Jan 16, 2026 By Paul Paterra 3 min read

After a short retirement, the Rev. Robert Ellis Stump admits to feeling good to be back in the pulpit again.

The new pastor of California United Methodist Church has 40 years of experience at United Methodist Churches in Central Pennsylvania.

Stump, 65, had retired from the ministry in June due to health issues and moved to Washington with his wife of 40 years, Glenda.

However, California United Methodist Church needed a short-term replacement and Stump agreed to fill the role.

“(The church superintendent) said this will be Sundays only,” Stump said. “He said if you like this we might be able to make it into something more. When I came to Washington I was not prepared to do anything, but I told the superintendent I would try just preaching for a little bit. I got in the pulpit and my wife said, ‘You brightened back up.’ Ultimately, we decided to make this a half-time gig.”

His “gig” started Jan. 1 at the church at 227 Third St., but he has been providing pulpit supply since October. He admitted to feeling good being back in the pulpit.

“Oh, my, yes,” he said with enthusiasm. “I like being there. I like doing that. Whether I do it well is up to the beholder. I think I’m doing well. So, I’m going to keep doing it.”

California United Methodist Church’s weekly service is held at 10 a.m. Sunday. Stump said attendance has varied, but the congregation is friendly.

“California United Methodist Church is very welcoming,” Stump said. “Since they were a small congregation with a very large building, I was expecting a lot of inward focus and some handwringing, but what I’m seeing instead is an outward focus to the community.”

At all of his past churches, community involvement has been an important part of Stump’s ministries.

The 1979 graduate of Juniata High School in Mifflintown received his pastor’s license in 1983, was ordained a deacon in 1985 and an elder in 1989.

He said his calling for the ministry came at a young age.

“I was a 17-year-old kid, and everybody was asking me what I was going to do,” he recalled. ‘I was a pretty serious Christian. I prayed about it, and I heard a voice say you already know what you want to do, and I had been thinking about what it would be like to have the life of a pastor.”

He consulted with his church pastor in Mifflintown about his sense of call, and learned “his wasn’t all that much different from mine, so I started the process of becoming a pastor.”

Stump said he and his wife moved to Washington to be closer to some of his wife’s family. The pair met while students at Shippensburg University, then known as Shippensburg State College. They are the parents of three grown children.

Stump hopes to continue engaging with the congregation and community.

“I hope to bring quality Bible preaching in the pulpit,” he said. “I hope to bring a caring heart. I’m committed to doing visitations, especially to hospitals, nursing homes and the homes of parishioners if they want me to come.

“One of the parishes I served described me as the shepherd-type pastor who watches over the flock and tends to the sheep. I always thought that was pretty apt.”