Pastor Harv received his call to the ordained ministry of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America in 1970.  Having served three parishes over 34 years, he retired from the parish ministry in 2004 to accept a specialized call as Director of Stewardship for St. James’ Episcopal Church in Manhattan.  In 2006, he became the Director of Development for Hospice St. Joseph of the Roman Catholic Church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  As of May 1, 2007, Pastor chose not to renew his contract with Hospice St. Joseph and officially retired as an ELCA pastor, becoming a member of the New England Synod.  In August of 2007, he joined the staff of the Stamford Counseling Center.  This past December 1, 2007, he began a ministry as part-time Interim Minister for Emanuel Lutheran Church, New Haven. 

Having often served as our Sunday Supply pastor over the last several months, Pastor Harv is not a stranger at Emanuel Lutheran. Pastor Weitzel received his B.A. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, his Min. Div. from The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, and his Doctorate of Ministry in Clinical Pastoral Counseling from Drew University.  After almost four decades of parish ministry and serving as an extended staff counselor for several Lutheran social agencies in eastern Pennsylvania, Pastor Harv moved to Connecticut to accept a specialized call.  While a parish pastor in Pennsylvania, he also served on the Board of Directors’ for two Pennsylvania hospitals; Muhlenberg Hospital of Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley Hospital of Allentown

Pastor Harv enjoys reading, hunting, skiing and sailing.  He lives in Norwalk with his wife of 43 years, Janice.  He has two married daughters and four grand children who live in the area.  He and his family are members of St. Michaels Lutheran Church in New Canaan.