Q&A: Rev. Taylor Hall


On September 15, 2019, First Presbyterian called the Rev. Taylor Steven Hall to serve as its next Associate Pastor for Youth and Faith Formation. Pastor Hall preached a sermon on the parable of the lost sheep and received a standing ovation after a unanimous voice vote. He is scheduled to begin service here in early December. Meanwhile, he answered a few questions for Tidings.


First Presbyterian Church members are living God’s love in all kinds of ways. One of them is Ghada Jano, who arrived here from Syria six years ago and now is a deacon and active in several ministries. Here’s her story, in her own words.


I grew up in a God-loving environment in Damascus, Syria. My father was an elder at a Presbyterian church there. I came here when the war started in Syria. My two boys were about to be drafted into the army.


My family applied for visas, and the U.S. embassy in Lebanon accepted our request.


Soon after our arrival six years ago, I met Pastor Moufid Khoury, who was a great help for me and my children. He told me about the Presbyterian Church here in Allentown. I became a member of the church.


Tis church helped us all through the asylum case that we applied for. After so many hardships, we finally received the Green Card in late 2018. My husband, Basel, who previously had been denied, arrived this summer.


My sons are also members of the church, and I’m so proud of them. My older son, Youssef, is working full time at FedEx and attends Moravian College. He received a scholarship from the church and hopes to attend law school.


My youngest son, Majd, graduated from DeSales University and works at Lehigh Valley Hospital and volunteers as an emergency medical technician at an ambulance station. He


wants to go to medical school. My daughter, Roula, got married four years ago and I became a grandmother. My granddaughter is named Leen.


I work part-time in my brother’s office. I try to help my family achieve their goals as much as possible.


I’m part of the Wednesday craft group at church. I attended a craft group sale last Christmas and they invited me to go there. I worked with the group that is involved in making cards.


I cook Mediterranean food and serve along with my Arabic group for about 75 homeless on the fourth Wednesday of each month. I have enjoyed the church’s activities in helping others in distress and felt empowered when I was given the chance to help others myself.


I became a deacon and help the church whenever they ask me for assistance, such as serving communion and extending the table to serve communion to people who can’t get to church. I also help to cook for the church’s Mediterranean dinner every year.


I felt welcomed by everyone in this church and I have found my new home, where I belong. It’s here in this church. All we have to do is never lose faith in God.


Tell us a bit about your family background? I was fortunate to grow up in a loving family with my mom, dad, and two brothers. We were a family of faith but when my brothers and I were so involved in sports, we only attended church about every other week. Sometimes my parents would have to split up to take one of us to one game and the other to a different event. I was raised in North Dakota and went to school there until middle school, when the family moved to Colorado. I consider both places my home.


Where did you go to college? I went to the University of Northern Colorado, where I earned a BA in business administration with an emphasis in finance and a minor in communications. In my senior year, I was working as a financial planning intern and began to feel that this was not what I was meant to do. I spoke with my parents about this and then called my pastor, Michelle Witherspoon, and we came to the realization that I should apply to seminary to further my studies. It was during my time at Princeton Teological Seminary that I realized that I was called to be a pastor. Michelle, of course, knew this from the beginning.


“For there is hope for a tree,


if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease.” — JOB 14:7


4


What happened next? While at Princeton, I was fortunate to do a two-year internship at Lawrenceville Presbyterian Church in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. My responsibilities included working with their youth program and supervising volunteers as well as other pastoral duties. One summer, I returned to the camp I had attended as a child, Camp


Metigoshe in North Dakota, where I served as the camp chaplain. Te next summer, I interned as a hospital chaplain in Aurora, Colorado. Finally, my experience at Princeton rewarded me with a Masters of Divinity degree upon graduation.


Where did God lead you after graduation? I was called to Sunnyside Presbyterian Church in South Bend, Indiana, where I served for three years as an associate pastor. Te church was going through the process of finding a new lead pastor. As a result, I was involved with working in different facets of ministry with special emphasis on youth ministry, faith formation, worship design and implementation, intergenerational community building, fellowship event organizing, and mission trip and retreat planning.


Being from the West, what drew you to our church? During my years at Princeton, I enjoyed the green, rolling hills and changing seasons in the East. But what brought me to First Presbyterian Church of Allentown was your mission statement, which I love: It’s a ‘diverse body of faith committed to living God’s love…’ It’s a church that welcomes all people and reaches out to serve those in need. Your emphasis on outreach and service is woven into the fabric of this congregation. I believe in a true koinonia fellowship, look forward to meeting each of you, and promise to laugh, love, and cry with one another as Christ calls us to do.


THANKS TO OUR APNC


The Associate Pastor Nominating Committee consisted of:


Ruth Asiedu-Ansah Alicen Bailey-Silfies Maddie Brown Kim Ceccatti Bill Coles Nancy Holler Chip Layfield (Chair) Bob Martin John Rowley


5


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7