Pastor Andy Ballentine

Pastor Andy Ballentine loved being a parish pastor and retired from St Stephen in July 2019 after eighteen years of pastoral leadership.

“We are all on the journey of faith, led by God the Holy spirit. If you know me, you’ve heard me say that time and again!

“if you don’t know me, here’s what I try to do as a pastor: I try to be open and honest about my own faith journey, which is grounded in the practices of weekly worship and daily prayer and Bible reading. On the journey, day to day, the Spirit leads me along pathways smooth and rough.

“My preaching and teaching and pastoral conversations are rooted in my journey of faith. As I share my experiences, many find that helpful, as they come to understand how God the Holy Spirit is leading them in their own journeys.”

Biography

Pastor Andy is married to Patty, who is a native of Williamsburg, believe it or not. He and Patty have two children: Nathan is a police officer, living in Chesterfield VA, with his wife Renee, and their two children, Abby and Caleb; and Emily who is a music teacher and who lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Sheldon.

Pastor Ballentine took his BA degree from the University of Virginia (with a major in sociology) and earned the Master of Divinity degree at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He earned the Master of Sacred Theology degree at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (thesis topic: “How Benedictine Monastic Spirituality Nourishes Parish Ministry”). Most recently, he completed the program of Spiritual Direction from the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation.

In the Virginia Synod, Pastor Ballentine is Dean of the Peninsula Conference and frequently staffs Synod youth events.