The Rev. Gordon P. Glink answered a call to St. Mark’s Church in
November 1969,
coming to Fairborn from a ministry at First Lutheran Church, Donnelsville, Ohio,
1962-67. He had served as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Vermillion,
Ohio, from 1967-69.
He was installed as pastor of St. Mark’s on
Sunday, Dec. 7, 1969, by the Rev.
J. Alfred Updegraf, pastor of the Lutheran Church of Our Savior, Dayton, and
dean of the Dayton district. The Rev. David McIlvriede, pastor of First Lutheran
Church, Donnelsville, and interim pastor at St. Mark’s, was liturgist.
Pastor Glink retired from the ministry and his service at St. Mark’s effective
July 1, 1996. The congregation recognized his life of service at a reception/dinner
held in Wright-Patterson Officer’s Club on Friday, June 28, 1996.
Richard Johnson
was master-of-ceremonies. More than 170 people were present to honor Pastor
Glink for his long service to St. Mark’s and the Fairborn community. Dr. Kenneth
Sauer, bishop of the Southern Synod of Ohio, praised the pastor for his dedication
to the church and congregation.
A special recognition came with the “early release” of a column which was published
in the Fairborn Daily Herald... “How do you say goodbye to a pastor?”
was the question posed to column readers. (He served) hundreds and hundreds
of people. He ministered to their needs in Sunday School, in regular Sunday
morning worship time, in baptisms, instructing catechetical classes, doing marriage
ceremonies, funerals, midweek Lenten services, communion, pastoral counseling,
hospital and sick calls, Bible study and a whole lot more...We say goodbye with
the worlds you have said hundred and hundreds of times.... “The Lord bless thee,
and keep thee; the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto
thee; the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”
Pastor Glink graduated from Terentum (Pa.) High School in
1949, and later served
two years with the 25th Division as a combat infantryman in Korea.
In 1959 he received a bachelor of arts degree from Thiel college, in Greenville,
Pa., and, in 1962, his divinity degree from Hamma School of Theology, Wittenberg
University, Springfield, Ohio. He also completed one year of graduate work
at Hamma.
While serving the church in
Donnelsville and in Vermillion, Pastor Glink served
on the Donnelsville village council and on the YMCA Board of Trustees. It was
also during these years that he served on the synodical committees for evangelism,
stewardship, and social ministry. He was president of the Luther Club, an organization
of ordained Lutheran clergy in the Springfield District.
During his 26 ˝ years at St. Mark’s Pastor Glink had many community and church
affiliations. These included president of the Fairborn Ministerial Association,
board member of the Lutheran Social Services of the Miami Valley, board member
of the Metropolitan Churches United in Dayton, advisor for Fairborn Women’s
Aglow Chapter and the Miami Valley District Aglow, and member of the Fairborn
Senior Citizens Board.
In addition, he was both the district chairman
and the synodical committee chairman for The Lutheran, the official publication
of The Lutheran Church in America.
In 1974 Pastor Glink was credited with saving the life of Christopher Reed,
aged 7, who was seriously injured in a sledding accident. The boy had fractured
his skull, stopped breathing, and broken both wrists. For his quick action
and help, the pastor received a resolution of commendation from the Fairborn
city council and a Governor’s Award for community action.
The shroud of Turin, the cloth that is believed to be the material which was
wrapped around the body of Christ following the crucifixion, has been of special
interest to Pastor Glink. For 28 years he has been researching the shroud and
then sharing the knowledge with public presentations in a three state area.
He as been a member of the Holy Shroud Guild.
Pastor Glink married Dorothy Salvay in
1957;
Pastor and Mrs. Glink are parents of two sons, David and Paul.
During the 10-months process of selecting a new pastor the
Rev. Daniel Fant
served St. mark’s as interim pastor from July 1996 to April 1997.
Prior to
this Pastor Fant had been at St. Jacob’s Lutheran Church, Miamisburg, Ohio,
from January 1983 to June 1996.
