Carl Heintzelman

Hello Everyone!
I grew up on a family farm in New Tripoli, PA, raising cattle and crop farming.

I’ve had several different jobs over the years, I delivered mail as a rural route carrier in the Germansville area for the USPS, worked for Kraft foods, then I wanted to be like Jesus and become a carpenter. I got to work doing carpentry and concrete work. I enjoyed it because I needed to be outside, to get around the countryside and see things.

I went to live in Canada (until I couldn’t tolerate how cold it got) and I always got to church in a very small but cool congregation and building. I can only suggest how awesome it was listening to the wolves howl to each other or see a mountain lion and lots of beaver. It’s the last frontier, like my Uncle would say.

I was married for 15 years and then later divorced. My ex-wife and I have a daughter, Krista, who is 36 years old, son-in-law, Nester, and 2 grandchildren, Amelie, 14, and a new baby, Francesca. (I don’t know where these names come from.) My newest granddaughter was born on October 12, 2019 and Oh My, does a baby help the morale. What a blessing she is! I get lots of pictures, thank God!

When I came home from Canada, I came to live in Orwigsburg and became a member of St. Paul’s. I am so, so glad to be with a family of Christians. I am a new member really.

In my early years in New Tripoli, I was a member of Ebenezer Lutheran Church, where I was baptized, confirmed and married. I still like to go there and worship sometimes. I’ve been going to worship since I was about 9 years old. My Mom and Dad weren’t much for going to church, but thanks to neighbors and friends, I seemed to get to church consistently for Sunday School and summer Bible School. When I was about 10-12 years old, I remember being on church choir and it was so hot the the man next to me fainted!

I love music and consider myself to be a bad singer, but love to listen and sing hymns sometimes. I love being around church and now that I’m your Sexton, I have a second home, really.

Everywhere I’ve been I’ve attended church and in the past I would love going to different churches to listen to other pastors, see different altars, the woodwork, the architecture and just chatting with different people.

Now I’m settled in at St. Paul’s I love to hear our choir, bells, and our great congregation hymn singing group. We have a great group of Christians at St. Paul’s and I’m honored to be a part of it all.

I’ve always lived by the words of Helen Keller, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart.

God Bless Everyone,
Carl