Pastor Eric Park

Pastor Eric’s Bio

Raised in Western Pennsylvania by wonderful, Christ-loving parents, Eric grew up in the United Methodist Church. He spent his first four years in Washington, PA. He then moved with his family to Grove City, PA where he spent his elementary school years. Then, in 1978, Eric’s family moved to Indiana, PA where Eric graduated from high school in 1984. Eric’s church membership remained at Indiana Grace United Methodist Church until the time of his ordination.

Eric remembers getting serious about Jesus Christ during his elementary school years, thanks to the example of his parents, the tutelage of good Sunday School teachers, and the witness of kind church people who showed him what being a faithful disciple looks like.

In junior and senior high, Eric’s life revolved around athletics and church activities. He played football, wrestled (and not just with his conscience!), and ran track. Although it was tempting to accept an athletic scholarship for football and wrestling, Eric decided he wanted something other than smelly locker rooms and Ben-Gay rubdowns on the collegiate level.

He matriculated to Dickinson College (a small liberal arts college in Carlisle, PA) in 1984. While there, Eric majored in English Literature and minored in Music. He also poured himself into the theater, acting in several plays and musicals throughout his four college years.

Eric met his wife, Tara, while at Dickinson. They started dating while they were playing the romantic leads opposite one another in the college musical. Their first kiss, therefore, was on stage! Eric says that the kiss was worth the whole price of college…and then some.

Eric began to experience a vocational redirection during his junior and senior years of college. After graduating from college in 1988, he entered seminary at Duke University (Durham, North Carolina). After finishing seminary in 1991, Eric was ordained in the United Methodist Church and has been serving churches in the western Pennsylvania ever since.

Eric and Tara were married on a blustery Saturday afternoon in January of 1992. They both maintain that it was the best day of their lives.

Eric completed his Doctor of Ministry degree at Drew Theological School (Madison, New Jersey) in May 2001. The focus of his doctorate was what some theologians are calling the Postmodern Reformation. It was an excellent opportunity for Eric to study under Dr. Leonard Sweet, all the while gaining a deeper discernment of how the Church might render meaningful ministry amidst a changing cultural ethos.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Eric Stephen Park

PRESENT APPOINTMENT:
·Pastor, Central Highlands Community United Methodist Church (Elizabeth, PA), 2002 to present

PAST APPOINTMENTS:
·Christ United Methodist Church (Bethel Park, PA), 1995-2002
·First United Methodist Church (McDonald, PA), 1992-1995
·Parker’s Grove UMC (Linden, NC-student appointment), 1989-1992

EDUCATION:
·Doctor of Ministry – Drew Theological School (Madison, NJ), 2001, with honors

·Master of Divinity – The Divinity School, Duke University (Durham, NC), 1991, Magna Cum Laude

·B.A. – Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA), 1988, Summa Cum Laude

Major: English Minor: Music
·Indiana Area Senior High School (Indiana, PA), 1984

FAMILY: Married to Tara Rivetti Park, since January 1992

HOBBIES:
·Reading
·Theater
·Film
·Studying Tang Soo Do (karate)
·Exercise
·Traveling
·Collecting comic books

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