Rev. Dr. Susan Gilbert Zencka

Susan Gilbert Zencka grew up in Pennsylvania, in Delaware County (with summers at the family cabin in the Poconos), and moved to the midwest after college. She is a third-career pastor, working first as an electrician apprentice at US Steel (where she met her husband of 42 years, Carl), and as a CPA, before finally responding to a persistent call to ministry. She served 24 years in pastoral ministry in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin before retiring in 2021 to move closer to her Dad, and her and Carl’s three sons and their families. She researched a number of communities in PA before they decided to settle in the Lehigh Valley, and has been worshiping at First Presbyterian since moving to their home three blocks away. In retirement, she is enjoying knitting, quilting, being active in the presbytery, and most of all, being a grandmother. She and Carl had one grandchild when they moved here in 2021. They now have 5 grandchildren, 4 little boys, and their newest grandchild, a girl who was born on June 12. She loves being a part of the FPCA community.