December 18 Today in OPC History

Following a courtship begun while they were students at Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA, Douglas Clawson and Pat Stoltz married on December 18, 1976, in the middle of Douglas’ senior year. Raised in Pittsburgh, PA, and members of the United Presbyterian Church, USA, Douglas and Pat both desired careers in Christian service—he as a minister of the Word and she as part of a campus ministry. During Douglas’ freshman year, he embraced the Reformed faith and began worshiping at Nashua OPC in Pulaski, PA. One week after they married, Douglas and Pat began attending what became their “home church,” Grace OPC in Sewickley, PA.

After Douglas’ college graduation in May 1977 with a BA in Philosophy and Religion, he joined Pat on the staff of the Coalition for Christian Outreach. Moving to Philadelphia a year later, Douglas began his studies at Westminster Theological Seminary, graduating with a Master of Divinity in 1982. During their time in Philadelphia, their two older daughters, Amy and Kathleen, were born. In 1983 the Clawsons moved to Wisconsin where Douglas pursued ministerial internships in OP congregations in Oostburg and briefly in Cedar Grove. Their third daughter, Christine, was born during this time.

The Clawsons returned to Western Pennsylvania in 1984, where Douglas was ordained by the Presbytery of Ohio and called to serve as an evangelist of their home church. He next took a call to pastor Grace OPC in Hanover Park, IL, and ministered there from 1987 to 2002. During his tenure at Hanover Park, Douglas served the Presbytery of the Midwest as stated clerk and moderator, witnessing its growth into two separate presbyteries. He was also elected to the denominational Committee on Christian Education and served as its president. While living in the Chicago area, Pat maintained the Clawson home with three growing daughters and honed her writing skills by working as a freelance journalist for several newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune.

In 2002 Douglas was called to become the associate general secretary of the Committee on Foreign Missions, a position he holds today. He keeps busy traveling to support our missionaries, teaching pastors and lay leaders in the Committee’s international mentoring program, and sharing the work of foreign missions with OP congregations. For thirteen years, Pat also could be found in the OPC Administration Offices, serving the Committee on Christian Education as office secretary, editorial assistant writing for New Horizons, and coordinator for the Ministerial Training Institute. She retired in 2018 in order to care for their daughter Kathleen, who passed away from Hodgkin’s lymphoma in early 2019. When not serving the church, Douglas and Pat enjoy time with their family, especially their four grandchildren, and, most recently, their grandpuppy, Yeats.

Editor's note: Today's entry was written by Linda Posthuma.