Religiously Speaking
In the system of rotating clergy after a few years in one church, which United Methodism has followed since its founding in the 18th Century, surprises sometimes occur.
So when Bass Mitchell, a mid-life pastor with a talent for writing and a published author, arrived at Salem’s oldest continuing parish two years ago, most folk supposed he’d be there until retirement.
Instead, in the assignments of ministers this year, a young adult, Alan Combs, 34, and with a wife and three small children, moved into the parsonage on Taylor Avenue. It now seems an ideal fit for the large traditionally viewed parish.
A staff person in the Roanoke District office told me Mitchell’s talents were better used elsewhere. From a lay leader, I heard that “the fit {of Mitchell and the congregation} just wasn’t good. The decision to move was mutual.”
Many readers of this newspaper will miss Mitchell’s reminiscence, folklore columns which displayed his declared avocation. And for leaders at the church who wanted to bring in younger families – a much-desired group everywhere – Combs with his neat ponytail, clerical shirt and grave manner will please.
The new minister grew up United Methodist in the Southside Virginia town of Powhatan. He said he’s not directly kin to another United Methodist pastor, Bill Combs, who served in the valley a generation ago, but comes of a family with many Presbyterian ties. He enrolled at a college of that denomination, Hampden-Sydney. It’s near Farmville, and in college ministry he met Morgan Clark from the Richmond area. She was studying art at nearby Longwood.
By this time, Combs recalled, he had decided to go to a theological seminary rather than pursue studies that would have led him to teaching. On a work mission in high school to a low-income part of Kentucky an older volunteer suggested ordination. The young man took two degrees from the seminary of Duke University, the first in 2007 the basic divinity degree, and a year later an academic degree in theology.
Upon graduation nine years ago, Combs became an associate pastor at the large Heritage United Methodist Church in Lynchburg followed by a short stay at Lane Memorial Church in Altavista.
Now married with a growing family, he moved north to Front Royal for a two-year assignment. The advancement to the big Salem church offers a wider variety of opportunities for his children, he noted. Mary Alex at five will enter kindergarten at nearby West Salem Elementary this fall. The younger children, Laurel, four, and Walker, nearly two, will be at the church Wesleyan Pre-School, a highly regarded Salem institution.
Now in a larger community, Combs said he hopes to be as active as possible in Salem Area Ecumenical Ministries. He’s aware, however, that with three Sunday morning services and some multiple staff to help him manage the two traditional ones at 8:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. and the –best-attended – Genesis contemporary at 8:45 a.m. he’ll have to learn many new skills.