John E Harnish

Rev. Dr. John E. Harnish is an ordained United Methodist pastor, the Pastor Emeritus at First United Methodist Church, Birmingham, MI. A native of Clarion, PA he was ordained in the Western Pennsylvania Conference of the UMC and served churches in Western Pennsylvania and Michigan, including First UMC Ann Arbor, MI and First UMC Birmingham, MI. For seven years, he was the Associate General Secretary for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church. In that...See more

Rev. Dr. John E. Harnish is an ordained United Methodist pastor, the Pastor Emeritus at First United Methodist Church, Birmingham, MI. A native of Clarion, PA he was ordained in the Western Pennsylvania Conference of the UMC and served churches in Western Pennsylvania and Michigan, including First UMC Ann Arbor, MI and First UMC Birmingham, MI. For seven years, he was the Associate General Secretary for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church. In that role, he worked with seminaries and programs of clergy education and was involved in the work of the World Methodist Council around the world.He has served on the Boards of Trustees for the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, Adrian College and the Baltic Methodist Theological Seminary in Estonia. As a writer, he has published two previous books, The Orders of Ministry in the United Methodist Church and Do Not Be Afraid: Bishops and Young Clergy Share Signs of Resurrection and Words of Hope. He is a frequent columnist for MIConnect, the Michigan UM online magazine and the Record Patriot newspaper in addition to his weekly blog "Monday Memo" which can be found at JackHarnish.wordpress.com. In 2019 he received the Donn Doten Award of excellence from the United Methodist Association of Communicators. A graduate of Ashbury College and Ashbury Theological Seminary, he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and was awarded the Eliza Garrett Distinguished Service Award in 2013. Jack, as he is often known, is married to Judith Harnish. They have two sons who are both in education and he makes his home on Platte Lake in Northern Michigan. See less