The Rev. Dr. Jeffrey D Sterling, pastor of First United Methodist Church, 237 W. Silver St. Sharon, has been appointed by Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton as the senior pastor of First United Methodist Church of Warren, Pa., effective Jan. 15, 2009.

Rev. Richard Roberts, pastor of Oakland United Methodist Church in Dempseytown, Venango County, has been appointed to serve in Sharon, also starting Jan. 15.

Rev. Sterling has been serving First United Methodist Church here since July 2003. United Methodist clergy are “itinerant,” meaning they may be moved to serve churches in any community in their home conference. Rev. Sterling’s conference is the Western Pennsylvania Conference, which includes nearly 1,000 United Methodist churches. Rev. Sterling was assigned to Sharon from Coraopolis, where he served for six years.

“My wife and I have truly loved this church and the Shenango Valley area,” Rev. Sterling said in a letter to his congregation. “We will miss this area and the wonderful people we have come to know.”

While here, Rev. Sterling has served as secretary of the Sharon/Hermitage Clergy Association, as a member of the executive board of Christian Associates of the Shenango Valley, and as a board member of Community Food Warehouse of Mercer County. He has been board president of the food warehouse this year.

His wife, Dara, taught as an adjunct faculty member at Shenango Campus of Pennsylvania State University, Sharon, and has worked as a dietitian in the bariatric program of UPMC Horizon in Greenville and Farrell. At Sharon, she helped organize the church’s participation in the annual “Relay for Life” of the American Cancer Society. In 2008, the “Silver Street Saints” team from First United Methodist was the top fundraising team for the “Relay for Life.”

The Sterlings have two adult children.

A January appointment is an unusual “mid-appointment year” move necessitated by the illness of a district superintendent in the United Methodist system. By appointing a pastor from that district to assume the roll of superintendent, a series of clergy moves was set in motion. Rev. Sterling’s appointment to Warren is part of that chain of assignments.

Rev. Roberts is a graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College and Erskine Theological Seminary. He holds both a Master of Divinity and a Master of Christian Education degree from Erskine. Rev. Roberts is a guitarist and has acted in numerous productions with Franklin’s Barrows Civic Theatre. While the Western Pennsylvania Conference is his home, Rev. Roberts has served churches in South Carolina and Georgia before being appointed to the Dempseytown church in 1999.

Rev. Roberts’ wife, Laura, is a music therapist and piano teacher. They have two young daughters, Natalie Joy, who is 4; and Caroline Grace, who is 18 months.

Rev. Roberts has been active in the Franklin Chamber of Commerce and Franklin’s Fine Arts Council. He is interested in antique automobiles.