It’s a common question when you approach someone to ask how they are doing. It’s a greeting that normally doesn’t have a lot of thought or meaning behind it. Oftentimes, the response back is a simple “good,” and the conversation continues from there.
For Gary Angleberger, when he asked how you were doing, he genuinely wanted to know. It wasn’t an afterthought or a simple starter for a conversation, he truly wanted an update on your life and what was occurring in your world.
“He had a way of connecting with everybody,” said longtime friend C.F. Hoffman. “He had a way through humor and through his wit – in a very kind way, ribbing you a little bit – but you knew it was a way of him just trying to connect with you. His kindness – he was always kind and encouraging.”
Gary, an Associate Executive for Communication and Stewardship in the Synod of the Trinity in the 1990s who is better known for serving the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) through congregational leadership and other ministries in Beaver-Butler Presbytery, passed away Nov. 8. He was 89.
“One of the things I found fascinating about Gary was the depth of his curiosity,” said former Synod executive Bruce Stevens. “He was one of the most curious people I have ever known. When Gary met you for the first time, he would have a thousand questions for you. I think what that was about was that he genuinely wanted to get to know people. He was interested in who you were. He didn’t want to waste any of his time telling you who he was. He wanted to find out how you were and who you were.”
In the early 1990s before joining the Synod staff, Bruce was an interim executive presbyter at Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery. This is when he first crossed paths with Gary. Bruce knew right away that a special relationship had been formed.
“Whenever anybody becomes an executive presbyter for the first time, they don’t have a clue what they’re doing,” Bruce said with a chuckle. “You find yourself looking for people you can count on. Just after that first meeting with Gary, I can still remember going home to my wife and saying there’s somebody I can count on. That guy’s going to have my back. When I have questions, when I have issues and I’m not sure how to deal with them, that’s somebody I want to talk to. And I absolutely found that to be true.
“He was calm, he was thoughtful. Those were some of the characteristics for the 30 years we were friends that were consistent.”
For a full obituary, click here.
For C.F., who served the First United Presbyterian Church of Darlington, PA, and The Galilean Presbyterian Church in New Galilee, PA, he got to know Gary through Beaver-Butler’s Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM), a group that Gary chaired that works with new pastors. Gary’s presence and leadership helped bring C.F. along as a pastor and provide a meaningful relationship that lasted for many years.
“In the presbytery, he was a peaceful, calming presence,” C.F. said. “His presence was a positive impact on the presbytery and the lives of not just me but many other people. I know what he did for me in my life.”
“Gary was someone who, with his fun-loving personality and kindness, I gravitated to just because he was a friendly face,” C.F. added, reflecting on times during his ordination process when he was seeking a mentor.
Gary served churches in Atlanta; Cohocton, NY; and Granville, OH. He then became a fundraiser for the Major Mission Fund followed by being a Mission Support Counselor for eight presbyteries in western Pennsylvania. Gary joined the Synod as an associate executive in the early 1990s and retired in 2000, but he went on to lead five congregations in Beaver-Butler during the next 10 years. Gary’s time within the Synod’s bounds is one that Bruce will always look back fondly upon, partly because of the impact Gary made.
“I think that in a wonderfully positive way he was part of the face of the Synod of the Trinity,” Bruce said. “I don’t know of anyone who did not appreciate what he did in ministry. He really tried to bring high-quality services to people. On the one hand, he helped presbyteries understand how to develop stewardship and do stewardship education with integrity. On the other hand, he tried to help them understand how to interpret mission, how to let the people in the churches know what their commitment and what their dollars are doing for the sake of the kingdom of God.”
Gary didn’t take his responsibilities with the Synod lightly, either. That rings true in the reflections he gave for a story about the closing of the Camp Hill, PA, offices in the fall of 2020.
“I consider the years spent working in the Synod of the Trinity very special and wonderfully rewarding years of ordained ministry,” he wrote. “The involvement and exposure it provided to the larger Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) were special gifts of enrichment for my life. I am grateful for the privilege of serving in the Synod and the many ways it has deepened and broadened my view of the PCUSA and its openness to trying to discern the call of God to service through the social, political and personal experiences of our lives.
“I remain grateful for the opportunity for growth the Synod of the Trinity provided me in my last 20 years of ordained service to the PCUSA. And most of all, I give thanks for the gracious and, at times, surprising ways that God has provided vital and supportive companions along this way. I can only give thanks to God for this wonderful Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), into which God eventually placed me for ordination.”
Gary’s passing is being felt throughout the entire Synod region, but especially with those who knew him well.
“I’ll miss his friendship,” C.F. said. “He was one of those kinds of people that you always felt good after you left a conversation with him. It was always good to see him. He loved God and loved the church.”
“Gary, and I mean this in the best sense of the word, was deeply a churchman,” Bruce added. “There’s not many of them left. He absolutely was committed to the local church, but he also was absolutely committed to the national church being a community of churches.
“I’m gonna miss having somebody who cares as much about me as I care about him.”
The Synod of the Trinity is thankful for Gary’s work and service to the region and sends condolences to his family and friends.