On behalf of Church Council President, Bill Grauer, I am pleased to announce that today, Sunday, December 1st, Reformation voted to extend a two-year term call to Alina Gayeuski to serve as Associate Pastor effective January 1, 2014.
I am also pleased to announce that the Service of Ordination and Installation for Alina will be held at Reformation on Saturday, December 14, 2013, at 1:30 p.m., followed by a time of fellowship and refreshments. Bishop Claire Burkat will be the ordaining and installing officer for this very significant service.
Thanks be to God!
Pr. Wayne Matthias-Long
Pastor Alina S. Gayeuski
Biography
Pastor Alina was raised worshipping at Trinity Lutheran Church in Pottsville, PA. From an early age, her parents let her sit in the front pew of the sanctuary so that she could watch the organist play. When Pastor Alina was eight, her mother accepted a position on Trinity’s staff as the Coordinator of Senior Services. Days off from school and summer break meant days spent in the church office with her mom.
Pastor Alina attended Susquehanna University where she studied Religion and Women’s Studies, earning her Bachelor of Arts in 2009. Active in the Religious Life on campus, Pastor Alina served as a member of the Chaplain’s Staff for three years as the Deacon of Service. In that role, she was responsible for coordinating service events for the campus and local community such as the annual CROP Walk, Peace Festival, and Lutheran Youth Day.
During those years, Pastor Alina spent summers on the hillsides of Camp Nawakwa, working as both a counselor and a program specialist. She was also a part of the Project Connect Immersion program and served for a summer at Trinity Lutheran Church in Reading, PA.
After college, Pastor Alina began her studies at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and graduated with her Master of Divinity degree in May of 2013. Her time in seminary included serving as a chaplain at Bethany Village, a retirement village in central Pennsylvania, and a yearlong internship at Ridgway Area Lutheran Ministry, a three-point parish in northwestern Pennsylvania.
During her seminary career, Pastor Alina was also blessed to serve as the field education student at Reformation. She found herself called back to serve Reformation again during her senior year of seminary and delighted to extend her time through the summer and fall serving as the Pastoral Assistant. She was overjoyed to accept a call to continue serving Reformation as the Associate Pastor.
Pastor Alina loves the outdoors, time spent with family and friends, traveling to new places, and reading great books with her cat, Pearl, on her lap.