GUILDERLAND — The new pastor of Hamilton Union Presbyterian Church says he is finding a warm welcome in this growing town of friendly neighborhoods.
"Hamilton Union was looking for someone with a fair amount of experience, which I have, and someone who wants to stay put in the community," said Stewart Pattison. He became pastor at the Western Avenue church in August.

He interviewed for the job, he said, and then preached at a neutral church earlier this year.
"I left feeling that, ‘Gee, I would really love to come here,’" Pattison said.
Pattison said that Guilderland and its hamlets have a "real sense of neighborhood. I’ve felt very welcomed," he said. Already, Pattison has been invited to be the protestant chaplain of the Guilderland Fire Department, which is next to the Hamilton Union church.
"We felt very welcomed and very at home here in a short time," he said.

Pattison’s wife, Mary Jo, known as MJ to many, was a co-pastor with Stewart at their former church in Rochester. She now works full-time for the University at Albany.

The Pattisons spent 20 years at the New Life Presbyterian Church in Rochester, where their children grew up. Their son, Benjamin, is now a senior at the University of Toronto, and their daughter, Elizabeth, is a freshman at Simmons College in Boston.
"Twenty years is a long time to do anything"especially in the ministry," Pattison said. His church in Rochester, he said, "was a small, urban, challenging, wonderful congregation."

He and his wife decided to move when their children finished high school, he said. He interviewed elsewhere, but soon decided to come to Guilderland, he said.
"It was clear that this was the right match," he said. After he first met the search committee, he said, he felt as though he had known the members for a long time.
"I look at myself as a partner with the congregation. I feel very strongly that this isn’t my church," he said. "I feel very accepted for who I am."
Pattison said that it is important for a minister to feel accepted. "I am a human being who is a minister. This is just the job God has given to me," he said.
Hamilton Union has "a very active congregation involved in the community in a lot of ways," Pattison said. "The work is done by the members of the church. My job is a help them with resources, and help them in their spiritual lives, but not necessarily to tell them what they should be doing."
He went on, "I’m in the ministry for people. What I bring is a passion for people to get connected to the love of God and Jesus Christ. We’re all being called to do"something."
He said that he has a "desire for people to see their faith working for them. The real value of our faith is the difference it makes in our daily lives."
On Sunday, Oct. 23, Pattison will present "The Bible in 30 Minutes," he said. The program is designed to "get people curious about the Bible," he said. He will do two messages, focusing on the Old and New Testaments.

Pattison also wants to introduce people to a spiritual reading of scripture, he said. He holds a Masters of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School.
"I’m a firm believer that a new pastor should listen the first couple of years," he said. "Right now, I’m here to learn about what they’re doing, and not to change unless the congregation wants something changed."

The church hosts the Hamilton Union Nursery School, the Guilderland Interfaith Food Pantry, and it supports local programs like the Inner City Homeless Shelter, Pattison said. The church has an active bell choir, a vocal choir, and a strong Sunday school program, he said. He said that Hamilton Union is joining other churches in welcoming people displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
"It’s a very open-hearted group of people," Pattison said.