McCalla, whose wife Pam is stated supply pastor at Eleanor (W.V.) Church, had just finished serving breakfast at the Cabell-Lincoln Workcamp south of Huntington, according to camp director Rick Wilson. The camp is a Presbyterian-sponsored project and works in the area to rebuild and improve housing.
“The whole presbytery is shocked,” said Gay Mothershed, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of West Virginia. “Mark was a gifted minister with a special connection to youth and the outdoors. He has been an active member of the Committee on Ministry and has served as a mentor to other pastors,” she added.
Mothershed continued, “We also feel the arms of the entire denomination surrounding not only Pam and the family, but our whole presbytery as we try to make sense of this tragedy.”
“It is at times like these – when senseless things happen – that we are most thankful for God’s grace.”
Funeral services were held June 23 at Highlawn Church with Mike Ducheneau officiating; he is pastor of Bates Memorial Church in Huntington.
Members of Highlawn Baptist Church, located a block from the Presbyterian church, provided a dinner after the funeral and provided video and audio equipment and personnel to broadcast the funeral service in a church meeting room for the overflow crowd in attendance.
McCalla had been pastor at Highlawn since March 1, 2004. He was ordained on July 31, 1994 and served as pastor of First Church in Corry, Pa., until June of 1996 when he moved to First Church in Franklin, Pa. He moved to Highlawn after serving as a designated pastor at Hoge Memorial in Columbus, Ohio, for two years.
“This is a tragedy to us,” Charlie Woolcock, an elder at Highlawn told The (Huntington) Herald-Dispatch. “This has broken all of our hearts. Everybody, all they can do is pray for our congregation, our church and, number one, pray for the family.
“God sent Mark McCalla to Highlawn Presbyterian Church,” he said. “For us to lose someone that we worked with for four and a half years, it is heartbreaking. It is a shock.”
Two U.S. Army deserters are now in custody facing first degree murder charges in McCalla’s death. They are Spc. Daniel Smith, 22, of Newport News, Va., and Pvt. 1st Class Stephen Wilson, 19, of Cincinnati, Ohio.
