Daniel Casselberry - Senior Pastor

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 Daniel B. Casselberry - Senior Pastor

The Rev. Daniel Casselberry has been a pastor in the Greater New Jersey Conference of the United Methodist Church since 1980, and prior to coming to Pennington UMC in 2010, served pastorates in Paterson, Maplewood, Elizabeth, and Ewing.  

His call to ministry came during his junior year of high school, and by the time he was a high school senior, he was licensed to preach in the Northwest Texas Conference.  He attended McMurry University in Abilene, Texas, where he received the Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Philosophy and Religion in 1975.  In the fall of 1975, he matriculated into the Master of Divinity program at Boston University School of Theology, completing degree requirements in May of 1979, with a dual major in Social Ethics and Pastoral Psychology and Counseling.  In the summer of 1976, he served as interim pastor of Window Rock United Methodist Church in Window Rock, Arizona, the capital of the Navajo Nation.  While completing his degree in Boston, he worked as a teacher and community field coordinator at South Boston High School in one of the first In-School Suspension programs in the country.   He also completed course work at Harvard Divinity School, Harvard’s Center for Criminal Justice, and graduate courses in Educational Administration at Boston State Teacher’s College.  Upon receipt of the M.Div degree, he returned to the New Mexico Conference where he served as the first associate pastor at First United Methodist Church of Los Alamos.

His inner-city experiences in Boston and his passion for urban ministry would eventually bring him to New Jersey in 1980.

In 1981, Pastor Casselberry completed an extended unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Bergen Pines County Hospital in Oradell, New Jersey.

He chaired the Board of Church and Society for the former Northern New Jersey Conference for 3 years, and has been an associate editor of the United Methodist Relay for 27 years.  During his 13 year pastorate in Elizabeth, he worked with the Exodus Project at Wallkill Correctional Facility and Eastern Correctional Facility through the New York Department of Corrections.  For three years, he served as as an adjunct instructor for the New York Theological Seminary’s “Certificate in Ministry” program for prison inmates at Wallkill Correctional Facility, teaching courses in preaching, pastoral care, and theology.  

Born in a small town in West Texas in 1953, Pastor Casselberry has witnessed the evils of segregation and racism first-hand, and has been a strong advocate for an inclusive church throughout the course of his ministry.  Describing himself as a “progressive Wesleyan”, he seeks to embody the call of John Wesley to “unite the two so long divided:  knowledge and vital piety”.  He is committed to a fully inclusive church, and believes in the “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors” philosophy of United Methodism.

Following the suicide death of his adopted son Samuel in 2005, Pastor Casselberry received training from the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention as a co-facilitator for Survivors of Suicide Loss support groups.  

He has a strong interest in youth ministry and leading churches through change.  His hobbies include photography, rodeo, creative writing, and landscaping.

Dan is very excited about his appointment as pastor of Pennington United Methodist Church, and is most appreciative of the warm welcome he has received.

Currently, he is engaged in a writing project involving supportive materials for persons in their first year of grief following the loss of a loved one by suicide.

For pastoral care, he can be reached at any time by calling (609) 306-6403.

Stephen has been at Pennington since 2001. He is:

• Ordained Deacon by the United Methodist Church.
• Chaplain at Capital Health Systems, Greter Trenton New Jersey.
• Published author:

Reality TV: Theology in the Video Era, Chalice Press, 2009

Beyond the Matrix: Revolutions and Revelations, Chalice Press, 2004

Patricia Guth, a native of Philadelphia, is a graduate of Westminster Choir 
College, Princeton, where she majored in music education and choral 
conducting with a minor in voice. Since she was a senior in high school, Pat 
has served area churches as Minister of Music, working as both choir 
director and organist in a variety of denominations. Upon graduating from 
Westminster, she also taught elementary school music in both private and 
public schools in the Greater Philadelphia area.

For 9 years, Pat was the artistic director of the Young Singers of 
Pennsylvania, an auditioned community children's choir that performed 
extensively in and around Bucks County, PA, and toured each spring. 
Currently, in addition to her duties at PUMC, Pat sings with and functions 
as assistant director/accompanist of the Bucks County Singers, a volunteer 
community choir.

Pat and her husband Gary live in Bucks County with their daughter Emily, a 
high school student and avid dancer. The Guths also have a son, Ryan, who is 
a middle school music teacher in Monmouth County, NJ, as well as a 
daughter-in-law, Laura, a talented actress and singer.

Ned Crislip is PUMC's organist. Formerly of Queensbury/Glens Falls, New York, Ned is a retired music teacher. He taught for 37 years. He graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music in Berea, Ohio, and has a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

In 1994, Ned was honored with an Alumni Achievement Award from Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music for outstanding achievement as a music educator. During the 20 years he taught at Queensbury, New York, Ned was musical director and conductor for high school and community musical productions. His annual concerts of extended choral works with orchestra and/or organ accompaniments included works by Bach, Brahms, Britten, Mozart, and Rutter.

Under his direction, Queensbury High School Madrigal Singers performed at concerts in the British Isles and Germany. During his final year of teaching, he and the Madrigal Singers were invited to perform in Washington National Cathedral, where they presented Bach's five-part motet, "Jesu, Meine Freude" sung a capella in the original German.

Lay Leader (Liaison between Pastor and congregation)