Meet the moderator

‘Great hope for what I see’ As a teenager, Glenn Bollinger was ap-

proached by Ron Petry, his pastor at Sebring (Fla.)

Church of the Brethren, who asked if Glenn had

ever considered ministry.

“I laughed,” Glenn recalls. “I told him, ‘That is

not who I am.’ I believed then that preachers do

not know what it means to love life.”

Fast forward two years – Glenn Bollinger was

being licensed to the ministry after deciding at

Bridgewater College to add a philosophy and relig-

ion major to his computer science and mathemat-

ics major. And, when he was ordained in October

1993, Ron Petry was there at Beaver Creek – per-

haps with a knowing smile on his face.

Ron Petry is just one of the “cloud of wit-

nesses” that Glenn recalls as he traces his journey

from a teenager with no interest in ministry to

serving more than 21 years as pastor of Beaver

Creek Church of the Brethren and, this year, serv-

ing as district conference moderator in the Shen-

andoah District.

He thinks of the late Wendell Flory, who

called Glenn to be a youth worker in his congrega-

tion in Easton, Md., for the summer before

Glenn’s sophomore year at Bridgewater College.

The congregation welcomed him back for a total

of four summers, continuing as Dan Ulrich as-

sumed the pastorate when Wendell retired. “That

was a testing and growing period for me,” he says.

And there was Paul White, pastor at the Staun-

ton Church of the Brethren, who took Glenn on

as an associate pastor for two-and-a-half years.

Glenn preached, had a focus on youth and young

adults, and enjoyed ministering to all ages.

While serving at Staunton, he met, fell in love

with and married Debbie, a Michigander of Men-

nonite background who was working as a travel

agent in Harrisonburg and active in the Corner-

stone Church at Broadway.

For those who know Glenn well, it comes as

no surprise that he was barefoot as he walked out

of the sanctuary as a newlywed. But, Debbie was

barefoot, too. They incorporated feet-washing into

their wedding ceremony and didn’t bother to put

their shoes back on as the recessional played.

Washing each other’s feet “was a very important

statement for us as a couple,” he recalls.

2013 Shenandoah District Conference Moderator Glenn Bollinger, pastor of Beaver Creek Church of

the Brethren

Continued on next page

Then, another important decision – seminary.

Would it be Eastern Mennonite or Bethany?

They realized they would know no one in Oak

Brook, Ill., where Bethany was then located, but

they had each other, and

the pull of Glenn’s Breth-

ren heritage won out over

the familiarity of the Shen-

andoah Valley. And Debbie

was soon able to get a job

with a family-owned travel

agency near Bethany.

Even so, when time

came to look for a pastor-

ate, the ties to Virginia

were strong.

He recalls his interview

at Beaver Creek. Denise

Miller (now Shiflet) was the

young adult on the search

committee. She spoke up

as an equal member of the

group, stating clearly “what

we (Beaver Creek) want to

be.”

For Glenn, that clinched the deal. “It just felt

right” to accept the call from Beaver Creek. “That

was over 21 years ago, and it still feels right.”

Ministry “energizes me. I love people…There

is just a great sense of rightness to be with some-

one when a light kicks on – a light of faith and

spiritual journey, a new way of moving forward,”

he explains.

And he believes that he is blessed to experi-

ence some of the “holy moments” in life –

“cradling a newborn in my arms or holding the

hand of someone drawing a last breath.”

He also recognizes that he is adaptable. “I can

be quite young with children and youth, but I can

be as old as I need to be with the elderly. I’ve

learned that in times of crisis, I want to be there –

and I am wanted to be there.”

That pretty well dis-

proves his youthful belief

that “preachers do not

know what it means to

love life.”

These days, loving life

often revolves around his

and Debbie’s sons – An-

drew, 19, and Josh, 18,

both now students at

Bridgewater College. He

relishes the time spent

with their school friends –

a good opportunity to

minister without preach-

ing.

Pleased with their boys?

You better believe it. He

tears up telling about An-

drew winning the Rotary

Club of Harrisonburg’s Code of Ethics award. A

year later, he surprised Andrew by pulling out the

award, telling him how proud he was of him and

then announcing that he had just received a phone

call with the news that Josh would be receiving

one, too. “I think all four of us cried then,” he ad-

mits.

Now, as he looks ahead to his turn in the mod-

erator’s seat at District Conference, Glenn says

that he envisions the 102 congregations seeing

themselves “as many preaching points of one

body, employing their different gifts and strengths,

yet intricately connected. We need each other, and

I have great hope for what I see happening now.”

‘We need each other…’ Continued from preceding page

Glenn chose “Living the Gospel” as the theme for the 2013 District Conference.