Ethiopian-American new pastor in Lower Burrell says church is about community

The Rev. Owar Ojha Ojulu’s path to Grace Community Presbyterian Church in Lower Burrell is nothing short of extraordinary.

Born and raised in Ethiopia, Ojulu, 46, recently was named minister of the church at 2751 Grant St.

“Church is about the community. Church is about healing people. There’s no church without the community,” he said. “Whether the community that comes here in this building to worship God, or the community of Lower Burrell or New Kensington, we are all part of the community that God coordinates to walk together on His earth for this purpose.”

Ojulu grew up in a small agricultural village in western Ethiopia and was raised on African traditional religion. When he was about 8 years old, his uncle told him the story of Jesus Christ. Learning that story spoke to Ojulu, he said.

“To hear that a different religion that … we approach Him as a beloved Father, it’s mind-blowing for a young child like me at that age,” he said.

In 1996, he was baptized as a Christian in Itang Bethel Presbyterian Church in Ethiopia. He was a teenager and immediately got involved with the church.

But his faith was tested in summer 1998 when his mother, Ariet Kwöt, died. Ojulu said he fell apart and stopped praying, reading the Bible or attending church.

He then had an experience that changed everything.

“I saw this light at the ceiling of the hut, and the light kept glowing, glowing, glowing, until the whole hut was filled with light,” he said. “Then the voice came through that light, ‘Owar, I will be with you, I will take care of you, I will journey with you.’ Then the light (died down) … and I knew that that was God speaking to me, and I went back to church.”

Ojulu graduated from an Ethiopian seminary in 2007 and applied to the United States’ Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery program. He came to the United States in 2008 for education and other opportunities, he said.

He arrived in Minnesota, where he lived for 11 months. That experience was eye-opening and gave him many firsts. He learned English — his fourth language — by watching YouTube videos.

When he first saw snow, he thought it was corn flour, he said laughing.

He then graduated from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Iowa in 2012 and worked in churches in Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota before coming to Pennsylvania in 2019. He was the pastor of Ebensburg and Colver Presbyterian churches in Cambria County.

In October, he felt it was time to move forward and was connected with Grace Community Presbyterian.

“He’s such a friendly guy and always smiling, and we enjoy him,” said Linda Johnson, a Grace Community congregant.

Ojulu and his wife, Apay, still live in Ebensburg with their family, but they are looking to relocate to the Alle-Kiski Valley. They have five children: Ammanuel, 23, Ojha, 18, Marjwok, 15, Badojwok, 8, and Beenyjwok, 2.

Ojulu said he is looking forward to being part of the community.

“I enjoy reaching out to people, praying with people and preaching the word of God,” he said. “The Word is alive. And when you speak it, it touches people’s hearts.”