Charity work, horse competitions await retiring Hempfield pastor

Members of the Westminster Presbyterian congregation made a special trip to the Hempfield church on Saturday, to present gifts and best wishes for their pastor’s pending retirement.

In keeping with pandemic health precautions, some greeted the Rev. Donna Havrisko from their cars while others came inside the church social hall to share socially distanced parting thoughts.

Among those bearing gifts was Nancy West of Greensburg. She praised Havrisko for her dedication, noting she has made time to talk on the phone and visit with church members who reached out to her.

Havrisko, who has served as Westminster’s pastor for 18 years, is “not only here on Sunday,” West said. “It’s now time for her to take care of herself, after she’s taken care of all of us.”

“I got the Medicare card in the mail, and I said, ‘I’m old. Now I have to retire,’” said Havrisko, who will turn 65 in April.

Havrisko paused during Saturday’s sendoff to pray with a church member whose pet is having health issues.

Havrisko had the idea for developing a community prayer labyrinth on the church grounds along Route 819.

“The local high school kids and a couple of other volunteers from the church laid it out,” she said of the labyrinth, which features a bench at the center for prayer and reflection.

“It has twists and turns, like life has twists and turns,” she said. “It’s about a good quarter-mile walk to get to the center.

“We have some of the hospices in the area that refer people here to walk, and we’ve had other churches come. “It’s such a holistic approach to healing.”

Havrisko also was instrumental in initiating an evening prayer group that meets the first Thursday of each month in members’ homes. About 15 of the 200-or-so church members have stuck with the group.

“We pray for the church, we pray for the world, we pray for our neighbors and we pray for our enemies,” she said. “It’s another place that this church shines.”

Last sermon Sunday, livestreamed

Worshipers will have one more chance to hear Havrisko deliver a sermon before Monday, when she turns over the pulpit to an interim pastor, the Rev. Bill Youmans of Bethany Presbyterian Church in Bridgeville.

With a snowstorm expected to be in progress on Sunday Havrisko couldn’t predict attendance, but she has prepared to lead services at 8:15 and 10:45 a.m. They’ll be streamed on the church’s Facebook page, with optional in-person attendance offered for the first time since Christmas Eve.

To protect church members from potential covid-19 exposure, Havrisko held three Christmas Eve services, each reduced to 20 minutes in length and minus singing of carols or hymns. At the end of each service, she said, “We adjourned outside. Then we could spread out and safely sing ‘Silent Night.’”

Once she retires, Havrisko plans to volunteer with Meals on Wheels and Second Chance Equine, a horse rescue group. She’s looking forward to spending more time with her family’s three horses and taking them to jumping competitions with her daughter, Laurie Golobish, the director of pupil services at Greater Latrobe School District.

“I don’t compete anymore,” Havrisko said. “I learned how to drive the trailer last summer. I’m the chief cook and bottle washer, the coach and the groom, and I exercise with the horses in my spare time.”

She’ll also have the opportunity to take in Sunday services at other area Presbyterian churches, but likely will attend those held later in the morning.

“Maybe I’ll sleep in a little bit later,” she said.