Dale Seefeldt, who lived in India most of his life, was installed as pastor of Christian Education and Family Ministries on Sept. 8 at Ebenezer Mennonite church.

Despite his years in India, he holds a strong connection to Bluffton. His wife, Ruth, is the daughter of former Ebenezer pastor, Charles Warren. In addition Ebenezer Mennonite had earlier commissioned and sent he and his wife as missionaries.

“I moved to India in 1951 at the age of four,” Seefeldt said. “My parents were missionaries.”

After graduating from Houghton College with a bachelor’s degree in classics, Seefeldt joined the Army. Following that stint, he received a master’s of biblical studies from Wheaton College, and later obtained a master’s degree in linguistics from Northeastern Illinois.

He returned to India where, from 1976 to 2009, he was involved in Bible translation into Hindi. During the period he served as principal of Woodstock High School (1999-2005).

His most recent pastoral position was as a member of the pastoral staff at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Atlanta. The church had a large outreach to homeless persons.

He and his wife are parents for grown children.