Pastor Karin Pejack: Ministering to the city in the “spirit of Homeland”

The Rev. Dr. Karin Pejack cherishes the shared history between Homeland and the historic church she shepherds – Zion Lutheran Church, one of Homeland’s founders.

“We’ve been impressed with the care residents receive at Homeland and the caring community,” Pejack said. “You’re so lucky to have a chapel and chaplains. It’s a wonderful place. I’ve found the staff here consistently very friendly and welcoming.”

The dynamic reverend was the featured speaker for The 1867 Society of Homeland’s member appreciation event in May. In her remarks, she explored the meaning behind the ties between two of Harrisburg’s most historical institutions — Homeland Center, founded in 1867 as the “Home for the Friendless,” and Zion Lutheran Church, where in 1839, the Whig Party nominated William Henry Harrison as its candidate for president.

Pejack grew up in the Reading-area town of Robesonia. Her father worked at a printing business, and her mother, a one-time high school German teacher, was a community volunteer. Her busy mother served on the local school board and continues to be active in her local church, including support of their outreach efforts.

“You want to give back to the community where you live,” Pejack said while sitting in the Homeland Diner. “You want to make a difference.”

Pejack graduated from Smith College in Northampton, MA, with bachelor’s degrees in German and World Religions. During her junior year and after graduation, she spent time in Germany. Overseas study and work could be challenging, but country-hopping by rail throughout Europe offered “a wonderful adventure.”

After realizing that her conversations often turned to religion, Pejack enrolled in the Lancaster Theological Seminary and, following her graduation was ordained through the United Church of Christ before finding her theological fit in the Lutheran church.

Today, her congregation is affiliated with the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

“Christ is our center, our anchor, our rock, and that has never been more powerfully needed than in the quicksand of the world today,” she said. “We also practice grace and mercy. When we acknowledge that we need that and have been so blessed to receive it unmerited from Christ, who’s paid the penalty for us, how can we deny being forgiving, gracious, and merciful to others?”

She joined Zion in 2009 as a part-time assistant pastor while caring for her school-age son, who is deaf and on the autism spectrum. A few years later, she became head pastor for the downtown Harrisburg church.

“We are in the middle of a mission field,” Pejack said. “The church acts as a beacon for downtown residents, ministering to their spiritual needs while partnering with providers and church collaboratives to help feed and house the homeless.

Pejack met her husband of 24 years, Todd Pejack, in seminary, although he built his career as a recycling specialist with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Now retired, he serves as Zion Lutheran’s part-time office administrator and handyman — a welcome value-add for a building that dates to 1839. He also helps conduct Zion’s outreach ministry and leads a monthly Bible study at Bethesda Mission, a Harrisburg homeless shelter.

“I’m very blessed,” Pejack said. “He has a wonderful, loving personality and is very skilled. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

The Pejack family – Karin, Todd, their son, and Todd’s two adult children – feel fortunate to enjoy frequent visits with Karin’s parents in Wyomissing and Todd’s mother in Bedford. They enjoy movies, reading, sometimes competitive game nights, and laughing in the spirit of Karin’s favorite Bible verse, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Pejack was amazed to learn about Homeland’s history and the role of her church in its founding. Zion Lutheran was one of nine Harrisburg churches, and each elected two women members to help create a home that would care for the city’s women and children widowed and orphaned by the Civil War.

Those women “chose to serve” amid extraordinary need in their midst, Pejack said.

“They didn’t need to do it necessarily, but it was on their hearts,” she said. “That’s what it means to live out our faith – to love God and serve our neighbor.”

Their legacy continues today in The 1867 Society of Homeland, founded in 2011. Through The 1867 Society, generous community members commit to donating $5,000 or more toward benevolent care – the funds that allow Homeland to continue its tradition of never asking a resident to leave due to inability to pay for care.

Members of The 1867 Society have the satisfaction of leaving a legacy that sustains exceptional care for years to come, plus the opportunity to enhance their gifts through the “Uplift Your Legacy” initiative that invites additional donations.

Pejack sees parallels between Zion Lutheran and Homeland because both provide services and love in the city.

Even today, Harrisburg’s churches still collaborate for the betterment of the community in the spirit of Homeland.

“Homeland’s founding women clearly had the gifts and talents that were right for the time, the place, and the need,” Pejack said. “God blesses us in many ways and calls us to serve.”