St. Paul's Lutheran Church, East Northport, NY Announces Arrival of New Pastor

EAST NORTHPORT, NY, April 21, 2013 (Press-News.org) St. Paul's Lutheran Church, East Northport, NY, called Pastor Harry Schenkel to be their Pastor on March 17, 2013. A Liturgy of Installation is being held in the Church on Saturday, May 4, 2013 at 5 PM.

Pr. Harry Schenkel was born January 17, 1970 and grew up in Copiague, NY as an active member at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Amityville, NY. His experiences at St. Paul's, Amityville played a profound role in his spiritual development. Pr. Schenkel attended Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, NY. Upon his graduation from LuHi in 1987, Pr. Schenkel attended Concordia College, Bronxville, NY, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Behavioral Science and then attended Concordia Theological Seminary where he pursued his Masters of Divinity and served at Emanuel Lutheran Church, New Haven, Indiana. He graduated from the seminary in March 1995 and, after serving an internship, was ordained into Ministry in March 1995 at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Aquebogue, NY.

In January 1997, Pr. Schenkel was installed as the pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church, Sayville, NY, where he served until November 2008. While leading St. John's, Pr. Schenkel also served the larger church and community as chaplain for Community Ambulance and served on a committee to study Early Childhood Expansion for the Sayville School District. He was also chairman of the Atlantic District Pastoral Conference Committee, the Pastoral Counselor for Lutheran Women's Missionary League, and sat on the Alumni Board of Long Island Lutheran High School.

Pr. Schenkel left St. John's in 2008 and began the process of changing his church affiliation from The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. During this time, he began working as a Financial Associate for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans while continuing to serve in part-time ministry. Thrivent is a Fortune 500 Fraternal Benefit Society that partners with churches by helping families with their personal finances. Upon accepting the call to St. Paul's, Pr. Schenkel left his position at Thrivent.

In August 2009, Pr. Schenkel began serving as the Associate Pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church, Jamaica, NY. In January 2012, Pr. Schenkel accepted a term call to be the temporary pastor of Transfiguration Lutheran Church, Harlem, NY.

Pr. Schenkel is married to Lisa (Hunt) Schenkel. Lisa is the house parent for the Association Helping Retarded Children (AHRC) in Oakdale, NY, where Pastor and Lisa live. Lisa manages a family of eight mentally disabled adults helping them achieve independence and self-confidence.

Together, Pastor and Lisa have four children - Harrison (20), attending SUNY Fredonia, Samantha (17) a senior at Sayville High School who will be attending John Jay College, New York City in the fall, Mackenzie (15), a freshman at Connetquot High School, Bohemia and Hunter (14), a freshman at Sayville High School.

When he is not serving the people of Saint Paul's or devoting time to his family, Pr. Schenkel enjoys reading, rooting for the New York Yankees and camping.

St. Paul's Lutheran Church is located at 120 Vernon Valley Road in East Northport, New York and has been serving Northport, Smithtown, Huntington and the surrounding area for almost 100 years. Please contact us at 631-754-4422 for more information about services and membership.

St. Paul's Lutheran Church in East Northport, New York has been serving Northport, Smithtown, Huntington and the surrounding area almost 100 years. Please contact us at 631-754-4422 for more information about services and membership.

Website: http://www.stpaulslutheranchurchandschool.org/