I Am Not Afraid

About the Book

This is the account of the first seventy years of a remarkable life which doctors predicted would never last beyond half that. Using a wheelchair as the means of mobility, Mel Schoonover's journey began in Indiana, has made its way through New York, Pennsylvania, and finally Florida. Ordained in 1956, his ministry has alternately emphasized being pastor to congregations and in involvement in theological education. It began in New York's "Spanish Harlem" as administrator of an ecumenical inner city ministry. For ten years he was pastor of a largely black congregation in Harlem, noted for its social ministries, during the height of the Civil Rights struggles. Later he served a multicultural congregation in Brooklyn, and an affluent suburban church near Philadelphia. For nearly ten years he was academic dean of New York Theological Seminary, and moved to Florida in 1983 to develop South Florida Center for Theological Studies. He describes his life as a "love story." This book will make you laugh, maybe even cry. It will inform the reader how one lives with constant change and risk. It may well help the reader to live joyfully as well.

About the Author

Mel Schoonover is officially retired, but continues to involve himself in the areas of his greatest commitments: Pastoral ministry, theological education, and peace and justice issues. He and his wife, Diana, live in Miami, Florida.