Pastor Cynthia J. Fazzini was called to Holy Communion in February 2001, after having served congregations in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod—first as the pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia for 8-1/2 years, and then briefly as the interim pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in northeast Philadelphia and as associate interim pastor of God’s Love Lutheran Church in Newtown, Bucks County
A 1990 graduate of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, she was awarded the Master of Divinity degree with a concentration in biblical studies and served as a teaching assistant for New Testament Greek for three terms. She served the seminary community as president of the student body and president of her senior class. Her field-education work was done in Philadelphia and Wyndmoor, and she interned under Pr. John Carlson at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Coatesville, Pa. As a parish pastor she served for five years as part of a team that taught a required course for senior seminarians, “The Pastor as Theologian.”
Prior to entering seminary, Pastor Cynthia had a successful career in medical publishing—as the editor and librarian at The Animal Medical Center in New York City and as editor and managing editor of serial publications at W.B. Saunders Company in Philadelphia. As a laywoman she was a member of Holy Communion Lutheran Church in Center City Philadelphia, where the Rev. Dr. Gilbert E. Doan was pastor and encouraged her to consider seminary and Word and Sacrament ministry.
A native of New York City, Pastor has one sister (Eileen) and one brother (James), who still reside there. She received the Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Mount St. Vincent in New York, where she majored in philosophy and minored in English and biology. She enjoys cooking and baking and is an avid needleworker, specializing in counted cross-stitch reproductions of early British and American samplers. She shares her parsonage home with two male tabby cats, Baxter and Mango. Baxter will greet anyone who visits and will quietly join the company gathered for conversation in the living room. Mango, however, has never been seen by visitors, and few believe he actually exists.
