First Presbyterian Church of Hokendauqua has welcomed a new pastor. Charles Monts, who goes by Chuck, began his position at the 3005 S. Front St., Whitehall, church Feb. 18.

Residents of Bushkill, Monts and his wife, Deb, also have an apartment in Bethlehem while serving the church.

Monts attained his bachelor’s degree in history from Westminster College in 1982 and continued his education at Princeton Theological Seminary, graduating in 1986 with a Master of Divinity.

Monts said his involvement in youth groups growing up led him to ministry.

“In the 1970s, when I was growing up in the church, it happened to have a very vibrant youth group, and in the ’70s, it was pretty fresh for young people to find a youth group that went on mission trips across the country and did great service projects,” Monts said. “Our youth group was just a very dynamic group. There were young parents who had young children who were our youth advisers, so they were very dynamic and just very loving and caring.”

It is no wonder, then, that Monts’ joys of being a pastor include the fellowship and connection with others that comes with the job. Monts said he enjoys visiting current and previous members of the churches he serves.

There are challenges to being a pastor, however, Monts said - for example, becoming lazy. Monts said it can be easy for a pastor to just stay in his or her office and read rather than getting out to meet people. Monts said he always tries to stay committed to avoiding laziness and getting outside of the church.

Monts said another challenge, and not just for pastors but for people of faith, too, is “living the good life” instead of “living life well.” He emphasized our culture has a lot of “stuff,” but Monts cautioned to not let that become more important than the “journey of faith.”

“If love is not gracious, it’s not really the Christian love Jesus was teaching about and demonstrating. For example, he loved the people who weren’t loved, so that’s grace.

“In today’s world, we’re so divided that it’s a lack of grace. Christians should be able to disagree about theology, but I don’t see possibly differing about how we are to treat people we disagree with. We can disagree, but we cannot not show grace. Jesus was even gracious to the people who put him on the cross, so if Jesus can be forgiving and gracious for nailing him to the cross, then obviously we should be able to be gracious toward people who disagree with us about different political or social issues,” Monts said.

He added this lack of “loving grace,” as Monts coins it, is not new.

“It used to be that Christians, back in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, could lynch someone on a Friday or Saturday and be in church Sunday morning. It used to be social and racial differences; now it’s political - so that if you’re not in my party or the group within my party, then you’re evil or unacceptable or not a Christian.”

A common practice for pastors is missionary work in another country. This is true for the Montses.

Last year, they spent nine months in Malawi, Africa. While in Malawi, Chuck taught at a seminary, and Deb worked at a school of nursing and conducted care visits in remote villages.

“The first three months were really hard, really difficult and overwhelming because the need was so great, and we had not figured out how to cope with the need,” Monts said. “Being from the United States, people asked us for money every day. It just got really difficult - like who do you give money to, can we make a difference and how can we make a difference.”

They decided to take a few days off and left town for a retreat and some reflection. The Montses realized they couldn’t help and save everyone they came in contact with, so they decided to invest in organizations that provided for the betterment of Malawians.

“That sort of relieved our stress and guilt about not helping everybody; we helped organizations that were responsible for helping people in ways we could not,” Monts said.

He shared the efforts of one organization that taught people how to sew. The Montses donated 13 sewing machines, with monetary help from family, friends and acquaintances. These workers now had sewing machines of their own and could make clothes and other items at night and on the weekends to sell for money.

“They opened up a shop in the community, and they started to be able to have the profits go directly to them instead of a small portion. They made more money to be able to send their kids to school. It put them into a more consistent, desirable, economic, healthy position, where they could sell to their neighbors, friends and the community,” Monts said.

Funds from the Montses and others they knew also helped 10 to 15 Malawians go to school. In Malawi, there is a cost for education from kindergarten through college. What a kid’s parents’ occupation is determines if he or she goes to school.

One striking note Monts mentioned is how much groceries cost in Malawi. He said butter was $10 a pound. This is due to there not being many cows.

Although the Montses are glad to have made the trip to Africa, experience life there and help many people, he said he and his wife probably won’t go back. Age, retirement and other callings will keep them here.

“But we’re in touch, and we’re sending back money all the time to people we know, and we’re supporting the organization VIP (Villages In Partnership). Our money is much more helpful than our presence.”

Before traveling to Africa, Monts also had done fundraising for the Bowery Mission, raising around $45,000 by biking in 2021. Monts said he’d like to do another biking fundraiser in 2026 on the West Coast.

An event Monts is seeking to hold is a block party for the community. This date is to be announced. He also wants to have a breakfast event for residents at Zephyr Apartments.

If you are interested in these events, call the church office at 610-264-9693.