New minister at First Presbyterian Church of Monroe

The First Presbyterian Church of Monroe is pleased to welcome the Rev. Jonathan Edward Hoeldtke as its new pastor.

Hoeldtke was born in Syracuse and grew up in the Howlett Hill Presbyterian Church where his father was the pastor. He attended Gordon College where he earned a B.S. In biology and met his wife, Melissa, of 25 years.

The new pastor spent his post college years as a wildlife biologist with the National Park Service and the Humane Society of the United States in the D.C. Metro area. He attended the University of Maryland, College, working toward a Masters degree in Ecology.

While studying at graduate school and attending the National Presbyterian Church he felt God’s call to ministry. Hoeldtke and his wife relocated to Princeton, N.J., in the fall of 1996 where he attended Princeton Theological Seminary and completed a Masters of Divinity and Masters of Christian Education in May 2000.

Since graduating from Princeton Seminary, Hoeldtke has served as the Associate Pastor of Youth and Family Ministries at Long Valley Presbyterian Church from 2000-2003 and the Lead Pastor of Woodstown Presbyterian Church from 2003-2016.

He and his wife have two children; their daughter Liesl is a college student studying theology at Gordon College and their son Henrik is pursuing a music career.

They also have a three-year old dog, Millie, who they adopted in 2017.

“At the heart of life are three questions that guide us: ‘Who am I, who is God and why does it matter?’” Hoeldtke said. “My life has been about discovering and rediscovering answers to these questions. My ministry is about helping others discover answers to these questions and reminding people that God loves them more than we can imagine and that there is an infinite supply of hope even though at times there might seem like none.

“At FPC, we don’t want to be the best church in the community,” he added, “but the best church for the community.”

The Pastor welcomes everyone to “in-person” worship services at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

Please call the church office at 845 783-1632 to reserve your seat.

Services are also available on-line via YouTube and Facebook Live. Visit fpcmonroe.org for more information.