BUCKHANNON – Members of the Chapel Hill United Methodist Church in Buckhannon recently welcomed a new pastor.

The Rev. Paul Rebelo said he arrived in his new home in Buckhannon in late June and started with Chapel Hill UMC on July 1.

Rebelo said he and his wife, Christine, have been married 25 years. Christine will be teaching second grade at French Creek Elementary School in the Fall, and they are the parents of four children – Montgomery, Rachel, Emily and Lawrence.

Rebelo said he learned a lot about the Buckhannon area as when he brought his children to West Virginia Wesleyan College.

“My oldest son, Lawrence, lives in Washington, D.C. and is in his last year in the seminary,” Rebelo said. “My oldest daughter, Emily, lives in Pittsburgh, Pa. and attends Pitt. Both of my oldest children graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College.”

Rebelo said his son, Montgomery, is a currently a sophomore at WVWC and his youngest, Rachel, is 16 years old and will be a junior at Buckhannon-Upshur High School.

He grew up in the New England area in Danbury, Connecticut, and attended college in West Virginia at the University of Charleston.

“I was asked to come and serve as pastor at the Wesley United Methodist Church in Kingwood,” Rebelo said. “I was there for six years before being invited to come to Chapel Hill UMC in Buckhannon.”

He said he is enjoying Buckhannon and finds the community members to be very friendly.

“Buckhannon is very friendly,” he said. “I like that people here are still looking out for one another.”

Rebelo said he was inspired to become a minister because of his tremendous experiences while attending St. Andrew United Methodist Church in St. Albans and by the teaching of Dr. Paul H. Smith.

“I just knew I wanted to be a minister,” Rebelo said. “I came to my faith at St. Andrew UMC.”

He said while in Buckhannon, he hopes to help community members work on loving God, loving themselves and loving their neighbors and utilize community outreach to demonstrate Christ’s kindness.

“I am thrilled to be here in Buckhannon and to be the pastor here at Chapel Hill UMC,” Rebelo said. “If you need to contact me, call the church office at 304-472-6904. I am happy to be here and I am looking forward to meeting and worshiping with everyone.”

The Chapel Hill UMC is located at 88 S. Kanawha St. in Buckhannon and has a Facebook page. Their website is www.chapelhillum.com. Rebelo said currently they have in-person services and those attending are required to wear a mask and practice social distancing. They also offer live-streaming of their services, which are from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. each Sunday.