Community Presbyterian Church of Cambria names interim pastor

An Arizona clergyman has been hired as interim pastor of Community Presbyterian Church of Cambria.

A search committee recently announced its selection of Brant Baker, a native Californian who previously served congregations in Mobile, Ala., and Charlotte, N.C., during his 30 years of ministry.

The public is invited to help welcome the new pastor — his first sermon at the Cambria church, 2250 Yorkshire Drive, will be at the 10 a.m. services Sunday, Feb. 7.

Baker, 57, was the consensus choice for the position of transitional pastor, according to Stephen Overturf, a member of the search committee for the congregation that’s now affiliated with the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.

(According to church officials, some former members of Community Presbyterian are continuing to meet under the auspices of Presbyterian Church USA, and reportedly are planning their own house of worship in Cambria.)

According to Zac Chawinga, Community Presbyterian elder in charge of communication and membership, Baker “holds advanced degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary and Columbia Theological Seminary. … He has written extensively, including books on children’s ministry and prayer. … Reverend Baker brings an open approachable style, that when matched with a little Southern charm, take his sermons out of the ethereal into the physical.”

Baker also has been active in his communities, such as serving as executive director of the Scottsdale Charros, a nonprofit group of civic leaders committed to youth, education, sports and cultural enrichment.

He also is an enthusiastic hiker and golfer. Baker has mentioned a rim-to-rim Grand Canyon trail hike as one of his greatest life accomplishments, adding, however, that it is an experience he “hopes not to repeat.”

Baker is married with two grown children and a newborn grandchild. He and his wife, Karen Baker, are moving to Cambria this weekend, she said in a Jan. 18 email.

This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 12:06 PM with the headline "Community Presbyterian Church of Cambria names interim pastor."