Eugene D. Sperazza, a Certified Lay Minister, comes to us from the Luzerne United Methodist Church where he served as a Certified Lay Speaker under the guidance and supervision of Pastor Carol E. Coleman. Additionally, he served the church by preaching the word, conducting worship service, music ministry, performing children’s messages and pastoral care to shut-ins.
“I am truly grateful and honored to serve as Pastoral Leader of the Albright United Methodist Church, a congregation of highly devoted and loving Disciples of Christ. My prayer has been answered. The search for my ultimate purpose of serving God and others is over.” Mr. Sperazza’s formal education includes the following: After graduating law school, he served a one year law clerkship with the then President Judge of Luzerne County Court, Judge Patrick J. Toole, Jr. He spent the next 15 years, the last ten of which as a principal, with the Law Firm of Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn in the firm’s litigation department. In 1999, he formed his own civil litigation firm, the Law Offices of Eugene D. Sperazza, located in Kingston, PA. Mr. Sperazza is married to Dal S. Sperazza, a psychiatrist with a private practice in Kingston, PA. They are the grateful parents of one daughter, Angela, who is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Acting at Columbia University. Although I had been blessed with success as a Civil Trial Attorney, which continues to this day, I always believed that in addition to my service as an attorney, I could and should do more in my service to God and others. One night during my cancer treatment, while lying in bed, I came to the realization that although I had been surrounded by love and the best of the medical field, my fate was simply between my Lord and God and me. I lay there, warmly feeling and seeing myself for the first time in my life not as a husband, father, son, or brother, but as a child of God. I knew then all would be well, regardless of the outcome. And my growing faith catapulted as I resolved to be a messenger and not a victim of the disease. As I continued to search for my ultimate purpose, little did I know that the Lord was calling me. In 2009, I thought that perhaps my life purpose would be to become a judge and serve the community in that role. While embarking on my campaign, I visited Monsignor Joseph Quinn and asked him for a blessing- not that I would win, but that I would stay on the “path.” I also prayed with the Monsignor for God to reveal what His will was for me in the event that it was not becoming a judge. As the search for my ultimate purpose continued, I decided to consult Pastor Coleman for insight and guidance. I am so grateful that God chose Pastor Coleman to convey the Lord’s calling to me. Pastor Coleman told me that she was waiting for me to come to her, and it was there that I learned for the first time of the Methodist Church’s use of lay people serving as Disciples of Christ. Having been raised a Catholic, I never dreamed that one day I would be able to serve the Lord as a Lay Minister sharing the Good News and touching people’s hearts. As I had always taught my daughter, there is no greater service that one can do than to touch the heart of another. My zest for learning the principles of the United Methodist Church and, in particular, those of John Wesley, led me to my favorite quote of his, “There is no religion, but social religion”. That only solidified my belief that I was truly in the right place so to speak.
Following graduation from the University of Scranton, he was employed by the Luzerne County Mental Health Center where he began as a mental health assistant, working in the Psychiatric In-Patient Unit. He later advanced to the position of Human Service Planner where he conducted initial intakes and planning for the County’s Mental Health, Children and Youth and Aging Centers.
In August of 1999, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. It was during my recovery that I have come to believe that the Lord began to lead me toward my ultimate purpose. Upon being advised of the presence of the tumor, I instinctively but unexpectedly began to repeat over and over, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want,” from Psalm 23. I then began reading Psalm 23 daily during my early recovery, which led me to a daily reading of the Bible.
It was during my judicial campaign, that I was introduced to Pastor Carol E. Coleman of the Luzerne United Methodist Church, who graciously opened her home for me to come and speak to her family and various members of the church. Unknowingly to me, Pastor Carol had the impression from listening to me that “there was more to me than a lawyer”. Pastor Carol’s daughter in-law, invited my wife and me to come to a worship service, which we finally did. Shortly thereafter, we became members of the Luzerne Church.