Pastor Ethan Shearer

Pastor Ethan was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and grew up in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania. He was active in several United Methodist churches throughout his childhood and became involved at the annual conference level in his teenage years. After serving as a youth delegate at the 2008 General Conference of the United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, Texas Pastor Ethan “took a break” from church and attended Elizabethtown College where he graduated in 2013 with a degree in Sociology and Religious Studies. In 2012 he found his way back home to United Methodism and joined Christ United Methodist Church in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania while finishing college and discerning a call to pastoral ministry. He attended Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC where he graduated with honors in 2017 and after graduation began serving Curwensville UMC in Clearfield County.

 In 2020 Pastor Ethan and his family moved to Charlottesville, Virginia to work on a PhD in Christian theology at the University of Virginia. While he was there, he was able to write, research, and teach. Ethan taught at the University of Virginia and was an Instructor of Religion for two years at James Madison University where he taught on the New Testament, American spirituality, faith and doubt, and Christian thought.  As a theologian he is interested especially in “public theology” which is Christian thought at the intersection of the many “publics” we all inhabit like culture, society, economics, and politics. He has also written on topics like demonology, holiness, the Trinity, atheism, and hermeneutics. While in Virginia he also served Gordonsville UMC and Barboursville UMC as a pastor.

Now, back home in Pennsylvania, Pastor Ethan is thrilled to be the lead pastor at Beaver Memorial UMC and St. Paul’s UMC in Lewisburg.

Prior to becoming a pastor, he worked as an actor from middle-school through college, which is how he met his wife, Beth. Although he does not act anymore, Beth continues to be an enormously talented stage manager and theatre technician. Beth and Ethan have two children.

Other than pastoring and writing his PhD dissertation Ethan loves to be with his family, eat cheeseburgers, and talk to everyone who will listen about why Professional Wrestling is high art.