REV. W. ROGER RANDOLPH III
The Rev. W. Roger Randolph III is a 2023 graduate of United Lutheran Seminary, where he earned a Master of Divinity with a Certificate of Preparation in Black Church Ministry.
Originally from Point Breeze, Pastor Randolph is a 2015 graduate of Allderdice High School, and a 2019 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering with a minor in Africana Studies. He is the son of Sherri and Roger Randolph Jr.
On Saturday, July 1, Pastor Randolph was ordained to the Roster of Word and Sacrament (pastor) in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ordination took place at his home church, First English Evangelical Lutheran Church in Downtown Pittsburgh.
On Sunday, July 16, members and friends of Christ Lutheran Community Church in Upper Darby, Pa., gathered to have a worship service where Pastor Randolph was installed as their seventh pastor in 103 years. Earlier that day, he celebrated his first masses at their 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. services. The congregation voted to call him as their pastor on Sunday, May 28, 2023.
In addition to his parish ministry, Pastor Randolph is also a Captain and Chaplain in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard (PAARNG), serving with the 103D Brigade Engineer Battalion. He has served in the PAARNG for nine years, enlisting as a Horizontal Construction Engineer in 2014.
Pastor Randolph has a strong passion for liturgy, the history and tradition of the Church, and speaking eternal truths into our contemporary world. Through his involvement in the church, the seminary, and his membership in Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., Pastor Randolph has worked to serve the most vulnerable people around him. His call as Pastor of Christ Lutheran Community Church excites him greatly, with their robust ESL program, Senior Food Boxes the first Wednesday of each month, Food Pantry the second Thursday of each month, and Fresh for All free produce market each Friday serving the Upper Darby community.
Pastor Randolph stated as he reflected on the last four years of preparation for his calling to ministry: “Seminary was hard. Not necessarily the academics, although they were rigorous and I for sure had challenges, but the time in which I completed my studies was a whirlwind. I started seminary six months before the pandemic shutdowns began. And since that moment, my seminary experience was forever changed. My ministry put me at the heart of nearly every major societal ‘moment’ we’ve had since. Added into the mix were moves to South Carolina, Massachusetts, and back to Pennsylvania. Then, just as this final school year began, my grandmother passed away from cancer.
“I would have gone insane if not for the strength of Christ. If not for the guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit, I would not have been able to endure this journey. God provided me with a loving and supportive community in my family, my girlfriend Amanda, my parents Sherri and Roger Jr., many friends, and multiple faithful congregations all who prayed for me through this journey. As I look back, all I can say is thank God for all of them.
“Graduating from seminary is not really ‘the end’ of anything, but instead a beginning. It represents a major step on my journey towards ordained ministry and military chaplaincy. But it also represents the obtaining of new knowledge. Not just everything I learned in the classroom, but one important thing that I learned and relearned again and again out of it: that God has blessed me so abundantly, especially in the community God placed around me. Soli Deo Gloria!”
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