Don Galardi (right) received a plaque from the Session of Community EPC commemorating his 39 years of ministry. RE Russ Wing presented the plaque on behalf of the Session (pictured left to right): RE Ron DeHaas, RE Emeritus Gordon Parkinson, RE Scott Hammersley, RE Lyle Pratt, RE Collin Rose (behind Wing), TE Jason Steele, and TE Jim Rose (behind Galardi).
Longtime EPC Pastor Don Galardi retired after nearly 40 years of ministry at Community Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Owosso, Mich., in March 2019. He has served as pastor of the Owosso congregation since 1980, and led the church into the EPC’s Presbytery of the Midwest in 1982.
EPC Stated Clerk Jeff Jeremiah noted that Galardi is the last active EPC pastor who attended the first General Assembly in 1981.
“He retires as the longest-serving pastor in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church,” Jeremiah told those gathered for the retirement service on March 16 at the D’Mar Banquet and Conference Center in Owosso. “What Don has done in serving you for almost 40 years is rare and extraordinary. I know of only one other pastor who has served in the same church for his entire ministry career.”
State Rep. Ben Frederick (right) presented Galardi a congratulatory document signed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
In addition to his pastorate, Galardi was instrumental in starting a local pregnancy resource center; began the first community food bank; joined with other local groups in outreach events; and taught pastors in Bolivia, Colombia, and Siberia. He is a former Moderator of the Presbytery of the Midwest, and served on the EPC’s Committee on Administration and Permanent Judicial Commission.
In 2015, he published Corrective Church Discipline: What Every Christian Should Know About the Third Mark of the Church which was based on his 2006 dissertation for the Doctor of Religious Studies degree from Trinity Theological Seminary. He also holds a M.A.T.S. degree from Reformed Theological Seminary.
Also in attendance at the ceremony was Michigan State Rep. Ben Frederick, who presented a congratulatory document signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.