Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
Pastor remembered for community impact
Retired in June after 42 years at St. John's UCC
LANSDALE » A local icon who left a lasting impact on her community has passed away.
St. John’s United Church of Christ has announced the passing of longtime church pastor Rev. Sue Bertolette. She was 66, 10 days shy of her 67th birthday on August 13.
“Early this morning, surrounded by loved ones and covered by the prayers of many, she entered into eternal rest and fullness of life, held, body and soul, in the loving hands of the one who created her,” said Acting Lead Pastor Rev. Adelaide Stong.
“The family has found great strength in the outpouring of love and support that all of you have offered during this critical time. Your prayers have made all the difference over the years, but especially over the past few weeks,” she said.
Bertolette is survived by her husband Bob; son John and his wife Kelly; daughter Jenny, and her husband Ryan Young, and two grandchildren, Ruby and Levi Young.
Bertolette worked as a pastor for St. John’s UCC for 42 years, beginning in June 1980 as an associate pastor, then as co-pastor starting in 1993 and as senior pastor starting in 1999. During her tenure, Bertolette was named Outstanding Young Religious Leader by the Lansdale Jaycees in 1984, led confirmation classes and youth Sunday School classes at St. John’s, established and taught Adult Bible studies during Advent, Lent and Summer Vacation Bible School, wrote a religious column for The Reporter from 2004 to this July, according to MediaNews Group archives, and was honored in 2012 by the Lancaster Theological Seminary with an Award for Excellence in Ministry.
Her last column titled “Lightening the load” was published July 9 as she was undergoing treatment for cancer.
A constant figure in the Lansdale faith community, Bertolette was a founding member of the North Penn Visiting Nurse Association Hospice in Lansdale, served as that group’s hospice chaplain for 25 years, and helped form nonprofit food pantry Manna on Main Street to help those in need of food or a place to stay. In 2012-14 St. John’s acquired and demolished a house that once held Manna’s offices and food pantry, converting it into a meditation garden and labyrinth for public contemplation and reflection; at that time she called it a “place of quiet refuge in the downtown” and said it could be used to host cultural events for local communities.
“At Manna on Main Street, we are heartbroken by the passing of Rev. Sue Bertolette. Manna was founded at St. John’s UCC
in 1981, one year into Rev. Sue’s tenure as a pastor there, and for the subsequent 41 years she has been a great friend and tireless ambassador for Manna and our neighbors in need in the greater North Penn community,” Manna’s board of directors chairman Bruce Michelson said Thursday.
Under Bertolette’s leadership, St. John’s also annually hosted a Thanksgiving meal jointly with Manna for those in need, graduation ceremonies for the Lansdale School of Business, and served as a backup site for the borough’s TubaChristmas concert, and Bertolette would also lead the Veterans’ Day service in
the town’s Memorial Park, organized a community Good Friday service, and helped establish the North Penn Ministerium, a group of churches across the region that meet regularly to discuss ongoing issues and challenges.
“She continued to welcome our community back each year to joyfully host our Thanksgiving Day meal at the church. We will greatly miss her fellowship, stewardship and leadership. We are holding the St. John’s community and Rev. Sue’s family in our hearts as we grieve her passing,” Michelson said.
In a post on the church’s Facebook page early Thursday morning, Stong said information about a service to celebrate Bertolette’s life will be shared soon, and asked for “great mindfulness and discretion” in contacting her family.
“As we know, prayer strengthened Sue throughout her ministry and her long and difficult cancer journey. I know she felt you surrounding her in her final days, and now, I am counting on your prayers of comfort and peace to continue for her family as they navigate this tremendous loss,” she said.
“My friends, hope in God’s promises is what sustained Rev. Sue until the end and what she gracefully and faithfully stepped into as her body left us this morning. It is that same hope and those same promises that we cling to now, knowing that we do not do so alone and, as Rev. Sue always said, ‘trusting that God has hands large enough and strong enough to hold each one of us.’ May it be so as we grieve and remember.”