For nearly three decades, the Rev. Dr. Peter Kelley has been invited into the lives of Southold families at some of their best and worst moments.

Now, the leader of First Presbyterian Church of Southold is preparing to retire.

Pastor Kelley, who has led the congregation since 1998, will step down May 31, closing the longest chapter of his pastoral career. He will deliver his final sermon Sunday at 10 a.m. in the church sanctuary.

His wife, Penny Kelley, will also retire after 21 years working nearby at Southold Free Library, where she has served as teen services librarian.

Looking back, Pastor Kelley said he will carry with him not only the work of the church, but the trust people placed in him and his family.

“I can’t say enough how grateful I am for all of the trust and the goodwill people have offered me over the past 27 years, and the people who really let us into their lives, in ways that few people are allowed,” he told The Suffolk Times. “You see people in their best and in their worst. And I’ll take those stories with me forever and hold them in my heart.”

Pastor Kelley, who was ordained by the Elizabeth Presbytery in 1987, moved to Southold from Butler, Pa., in 1998, making First Presbyterian Church his third pastoral post. He and his wife saw the North Fork as a place where their children could grow up, attend school and graduate. They said they loved being near the water and felt Southold had the feel of a town from Jan Karon’s “The Mitford Years” series.

Over the years, Pastor Kelley could have looked elsewhere. At one point, he updated his résumé in case another church needed him — not because he wanted to leave. Nothing came of it.

Instead, he stayed in Southold, overseeing renovations to the church steeple, working with Maureen’s Haven to house people experiencing homelessness in the church’s manse, and launching the church’s Stepping Stones Program, which allows a local family facing a housing crisis to live on the premises for one year rent-free or at a reduced cost, depending on the family’s income.

But when asked what he is most proud of, Pastor Kelley didn’t point to buildings or programs — he recognized a change in the congregation’s posture toward the community.

He said the church has become more “outwardly focused” and “more involved and aware in the community.”

Today, he said, members increasingly ask questions such as, “What can we do to help the community? What can we do to get out of the building?”

Pastor Kelley also said he is proud that the church helped support four women as they entered ministry.

One of them is Kirsty Dickson-Maret, now minister at Middle Island Presbyterian Church in Ridge.

“One of Peter’s many gifts is that he seeks and finds glimpses of the love of Christ in the curiosity of children,” she said. “He has related that conversations with children can lead us into wonderful explorations of faith that can rejuvenate and refresh. Although both Peter and Penny will be greatly missed, their legacy of caring and nurturing will continue to resonate in the Southold community for many years to come.”

Church member Heather Lee was saddened Pastor Kelley’s retirement.

“Peter’s moving on is bittersweet, but the church is very happy for Peter and Penny’s new journey, even though it is a hard loss for the church,” Ms. Lee said.

Ms. Lee first came to the church 18 years ago and said she immediately felt it was the right place for her because of Pastor Kelley’s personality and enthusiasm. Looking ahead, she said the next pastor will have “big shoes to fill.”

Penny Kelley also forged deep ties through the library, forming relationships with generations of young residents.

Recently, one young patron wrote a message on the blackboard beside her desk: “Ms. Penny, we will miss you forever.”

First Presbyterian Church of Southold has assembled a hiring committee and will begin the process of finding a new pastor. The church has also secured substitute ministers to fill the pulpit for the three months following Pastor Kelley’s departure.

After retirement, the Kelleys plan to “trade the water for the mountains” and move upstate, where they will focus on renovating their home — carrying with them the stories of a community that let them in.

The post Southold pastor Peter Kelley to retire after 27 years, deliver final sermon Sunday appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

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