Greetings In the Name of Our Lord & Savior,
I am writing to introduce myself, but first I want to tell you how grateful and excited I am to be joining you for some of your journey.
My bedrock assumption is that God has ministry for us to do and that the Spirit is working. I have been told that the future of both congregations is unclear right now. However, we can continue to be faithful through the journey. Together with faithful hearts, slowly thinking heads, and the presence and the comfort and cajoling of the Holy Spirit the future will become clear.
So please be prayerful and patient. I assure you there are no secret plans or decisions already in place. We will go forward together while reaching out for help as we need it. It really is a privilege to be with you during this season of your faithful ministry.
Now some details about me: a long while ago, I was born in Seattle and for the most part grew up there with my parents and sister. We did live in Klamath Falls for a time, and I went to a boarding school in Victoria, B.C., for three years. After high school, I worked as a merchant seaman for five years – I was fortunate to travel all over the world. My undergraduate degree is from St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD, and I received my Master of Divinity degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary.
At seminary, I met and married Laurie, and we both graduated in 1996. We served as co-pastors, first in Zanesville, OH, and next in Pittsburgh, PA. Next I served for five years as a hospice chaplain and then congregations in Albany and Watertown, NY. We arrived in Portland just over three years ago and Laurie began serving at Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in West Linn. Since we arrived in Portland I have led and served Cherry Park and Reedville Presbyterian Churches as their interim pastor. Watertown was my first interim/ transitional pastorate.
We are blessed with three children: Bianca, who has recently moved here from Buffalo, NY and is now living with us. Andrew, who lives in Lake Oswego and works at Mary’s Woods, and Rebekah. She and her husband Nick, and twin boys (Aidan and Riley) live in Ft. Moore, GA. Rebekah is a Lt. Colonel in the army as well as a doctor. (clinical psychologist). I love to read, walk,laugh,travel, and play with our dog – Callie. The world’s best puppy – W.B.P.
Enough about me. I look forward to learning the details of your lives.
Faithfully,
Pastor Leonard
