Apr 7, 2016 5 min read

Since it was founded in 1775, Chartiers Hill United Presbyterian Church in Canonsburg has had 14 ministers.

On Jan. 31, the Rev. Donald C. Austin, who was named pastor in 1978, gave his last sermon from the pulpit, where he first preached 38 years earlier.

The congregation at Hill Church, where Austin became a beloved figure for his steadfast, humble guidance and gentle humor over his nearly four decades of service, plans to send Austin off with fanfare. On Sunday, church members will hold a luncheon to celebrate Austin’s years of service. An open house will be held from 1:30 to 3 p.m., following the luncheon.

The January service, however, was a bittersweet occasion, and it revealed the deep bond between Austin and his congregation.

Men and women dabbed at their eyes with tissues and shared stories about how Austin was present for some of the best and worst moments of their lives: births, deaths, weddings, divorces and job losses.

“Don has been a true spiritual leader for me. He follows in Christ’s footsteps as closely as any man I have ever met in my life,” said longtime congregation member Dick Holsen of North Strabane Township. “He lives what he preaches, and that inspires me. He’s a very caring, loving, spiritual person.”

Austin was born in Woodbridge, N.J., near Staten Island, N.Y., the son of James Carl Austin, an employee of Bell Telephone Co., and Eleanor, a bookkeeper for a furniture company.

He grew up a short distance from Yankee Stadium and dreamed of being a major league baseball player, “but reality set in in high school and college that that wasn’t going to happen,” he chuckled. “I was the left-hander they kept around for batting practice.”

Austin was active in his church, First Presbyterian Church of Avenel, throughout high school and college, and it was during his years at Westminster College that he decided to pursue the ministry. He received his doctorate in divinity from Princeton University.

“I don’t think there’s any area of ministry that I didn’t find meaningful,” said Austin, who especially enjoyed his involvement with the church youth group and the spiritual development of children.

“One of his gifts is that he is able to be so personal with every person,” said Lynn Berry Doehring, a congregation member who was 10 years old when Austin became pastor at the church. “It doesn’t matter if you met him once. He remembered you, your situation, your parents, your kids’ names. He had an ability to care for people at the most intimate of levels.

“I also am amazed by his ability to be so incredibly humble. And he was fun. He was the first one to get on a set of skis, the first one to jump off a high dive. He was always up for a game of laser tag or softball or white-water rafting. He never shied away from a challenge. How could you not love him, and who he is and what he brought to our lives?”

Church members recall Austin’s gift for preparing thought-provoking sermons – which often included the escapades of his bloodhound, T.J., and references to the comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes” – and his endearing absent-mindedness.

“He reminds me of Columbo. He’s this brilliant mind who was always patting his suit jacket in search of his glasses, or looking for his misplaced sermon,” Doehring said. “And his sermons were the best. He often mentioned T.J. and ‘Calvin and Hobbes.’ We’re probably the only Presbyterian church in the United States that, when Don said ‘Calvin,’ we didn’t know if he was going to talk about John Calvin or ‘Calvin and Hobbes.’ And sometimes, we got both.”

Austin’s selfless willingness to help people in need stood out.

“He’s been so helpful to so many people. He gave so much of his time ministering to people in their time of need, day or night, I don’t know how he did it,” church member Nancy Magera of Canonsburg said. “He glorified God, made disciples of men, and met human need. That’s how he lived. He’s always been there for everyone.”

Austin recalled advice from a minister who told him the key to being a good minister is “you have to love the people.”

“Obviously, you’re preaching the message of Scripture and salvation in Christ, but the idea is to be in communion with people. It’s more than simply a quaint thing to baptize someone, teach them in Sunday school, confirm them, then perform their wedding, baptize their children and be with them at any point if there is a tragedy,” Austin said. “Your life is intertwined with other people’s lives, and it’s all intertwined with the gospel.”

Austin plans to continue his involvement with Meals on Wheels in Canonsburg, where he serves as liaison for the Greater Canonsburg Houston Ministerial Association, and will serve as a substitute minister in the Washington Presbytery.

He also plans to spend more time with his wife, Sharon, and the couple, who enjoy gardening, want to create a “miniature arboretum” on their property, complete with trees, plants and walking trails that friends, neighbors and family can use.

And, he’ll attend more Pittsburgh Pirates games.

A Hill Church pastoral search committee is reviewing applications for an interim minister and plans to appoint a permanent minister within a year.

Said Austin, “What an honor it has been to be a citizen of Southwestern Pennsylvania and to serve God and Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, and all of the phenomenal people I’ve met along the way.”