I am a pastor who was ordained into the Presbyterian Church, USA in 1974. I have served three congregations since that time. I was an assistant pastor for evangelism in Houston, a generalist associate pastor in Bethesda, MD and, since 1983, pastor of Western Presbyterian Church in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. When I arrived at Western, the congregation was about 70% over the age of 70. Today our membership is about 60% under the age of 45. Back then we had no one under the age of 18. We now have 50 kids in the Sunday school program. We do a lot of social justice work, including a major feeding program with the homeless (feeding 250 daily), an arts program for very poor children and a health clinic in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In 1994, we moved from our old location in Foggy Bottom near the White House to our current location near the Kennedy Center. The move was produced by a $30 million land and building exchange deal with The International Monetary Fund. I was the lead negotiator in the process that resulted in the agreement.
I am overeducated with a BA from The University of Wisconsin-Madison, MDiv from McCormick Theological Seminary, PhD in systematic theology from The Catholic University, and MBA from The George Washington University.
I am a potter, throwing pots on the wheel and teaching the wheel. My wife and I have two adult children and three grandchildren. We have a second home in San Miguel de Allende, GTO, Mexico where we spend almost two months of the year.
In summary, I am a very blessed person!
Love it, and we at Western are very blessed to have you John! Thank you dearly and sincerely!