Epworth pastor to accept job out of state

The Rev. Steve Swisher confirmed Sunday that he is leaving Epworth United Methodist Church within a couple of weeks to accept an unspecified job out of state.

“I have been mulling over several offers to come over the last couple of months and just decided to move on to another opportunity,” the Rev. Swisher said in a brief interview at the church Sunday. “It has nothing to do with anything else other than that.”

The Rev. Swisher also is a prominent leader with four of Toledo’s past mayors — Donna Owens, Carty Finkbeiner, Mike Bell, and state Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson — of the Coalition for Peaceful Toledo Neighborhoods, a broad community coalition seeking solutions to gun violence.

“I love Toledo. I love the people of Toledo,” he said. “I am grateful to the people of Toledo. I have nothing but warmth and appreciation for the people of Toledo and for Toledo as a whole. I feel like we made such great friends here. I think we have all worked together to lift our community, to make our community safer, and hopefully happier and more blessed.”

On Sunday, Mr. Finkbeiner lamented the departure of the Rev. Swisher.

“I believe it is a loss for Epworth United Methodist Church. I believe it is a loss for northwest Ohio,” Mr. Finkbeiner said.

The Rev. Swisher said his departure is unrelated to a dispute involving the church’s preschool that closed for the academic year in March.

Epworth Preschool’s now-former director spoke out after church leaders who oversee the school fired her and abruptly canceled classes for more than a week, resulting in backlash from preschool parents.

The school later closed for the remainder of the 2022-23 academic year.

The Rev. Swisher emphasized the preschool issue is unrelated to his leaving.

“I don’t think it is happening at the same time because that happened weeks ago,” he said. “It is in no way related to that. That was a church leadership decision that is really independent of this situation.”

“There is no” specific reason for leaving Epworth United Methodist, he said.

“I always preach every single week upbeat, seize your dreams, seize the day, make the most of your opportunities to lift others, to make the world a better place,” the Rev. Swisher said of his departure. “Offers just come all of the time in situations like this. There is no real specific reason why other than when an opportunity comes your way, you can seize it.”

He would not say that his new job is with a church.

He mentioned to his church’s congregants earlier in the weekend that he was leaving.

“I am extremely sad,” church member Rex Decker said. “He is a fantastic preacher. He’s evangelical. He’s lifted us up. He’s always helpful.”

The church at 4855 W. Central Ave., west of Corey Road, counts about 2,000 members. A successor has not been named for Epworth United Methodist. The process that will be in collaboration with the Columbus-based Methodist conference is estimated to take a few months, the Rev. Swisher said.

The Rev. Swisher has been at Epworth for more than three years, arriving from the Columbus area.

“I came down here during the pandemic,” the Rev. Swisher recalled of the church starting video broadcasts and then taking steps to safely holding in-person services. “We were working through all of that together.”

Working closely with the Rev. Swisher on the Coalition for Peaceful Toledo Neighborhoods, Mr. Finkbeiner described the clergyman’s message as “one of hope, and one of encouraging caring to not only his congregation at Epworth but also to our entire community.”

“I know Steve cared a great deal about those neighborhoods being more peaceful than they presently are, and he was willing to take his time and energy to convey that not only to his congregation at Epworth but also at various other places in the city of Toledo,” Mr. Finkbeiner said.

“It was a genuine Judeo-Christian message of, ‘We should be caring for the poor, we should be caring for the widows, we should be caring for the children, we should be caring for the less fortunate seven days a week,’” Mr. Finkbeiner added. “I believe he practiced what he preached.”

Contact David Jacobs at djacobs@theblade.com.