Old South Haven Presbyterian Church
"Open Hearts, Open Minds, Anchored in Christ's Love"

Introduction for the Rev. Thomas Philipp
to the congregation of Old South Haven Presbyterian Church
 April 2, 2006
Elder John Deitz

I have been asked to introduce the Rev. Thomas Philipp to you today.

Tom was originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, and graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul in 1958, majoring in political science and history with a minor in psychology.  He then attended Union Theological Seminary in New York City, receiving his Master of Divinity in 1962. He also received a M.A. from the State University of New York at Albany in education and counseling in 1965.

He was ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in 1962 by the Presbytery of St. Paul, his call being as Assistant Pastor at Jermain Memorial Presbyterian Church in Watervliet in upstate New York.  He later was Protestant Chaplain and assistant professor of history at SUNY Oswego.

He came to Long Island in 1972 and joined the staff of the Long Island United Campus Ministers serving the colleges and universities of the island. In 1982 he became the half-time pastor of the Community Presbyterian Church in Merrick and the Executive Minister of the United Campus Ministries. He retired from the Merrick church at the end of February, this year, after 24 years in their pulpit; and from campus ministries late last year.

Tom has been active in the affairs of the Long Island Presbytery, being a past Moderator, a present member and past chair of the Committee on Ministry, chair of the Personnel Committee, and a present member of the General Council.

He has come now to sojourn a while with us and lead us as we move through a transitional phase in the life of this congregation – seeking to discover anew what God is calling us to be and to do in this particular time and this particular place.

I first came to know Tom from my involvement in peace and justice issues many, many years ago. In the 70's, this congregation and then the Presbytery were one of the first to study issues surrounding homosexuality in the church, and the ordination of gay and lesbian elders, deacons and ministers. I served with Tom on a Presbytery Task Force on Religion and Homosexuality, which was one of the models of the study that was later sponsored by the General Assembly. In typical Presbyterian fashion, we are still studying 30 years later. As I participated with the Presbytery in other peace and justice issues, Tom was omnipresent, often providing the intellectual support tempered with a practical realism needed to get position papers adopted and programs established. Tom remains a leading force in keeping peace and justice issues in the forefront of the Presbytery’s agenda.

In his resume, Tom raised up four key theological issues for our time: Christianity within a time of religious pluralism, Christian triumphanalism; human sexuality; and global poverty and economic systems. Tom also expressed concern that with all the discussion on peace, unity, and purity in the Presbyterian Church, a missing ingredient is justice. I am sure we will be hearing more of these in the coming months.

As we pass the peace this morning, let us especially welcome Pastor Tom to our midst.