Local minister leaves for new church after 14 years
In October 2000, Mary Lou Fisher faced a difficult challenge. Her husband, Lew, was undergoing open-heart surgery for a valve replacement and triple bypass, a surgery that was necessary to save his life. As Mary Lou and her family began the long day of waiting, worrying and praying at Pittsburgh’s Mercy Hospital, some unexpected comfort arrived.
The Rev. Philip Harrison, pastor of Cherry Tree Alliance Church in South Union Township, and Cherry Tree’s youth pastor, Terry Brown, came to pray with and help the family in any way they could. They arrived early that morning and left after 6 p.m. when the family received word that the surgery was successful and Lew had been moved into intensive care for recovery.
“We weren’t even members at Cherry Tree and had only been going to church for a short time,” said Mary Lou. “It meant so much to have somebody there to give us strength throughout the day.”
Fisher’s experience is a testimonial to the strength that Rev. Harrison has given to the entire congregation at the church. It’s a strength they’ll need as they deal with losing him.
He has watched Cherry Tree Alliance Church move from its former home on Connellsville Street to its current location on Cherry Tree Lane. He has seen two of his three children graduate from Uniontown Area High School. He has given sermons based on local ties to George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette.
But, after some 14 years as Cherry Tree’s minister, Rev. Harrison is moving on to the First Alliance Church of New Castle.
“It’s hard because we’ve put down roots,” he said. “Sometimes God stretches us to go beyond where we are.”
The district superintendent for the Christian and Missionary Alliance church contacted Harrison last year and requested that he make himself available for the church’s candidating system. The system allows church boards to review candidates for pastoral positions, and once they have selected, those candidates will come to the church and speak once, on a trial basis.
While Harrison did not request a move, he said he remains open to God’s call.
“This is what God wants for my life, and I have confidence in his call,” Harrison said.
Harrison, 47, grew up just outside of Raleigh, N.C., in the small town of Garner. He was raised in the Presbyterian Church and said he felt God’s call early on.
“Since I was in the fifth grade, I felt like God might use me,” he said.
He said he was saved at age 9 and baptized the same year, but it wasn’t until after high school that Rev. Harrison truly saw God’s plan for his life.
It was then that Rev. Harrison and his friend Darryl Kelly were in a severe motorcycle accident. Harrison survived. Kelly did not.
“God must have spared me for something,” Rev. Harrison said. “I wanted to make my life count for God and also count for my friend who had died.”
Rev. Harrison began college at North Carolina State University, where he majored in chemistry, but he transferred after a year-and-a-half to Nyack College in New York, where he received a bachelor of science degree in theology. It was there that he also met his wife, Susan.
Susan Walker grew up in Altoona, graduated from Geneva College with an associate degree in secretarial science and was working as a secretary for the Alliance Theological Seminary when she went into New York City’s Chinatown with the gospel team. She said she noticed a “real handsome guy” driving the van. Now she admits that he noticed her, too.
The two eventually would marry in the summer of 1977, and Rev. Harrison would begin his ministry in the Alliance church.
Today, this “real handsome guy” is busier than ever – his close-cropped, graying hair is neatly combed and his soft blue eyes are bright as he rushes from one major life event to another.
His daughter, Stephanie, 21, was married June 1 and last month graduated from Nyack College. His son Tim, 18, graduated from Uniontown Area High School June 3 and is leaving for Simpson College in Reading, Calif., this summer, where he will major in world missions. His youngest son, Ben, 15, is simply hoping he will be able to continue playing soccer at his new high school in New Castle.
As major family milestones fly by, Rev. Harrison and his family prepare for their first occupational move in 14 years.
He began his ministry in Emporium and then moved to Titusville 31/2 years later. He moved to Uniontown in 1988 after 51/2 years at Titusville.
The work of a pastor is never done. Rev. Harrison spends his days in Bible study and prayer, while doing correspondence, sermon preparation, prayer meetings, administrative duties, hospital visits, and other tasks. He has been on mission trips to Lebanon and Chile, was one of the founding members of Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers of Fayette Inc. and is the acting treasurer for the Christian and Missionary Alliance’s southwestern district.
Rev. Harrison rarely can squeeze in time to pursue his hobbies – reading and biking – but he wouldn’t want it any other way. For him, time with people and personal relationships are what matter.
“A pastor is to be the shepherd of the flock under Christ, helping to lead his congregation. A shepherd loves his sheep, a shepherd feeds his sheep, a shepherd protects his sheep. A lot of times people will remember a Sunday school teacher who loved them but not what was taught in the lessons,” he said.
As Rev. Harrison moves on, Cherry Tree is seeking a new senior pastor and coming to grips with losing one they love, but his teachings are reflected in the congregation’s attitude.
“If God is calling him to another church, then he needs to follow that call,” said Becky Stange, a church member since 1986. “We need to be supportive of him.”
Sharon Genovese, who has attended church at Cherry Tree since 1992, said, “I think it’s a great opportunity for New Castle, and I think it’s a great opportunity for us.”
Brown – still the youth pastor, who came to Cherry Tree 31/2 years ago – is optimistic about the change, even though he is saddened.
“If God is moving him to another place, then that means God has someone new, something else, for us,” he said.
The Harrisons are sad, too, but also excited about the new challenges laid before them.
“It’s something new, a change in scenery, a new adventure,” said Tim.
His mother is a little less enthusiastic, but said she is trusting God with the decision.
“I’ve gone back and forth from being very sad to excited… and yet there is a sense of peace because this is what God wants for us,” she said.
“No matter what, we are going to be OK,” said Rev. Harrison. “We anticipate smooth sailing, but know there can be waves on the sea, and yet we know God is over the sea, the same God who calmed the storm. He can calm this storm, too.”
As the Harrisons depart perhaps the closest thing they’ve had to a home area, Rev. Harrison said he looks forward to applying the lessons he has learned to his new life in New Castle, and Cherry Tree remembers the lessons and virtues he left behind: humility, love, friendship.
Genovese recalled one such lesson. The sermon was about being friends with the people to whom you witness and really loving them, whether they responded or not. She said it left an indelible impression on her.
“He said, ‘People are friends, rather than a notch on your belt,'” Genovese said.