Meet Pastor Daniel

 

I was born and raised in Altoona, PA.  I come from a large family and enjoy sharing in a big meal around a table full of laughter.  I was brought up in Catholic, Lutheran, and Baptist traditions and spent most of my teen years in the United Methodist Church.  During those years so many people poured into my life and showed my how church wasn't about sitting in the santuary like it was a classroom, but that church was about having a community and becoming active parts in each others lives.

 

Growing up, I wanted to teach history, but through years of dialogue and prayer I felt a call into ministry to become a pastor.  I fought this call for a few years, because I usually think I know what's best, but I have often been proven wrong in this field.  I ended up going to the University of Valley Forge in 2009 and majored in Theological Studies with minors in Philosophy and Religion.  Also, with my already diverse background in different denominations, going to UVF added another flavor.  UVF is an Assemblies of God school, and it was an extremely formative experience.

 

I am currently serving as the pastor of St. John's and am going to school at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.  My passion for theology and having experinced different faith traditions, and different Christian traditions, have shown me how important it is to be yourself when intereacting with God and with each other.  There is no "cookie cutter" understanding of faith.  There are so many imitations in the world, that I just want us to be ourselves and see how quickly strangers can become friends, and I think the church has the ability to help us see these friends all over the world.  

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Former Pastors:

• Rev. J.G. Schaff 1868
• Rev. C.B. McDaniels 1901-1903
• Rev. J.F. Snyder 1903-1907
• Rev. F.B. Emenheiser 1907-1910
• Rev. J.W. Houseman 1910-1912
• Rev. H.T. Denlinger 1912-1914
• Rev. J.E. Francis 1914-1915
• Rev. J.H. Powell 1915-1916
• Rev. C.W. Huzler 1916-1917
• Rev. B.P.S. Busey 1917-1921
• Rev. J.W. Yohe 1921-1950
• Rev. Amos Funk 1950-1970
• Rev. Ronald Mateer June 14-August 9, 1970
• Rev. Ivan Naugle August 23-Decemer 27, 1970
• Rev. Jacob Zepp January 3-December 31, 1971
• Rev. Ray Kauffman January 2, 1972-Jun 1979
• Rev. Robert Karalfa July 1979-June 1980
• Mitchell Galloway July 1980-June 1986
• Rev. John Fueller July 1986-June 1996
• Rev. John Morrison July 1996-June 1999
• Rev. Amelia Bobon July 1999-June 2002
• Rev. Bonnie Bush July 2002-February 2005
• Rev. Carl Buterbaugh Feb 2005-April 2005
• Rev. John Witmer April 2005-June 2005
• Rev. Marsha Bookhamer July 2005-June 2011
• Rev. Stephanie Dowding July 2011-June 2014

• Pastor Daniel Wilt August 2014-Present