Homecoming For Earl Palmer -- New Upc Pastor First Served Here 35 Years Ago

With a modest salutation, the Rev. Earl Palmer introduced himself to worshipers at University Presbyterian Church.

"Good morning; I'm your new pastor," said Palmer, standing at a microphone before packed pews last Sunday. The return greeting from the congregation was enthusiastic applause for the newly appointed senior minister.

Palmer may be a new face to many of UPC's 3,600 members, but he's not new to the church, the largest mainline Protestant congregation in the Northwest.

It was as a self-described "raw recruit" that Palmer came to University Presbyterian in 1956 to serve as youth pastor, fresh out of Princeton Seminary. He spent eight years at UPC before leaving for a six-year pastorship in Manila and then to First Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, Calif., for 21 years.

So, after nearly three decades, Palmer is back where he started his ministry, but to a decidedly changed congregation in a city markedly different from the one he left in 1964.

"I've never been able to get Seattle out of my mind," said Palmer in a recent interview in his church office, bare except for two plants given as welcoming gifts.

Still, some things haven't changed at the bustling church near the main entrance to the University of Washington. Because of its location, UPC takes seriously its obligation to minister to the multitude of students, said Palmer, just as his Berkeley church did with its site near the University of California.

"We have a challenge here as a church to make a case for the Christian faith to that generation," said Palmer. "It's a window of opportunity we have for a few critical years in a student's life and it's very exciting."

The word "exciting" gets a lot of use by Palmer and U Pres members as they anticipate this new phase in the life of their church.

"There's a sense of mounting excitement at UPC over Earl's arrival," said Clark Puntigam, an attorney who headed the pastor nominating committee. "He's just the right person for us at this time."

Puntigam and 10 other committee members looked at about 120 candidates for the position, vacated in May 1990 by the immensely popular Rev. Bruce Larson, who moved to the Crystal Cathedral in Southern California. During Larson's 10-year stewardship, the church membership and budget doubled.

"Earl has very big shoes to fill after Bruce Larson, but we didn't want to chose another Bruce Larson because Bruce is not replaceable," said Puntigam.

Larson was a charismatic leader renowned for his fast-moving, personal sermons featuring anecdotes and jokes; Palmer is low-key and more serious, widely recognized as a leading Bible teacher and theologian.

"Bruce dealt with more brush strokes, Earl with a No. 2 fine pencil," said Tom Mesaros, one of the church's governing elders. "One's not better than the other, they're just different."

The Rev. John Westfall, pastor of adult ministries, said he thought the 16 months between ministers would help ease Palmer's entry.

"They have very different styles but they're both very Christ-centered," said Westfall. "For Bruce, relationships were the cutting edge for being a Christian. Earl is more theology-oriented."

When first approached by the committee, Palmer declined to apply for the position, saying he was happy in Berkeley, a church about half the size of U Pres. But after he and his wife, Shirley - a Tacoma native - prayed and thought about the opportunity, Palmer said he agreed to submit his application and let the committee make its choice.

The one question mark was the 59-year-old Palmer's age. The committee wasn't interested in someone coming to the church for a few years and then retiring. Puntigam said the "exceptional small amount of disagreement" he heard expressed about Palmer's selection was tied to his age.

Palmer, though, assured the committee he had no intention of leaving the ministry any time soon.

The Palmers were the first of three finalists the committee arranged to meet. After a weekend retreat, the committee knew it had found its candidate and ended its search. The church agreed with the nomination June 16 after a sermon by Palmer.

Now, after witnessing Palmer take the helm last Sunday during four worship services, Puntigam said committee members are even more convinced they made the right decision.

"Earl has the unique ability to be one of us, to be part of the congregation, yet to have an extraordinary ability to interpret scriptures and to bring them to us," said Puntigam, who also serves as an elder.

Palmer didn't waste any time establishing a tone for his ministry and demonstrating his expository preaching style. He began a 10-week series entitled "Sheer encouragement: the book of Philippians and the Christian in today's world," and his verse-by-verse analysis included some word lessons in Greek.

On Wednesday nights, Palmer is teaching a six-week study of the Psalms, which he calls the "great prayer book of the Old Testament." For both series Palmer has produced a study guide in a church not particularly known under Larson's tenure for its Bible teaching from the pulpit.

Palmer's 16th book was released this week, and he's signed a contract for a commentary on the New Testament book of James. He's in demand nationally as a speaker in seminaries and other churches, and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1987 by Whitworth College in Spokane.

He shies away, though, from using "doctor" in front of his name. "That's not an earned degree," Palmer told the University Presbyterian newspaper. "I'm just a working pastor like everybody else."

Palmer said he didn't anticipate any large-scale changes in UPC operations. The church has a $2.4 million annual budget and a wide range of programs offering something for nearly everyone, including an active singles and children's ministry.

"Earl is not going to radically change UPC's style, but it'll be a different flavor and focus," said Westfall. "He's not going to veer the church in a new direction."

"I am coming to a moving train and I have to jump on," said Palmer. "I feel I'm moving into a fellowship that is already well under way, and joining teammates I think are on the right track."

An added benefit of returning to Seattle for Earl and Shirley Palmer is that two of their three grown children already live here. They also are closer to a Whidbey Island cabin the Palmers invested in 28 years ago.

Like Larson, Palmer said he would not take stands on political issues but hoped the church would sponsor forums for participants to gather data. "The church is a source of information and dialogue. . . I don't believe the clergy should speak for the whole congregation."

Palmer also said he was unsure if the church would support the Church Council of Greater Seattle, although the Presbyterian denomination as a whole gives the council money. Larson had called the council "anti-evangelical" and had a longstanding disagreement about some basic issues with the council's former director, the Rev. William Cate.

"I'm personally not a big joiner of things, although I am supportive of collective efforts," said Palmer. "Instead, I must keep my own integrity and my own priorities straight and clear.

"Everything that I see happening in ministry in this church is valid and healthy," said Palmer. "There's a basic health here for which I am grateful. It's a very enthusiastic, warm and exciting church to be part of."