‘I believe that God brought me here’

Pastor Rodney Harraway is eager to welcome members old and new to the First Congregational Church of West Pittston, where he has recently accepted a new ministry.

From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, he will take part in a “meet-and-greet” at the church, located at 500 Luzerne Ave.

“I really, really want to build bridges, because our current narrative (in society) is separation,” Pastor Harraway said. “I believe that God brought me here.”

Noting that he is the first Black pastor in the church’s 140-year history, Harraway said he feels “historic.”

“I appreciate and salute the courage the board had to bring on an African American pastor,” he said. “I think that was very brave of them.”

“It’s actually an all-white congregation,” he said with a gentle chuckle. “But I don’t see color. Neither does God.”

“We really like Pastor Rodney,” said Melinda Wisnosky, president of the church council that searched for a new leader after the previous pastor retired. “He came and did a couple services for us, and we really liked him. He is a good preacher, and he is really excited about being here and growing the church.”

“We were struggling, even before COVID,” she said. “Older members were dying off and weren’t being replaced.”

Harraway is eager to welcome back people who may have stopped going to church during the pandemic, and he’s excited at the thought of bringing in people who haven’t belonged to a church community.

“I’m putting the invitation out,” he said. “We can’t grow if we don’t ‘go fishing.’ We have to go out and be fishermen of men’s hearts.”

Following the meet-and-greet, Harraway’s wife, Nadine, who runs Elite Kingdom Catering, will serve a free lunch. “She’ll feed the natural body, and I’ll feed the spiritual,” Harraway said.

Pastor Harraway is looking forward to establishing a Bible study and having weekly services on Sundays at 11 a.m.

“We teach straight from the Bible,” he said. “It’s not my opinion. It’s not what Rodney says, but what the Lord says.”