all that we have (This is a love that is ACTION above all). For Pastor Doug, this is the very heart of the Christian call.