By Hector Flores
June Potthoff, a member of the church committee in charge of the event, called Kern a wonderful man. ³He reaches out to people and is just like the Energizer bunny,² Potthoff said. ³Many of the people who have attended this event came from out of town. He is just an example of a good Christian pastor.²
Ronnie Pleis, a church member for 56 years, said that churchgoers have complete trust in Kern. ³He lives right on 5th Street in East Meadow, and if you call him at any time of the day or night, he¹ll be there for you.²
Pleis added that many congregation members learned their faith from Kern¹s example. ³He is truly a man of God,² he said. ³There is nothing fancy about him ‹ he lives a simple life just serving the lord.²
Also in attendance were members of the East Meadow Fire District. William Neill, the district¹s commissioner, called Kern an exceptional man who serves not only the East Meadow community but its firefighters as well. ³He has been our chaplain for the last 50 years,² Neill said. ³Any time we need him, he is always there, even at the last minute. He attends all our memorial services, and over the years he has married may of our members.²
Neill added that although the department has had a number of chaplains, Kern has outlasted many others and is still very active.
Lois Kuppler, Kern¹s daughter, called the event a wonderful tribute. ³It was just an amazing time,² she said.
Kern was appreciative of the celebration and the well wishers, but said that he was fortunate to have started the church and guided its growth. ³I started the church on June 11, 1950, at a store on Hempstead Turnpike,² he recalled. ³Three months later, in September, we moved to this building.²
At the time, Kern said, Levittown was booming and there was a tremendous influx of young families. ³When we first arrived in East Meadow, I was 33 years old and my wife, Alma, was 28, and we were considered the oldest couple in the community,² he said.
Kern added that there were only 14 kids at the church¹s first Sunday School session, but these days the church had reached a peak of 800 kids. ³We had a tremendous opportunity here,² he said. ³We erected the present church building in 1964, and 10 years later we built an education building with a large gymnasium.²
Kern retired from Calvary in 1980, after 32 years of service, and has been an assisting minister at St. Paul¹s Lutheran Church in Amityville for the past 13 years. But despite his retirement, he considers Calvary his home. ³We still live in the community,² he said. ³Only three people are left who attended the original service ‹ my wife, myself and my oldest son, Tom, who was only four months old.²
Comments about this story? HFlores@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
