Courtesy Photo After 16 years as a missionary in what was formerly East Germany, the Rev. Lisa Kay Comingore Smith has been named pastor of Hyattstown Christian Church. She finds that being the leader of a small 100-member congregation is similar in some ways to her mission experience.

It was 16 years ago, but another era altogether. Bill Clinton had not yet been inaugurated, the Internet was barren, and, of course, it was long before 9/11, the Iraq War and the collapse of the U.S. banking system.

Barely two years after German reunification, Christian churches in the East, having survived Communist rule, were still trying to figure out their role as the two countries merged into a secular Western democracy.

"The church had been about the only place where people could speak freely (in East Germany)," Smith said. "It was to the credit of the churches that the (Berlin) Wall fell nonviolently. The church opened its doors and empowered people. And it was out of churches that people would storm on Monday nights holding candlelight vigils (in protest of communist oppression) and say, 'We are the people.'"

Christian churches were where East Germans could meet and discuss the practice of nonviolence, Smith said.

"After World War II, especially in East Germany, where people were very conscious of the historical role their country had played in two world wars, the practice of nonviolence became very important in the Christian community."

East German Christians read and studied the examples of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., she said.

Smith, who holds a master's in divinity from the Lexington Theological Seminary, and her husband, who holds a master's degree from the Patterson School of Diplomacy at the University of Kentucky, worked as missionaries through the Global Ministries until August 2008.

Projects such as theirs dried up in former Eastern Bloc countries as missionary efforts shifted to Third World countries, so Smith and her family -- the couple have an 11-year-old son -- returned to the United States.

New energy

Smith is adjusting to her new role as pastor after a career spent in mission work. She admits she is "not tremendously confident" yet.

But being the leader of a 100-member congregation is similar in some ways to her mission experience, she said.

"When you are away on mission, you become used to making family from those around you, and that's what we did in Germany," she said. "And as pastor, the congregation becomes your extended family. We feel very much at home. The church has been wonderful, very welcoming."

Smith replaces the Rev. Terry Reister, who retired after 25 years, in July 2008. the Rev. Ben Manning had been leading the congregation as interim pastor.

Hyattstown Christian Church is a Disciples of Christ congregation. The Disciples of Christ is loosely affiliated with the United Church of Christ, sharing a cooperative agreement where each denomination recognizes each other's ministers and members.

Members of the Hyattstown church are mostly over 50, said Teresa Hearl, editor of the congregation's monthly newsletter. Along with Smith's unique background and gifts, Hearl said the church hopes the new pastor's energy -- and the fact that she is the mother of a school-age boy -- will attract younger families.

No grand vision

Despite its small size, the congregation is heavily involved in community service work. Members run an annual three-day summer camp for children of adults incarcerated in Montgomery County jail, fund a school supplies effort in Malawi, donate to Hope Alive, a ministry for homeless women and children in Frederick County, and volunteer at the Frederick Community Action Agency's soup kitchen.

Smith said she is still getting familiar with all the committees.

She hasn't -- and probably won't -- create a grand vision for the church.

"Sometimes it can very dangerous to say what we want to do and how we are going to do it," she said. "God designs how things are going to be done, and in that way, what we want to do is prepare and follow God and see what comes from that."

Since her return, she has been surprised at the sea change she sees in the United States, she said. The country seems more politically divided and more militaristic. When she left for Germany, it was a time of relative prosperity and peace for the U.S.

"Everybody sees Germany as such a violent country because of the two world wars, but it is so different today," Smith said. "They did not jump into Iraq or Afghanistan militarily. They offered support, but it was limited militarily."

Smith served in three formerly East German communities; the last was in Berlin. People there seem better able to talk without hostility about the political and religious issues of the day, she said.

"I think that's something we need to learn."