I grew up in the Church.  My parents were (and still are) members of the Carmel Presbyterian Church in Glenside, where I was a regular part of Sunday School and Youth Fellowship.  In my early teenage years, I began to consider some of the more difficult questions of life, death, and eternal life.  I began to wonder about the existence of, and the presence of, God.  As I did, the Holy Spirit, began to "nudge" me.  Through family, friends, and Church people, and I began to consider that God was real, and that he loved and cared for me.  Much of this happened through the outreach and nurture of the Church, as well as through the ministry of my Youth Pastor, Jim Lacy.

In about my 11th grade year in Abington High School, I began to feel in my heart that I should consider the possibility of ministry for my life’s work.  As I began to move in that direction, I began to see affirmations of this "call" through other people’s comments and observations, and through the passion and love for God and his people that was growing within me.  I felt more of that confirmation throughout my college years at West Chester State College, through Christian fellowship, through friends, and through my time as a youth leader at a local Presbyterian Church.  I felt a great excitement as I began to take steps to apply to seminary at Princeton.

I was accepted early to Princeton, where I studied from 1978-1981.  During that time, I served as student pastor at a number of Churches in New Jersey, Maryland, and the Philadelphia area.  I was also a chaplain for the summer of 1980 at Ockanickon Scout Camp.  That was a time when I was learning a lot of the "ins and outs" of everyday Church life and ministry.  Macalestor-Torresdale Presbyterian Church in Northeast Philadelphia was the closest I came to Eddington in those days.  During my first semester, (Fall, 1978) I gave a ride to a classmate, David Perkins, who was student pastor at Eddington.  So I actually drove to the Eddington Church every Sunday to drop him off and pick him up!

Following my graduation in 1981, I was ordained at my home church and called as Assistant Pastor at the Neshaminy-Warwick Presbyterian Church in Bucks County.  There I shared ministry on a staff of three, specializing in Youth Ministry and Christian Education.  After 4 wonderful years there, I felt the call to move on, and I became the Pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church in Topeka Kansas.  I served there until August 2005.  Throughout those years, I stayed closely connected to Youth Ministry, and I feel I have gained valuable insights into the needs of the Church in that area.  There are too many Churches in our denomination which have solo pastorates, but in which the pastor is not connected with the youth of the Church.  There is a great need for that connection!

After some wonderful years in Kansas (and some difficult times, as well) I "came home" to Pennsylvania and to the Eddington Church, and I am enjoying watching this new stage of my life unfold.  I still continue to seek to God’s will for my life, and to live in his amazing Grace.  As I do so, two major themes keep coming back to my mind again and again.  They are, the abundance of life in Christ, and the importance of knowing God’s presence.  The God of all creation desires to have a close relationship with us, and wants for us to have the great joy that is to be found in his kingdom.

I describe myself as a fun loving person.  I believe there is great joy in the living of this life.  I have described myself as a "Renaissance Man" - meaning that I love learning new things and I am fascinated with everything I learn.  (My two favorite TV channels are "History" and "Discovery.")  From my earliest days, I have loved taking things apart, figuring out how they work, and putting them back together.  I enjoy many "active" things.  I've been a runner for 30 years, and I've run a number of marathons, incluing the Boston Marathon, which I ran five times.  I also love bicycling, skiing, snowboarding, wakeboarding, and "building things."  I've been a pilot for over two decades now, and I love seeing God's creation from several thousand feet up.  And I am one for whom family is very important.  I love being together with my family at all levels.  And in my ministry, I want to continue to support families in every way I can.

After being single for many years, on June 19, 2005, I became engaged to Patty Burgess.  Patty is a girl from my High School class with whom I reconnnected at our 30th Reunion.  We were married November 12 of that year in a small ceremony at my home Church, and in December we had a bigger celebration for all the people in our new Church family!  Together we are very excited about the future! 

Many of you have also met my two children from a previous marriage.  They are one of the greatest joys of my life!  Jenny, 23,  is now a Senior at Kansas State University, where she is majoring in Journalism and Advertizing.  And Paul, 21, is in his Junior year at Sterling College, which is a small Presbyterian College in central Kansas.  Paul is very much into debate, forensics, and theater.  He has been in may shows and I see them whenever I can!  I hope you will get to know them better, as they will be here in Pennsylvania just as often as I can arrange it.  You may also know that I have an older sister, Lynne, who lives with her family in Abington, and works as a secretary at our High School.  I also have a younger brother Bill, who works as an "IT guy" for a subsiderary of Dunn and Bradstreet in Tucson Arizona.

So, that is my story so far.  (Updated to Winter, 2008!)  But let me end this by saying that God is still working on me, and I am eager to grow!  In some ways I am still on a "learning curve" here at Eddington!  At the same time, I have already felt God challenging you, through me, in a number of ways.  (And vice-versa!)  I believe that process is ongoing.  As we travel this road together, let me remind you that I know I won't always get things right.  I will blow it sometimes.  So I continue to ask for your patience with me and for your grace as we continue to grow together!  I promise you mine!

May the Grace and Peace of God be with all of us!

George "Skip" Brecht, Pastor, Eddington Presbyterian Church