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Anthony Kastellic
Front Desk Coordinator
Rev. Stephen C. Blonder Adams
Senior Pastor & Head of Staff
"For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and discovering my true self."
- Thomas Merton
As someone who has been called to serve God throughout his life, Rev. Stephen C. Blonder Adams proudly and faithfully serves as the thirteenth Senior Pastor at Old Stone Church.
Rev. Blonder Adams first came to Old Stone Church in 1989, as Interim Associate Pastor, fresh out of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. At the completion of that Interim period he went on to serve as Stated Supply Pastor of the Old Brooklyn Presbyterian Church, then later servicing as Interim/Gap Pastor for Plymouth Church of Shaker, Archwood UCC, Lyndhurst Community of Faith, and again at Old Stone Church.
Until 2011, when PCUSA allowed for the full inclusion of openly gay clergy, a pastor who is gay was not able to be fully out in the denomination. Even with the support of the church and many within the Presbytery, Rev. Blonder Adams was restricted from accepting a call to a church as a settled pastor.
Building on his undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Art, and Masters in Divinity, and the completion of four units of CPE, Rev. Blonder Adams went into hospice work full-time. This also gave him the opportunity to serve Old Stone Church once again as a part-time Parish Associate for many years.
In 2022, during a national search for a full time Senior Pastor at Old Stone Church, Rev. Blonder Adams was unanimously nominated by Old Stone Church's Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC), and elected by the congregation on July 17th 2022 to serve as Senior Pastor. Rev. Blonder Adams was officially installed on October 23rd.
Rev. Blonder Adams lives with his husband, H Bruce Blonder, in the Cleveland Heights neighborhood where among their many hobbies and passions including gardening, art, singing, and caring for their Century home together.