Apalachin's joyful Methodist pastor: 'You can hear his laughter in the next county'

“I knew (God) was calling," says the Rev. Leon Jicha Jr. "I just let the phone ring for a really long time."

Jicha pastors two Tioga County churches now, but had put aside the idea of becoming a minister, as his then-spouse didn’t want to be a pastor’s wife. Some time passed, and he was divorced and remarried. He ran his own business for years. Finally, he answered.

“I kind of felt that tap on the shoulder, like, ‘Alright, do you have any excuses now?’ And you know I got nothing. So I go off to school.”

Jicha had been a lay speaker in church and nursing homes. When he completed his studies in 2018, he served first as a youth minister for a couple of years.

“I was going through the process of becoming a pastor,” he said, “making connections in the community and just getting some real-life experience.”

Then in 2021, he started as pastor of what’s called a “two-point charge” in Tioga County. Jicha serves both Whittemore Hill and Apalachin United Methodist churches.

He draws inspiration from the scripture 2 Peter 4:8 — “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

“Sometimes we lose sight of that as a society," Jicha said. "You know we all have our difficulties, struggles. It seems to have gotten away from the focus on love.

“Pastors sometimes get caught up on being on that pedestal above us," he said. "I’m just kind of down to earth. I just want to be with the people. I just want to love on people. Just serving Jesus and trying to show his love to others.”

Not long ago, Jicha moved his family into the parsonage in Apalachin to be closer to the people. On a recent evening, he stopped at the home of a hospitalized church member to feed a dog. Then he went to church to set up for a funeral the next morning.

He calls funerals the best kind of grace for families experiencing a loss.

“Jesus dying on the cross that we might have eternal life,” Jicha said. “You're trying to inject them with that hope of Christ.”

“Leon is a person who's filled with the spirit and filled with joy,” said the Rev. Jan Clark, pastor of Fairview United Methodist Church in Binghamton, which is Jicha’s hometown church.

Clark notes how he was very active at Fairview and helped her start a praise band.

“He's just full of life,” she said. “You can hear his laughter in the next county.”

Jicha said he struggled as a kid sitting in a pews with worship that was serious. That’s not the way he is as a pastor.

“Laugh, let's have some fun,” he said. “You could be reverent and happy.”

Jicha added that it’s not about putting on a show, but a different kind of worship. It’s about joy and not “just sitting there.”

“I try to mix it up and have jokes in my sermon. I have a great time serving,” he said.

Jicha also looks toward a “connectional church.” He notes that while Whittemore Hill and Apalachin UMC are separate congregations, they work together on some things.

“Our Bible studies are combined. Christmas dinner we have coming up in December,” he said. ”We do that combined.”

Jicha said they also reach out to other congregations. Their organization, Brothers and Sisters for the Cross, invites a half-dozen smaller churches to take part in activities.

“We just picked 10,000 pounds of apples which we have distributed around the community,” he said.

They work with Apple Hills to gather leftover fruit donated from the orchards. Jicha said it took about 3½ hours to clear the trees, load it in cars and bring it to people.

Like other congregations, there’s been a focus on attendance at services as a result of COVID.

Jicha said some are not coming to church for whatever reason. But he’s seen about a 10% increase in members over the last 15 months.

“I've never felt more accepted or more loved at these two churches,” he added.

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The Rev. Leon Jicha Jr.

Position: Pastor, Whittemore Hill and Apalachin United Methodist churches.

Hometown: Binghamton.

Residence: Apalachin.

Education: Bachelor's degree in religious education, pastoral Studies with Biblical minor, Davis College, 2018.

Family: Wife, Kimberly; four kids (Jordan, Lyndsie, Haylie, & Hunter).

Hobbies: Collects Pokemon cards.

Favorite Bible verse: 2 Peter 4:8, "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Tioga County Methodist pastor has fun serving 2 churches