PASTOR'S PAGE

"As therefore you received Jesus Christ the Lord, so live in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." (Colossians 2.7)

As Pastor of St. Paul Church I welcome you to our website. Our hope for St. Paul is for it to grow as a community of faith, rooted in Christ as received through the historic faith of the Church, continually discerning God's will for today, open to new challenges in ministry and witness to Christ in this area. We pray God to bless this church, that we may be a blessing to others in this community and in more distant places.

The other pages of this website will give you a picture of St. Paul Church and our ministry in the Name of Jesus here. If you are in the Spring Grove area, please visit us. May the Lord bless and be with you.

Biography

Pastor Dan Biles was born in 1952 in Philadelphia, Pa. His boyhood was spent in King of Prussia, Pa., where Christian faith was nurtured in him at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Graduating high school in 1970, Pr. Biles entered Texas Lutheran College. In his second semester, while taking a required course in theology, Pr. Biles made the decision to enter the ministry. He received his Master of Divinity from Gettysburg Seminary in 1978 and was ordained to the Office of Word and Sacrament ministry 11 June, 1978.

Pastor Biles has served three parishes in his years of service. His first parish was St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Clifton Heights, Pa. 1978-85. During these years he was also a Chaplain in the U. S. Army Reserves. He married Barbara Yarnall in 1980; their marriage has been blessed with two children: Gretchen (1981) and Nathan (1984).

Pastor's second parish: Bendersville Lutheran Parish, a joint parish of three churches in Upper Adams County, Pa. 1986-99. While at Bendersville Parish Pr. Biles became an author of a book, Pursuing Excellence in Ministry, as well as many articles for theological journals. He also supervised several intern pastors from Slovakia and, after learning Russian, began to teach as a guest lecturer every spring at the new Lutheran Seminary at St. Petersburg, Russia in 1997. He also wrote two other books, on the Civil War.

In March, 1999, Pr. Biles began his service here at St. Paul Church. In addition to his parish duties, Pastor Biles continued to use his vacations to serve as a guest lecturer in Russia until 2003. He also oversees the USA Appeal for Lutheran Churches in the Russian Far East and has twice traveled to Vladivostok as part of this ministry of support. For six years he arranged tours for a Russian Orthodox Choral group, Archiglas (www.archiglas.com). Pr. Biles serves in the Lower Susquehanna Synod as a consultant for Healthy Congregations (www.hcongregations.net).

Pastor's wife is a 6th Grade Reading Specialist and Teacher in the New Oxford School District. Their daughter, Gretchen Shallcross lives in Flagstaff, Arizona. Their son, served in the United States Air Force in Korea, Italy, and Iraq. He is now living in Dallastown and works for Advance Business Systems, Cockeysville. He graduated York Tech last year.

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When to Call the Pastor

• When a child is born.
• To plan a baptism.
• To plan a wedding.
• To receive Holy Communion at home.
• For private confession and absolution.
• When you are struggling with a question about your faith.
• When you have a question about something that is happening at the Church.
• When a new neighbor moves into your area.
• When you go into the hospital, do not assume the hospital will call the pastor for you.
• When someone dies.

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Contact Pr. Dan Biles

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