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Many people grumble if they have to pull double duty at the workplace. This burden can be compounded if an individual has to take continuing education in order to do that job. However, there is one western Orangeburg County pastor who does both, and does it gladly, at two different locations.

Not only is the Rev. David McManus Jr.'s job description unique, but so is the path that led him to the congregations of both Livingston and Pine Hill United Methodist churches.

"Being the pastor at two different churches is not that unusual in the Methodist church," says McManus, who left a 12-year career as an architect to become a minister. "This goes back to the founding of the church, when ministers were circuit riders between congregations."

Sharing a pastor "fosters a sense of connection in the church," he said.

"Livingston has Sunday service at 9:30 a.m., after which I have 30 minutes to travel to the Pine Hill church (located on Neeses Highway at Slab Landing Road), which has service at 11 a.m.," McManus said.

Even though the 38-year-old has only been a Methodist minister for three years, the Rock Hill native is humbled by what his congregations in both churches, separated by almost eight miles, have accomplished. McManus says both Livingston and Pine Hill United Methodist share many similarities.

"You can have loving relationships in your life, but you cannot have the type of relationship that one only finds in a church where the membership is close to one another," he said. "The people at both churches come from every walk of life. They truly love and care for one another, and they are very much a part of their respective communities. Even those who are not members of Livingston and Pine Hill United Methodist know that these churches are their friend; they are people they can turn to for help in times of need."

"Neither church is what you might call age-heavy, either," McManus added. "The membership runs the gamut from youth to seniors, and the lay leadership is not afraid to encourage its younger members into positions of leadership inside the congregation."

Even though both churches are small -- the average Sunday worship attendance at Livingston United Methodist is 75, and the average at Pine Hill is 47 -- both have a great deal of history.

Livingston was first organized in 1908 in Hebron, and the current church sanctuary was dedicated in 1911. Livingston will also be officially recognized as a Centennial Church at this year's South Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Pine Hill United Methodist Church had its beginnings in 1894 as a group of people who first met under a bush arbor. In 1895, they began meeting in a one-room building. After the original church burned to the ground when the steeple was struck by lightning in 1972, the current church building was completed and occupied in 1975.

While becoming trapped inside the walls of the church can be an easy trap to fall into, McManus says the lay leaders at both Livingston and Pine Hill have not allowed that to happen, even though the focus of each church is slightly different.

"Although both congregations do a great job in following their similar mission statements of going forth and making disciples, Livingston has done more local community assistance projects, and it routinely sponsors several charities each year," McManus said. "In recent years, Pine Hill has become interested in and participated in foreign missions, like ones in Belize and Nicaragua, which have arisen out of a real sense of calling."

Along with ministering to two different United Methodist churches, McManus is also attending seminary school in Columbia. Currently, he is considered a licensed local pastor at Livingston and Pine Hill. Although he has to fit in the weekly classes as his church schedule allows, McManus feels they are necessary. He says both congregations have been very supportive.

"Even John Wesley had his ministers in England study the Greek classics as additional training," McManus said. "And if one has to have licensing to become an engineer or doctor, why should ministering to the soul require anything less?"

T&D Correspondent Phil Sarata can be reached by e-mail at pmhsarata@aol.com. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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