THE REVEREND DAVID SEYLE, UNITED METHODIST PASTOR-IN-RESIDENCE

David was born in Savannah in the Old Candler Hospital in the building that overlooks Forsyth Park.  He  “met” Claudia in the nursery of Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church.  The family story is that David’s mother remarked she would someday steal baby Claudia to be the daughter she never had.  The need for kidnapping may have been moot as the two children grew up in Savannah, attended Armstrong State, and were married at Asbury Memorial in 1971.

In 1972, the Seyles moved to Atlanta where David took a position as Music Director at a United Methodist Church, while also studying at the Candler School of Theology of Emory University.  He earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1975 and his Doctor of Ministry degree in 1976

David began his career as a pastor in Midway, Georgia, moving on to Macon in 1979 where until 1984 he was pastor at Bass United Methodist Church.  Claudia finished her BA degree at Wesleyan College, also in Macon, in 1982, the same year they both earned  pilot’s licenses.  They returned to Savannah for seven years while David was pastor at Whitefield United Methodist Church.

In 1991 they moved to Cuthbert, Georgia.  David was pastor at Cuthbert United Methodist Church and Chaplain at Andrew College.  In 1993 David became Associate Professor of Religion and two years later he was appointed Academic Dean and Professor of Religion.  In 2006 he was asked to serve as President of Andrew College.  Having earned her MA in Humanities at Florida State in 1999, Claudia became Assistant Professor and then Associate Professor of Humanities at Andrew.

David and Claudia officially retired in 2014 and returned to Savannah. They found a home at Christ Church where its worship dovetailed perfectly with David’s doctoral study in liturgy and music. Retirement has given them time to pursue their love of travel, spending time in Europe, Peru and Egypt. Unable to completely refrain from teaching, the couple spent January 2016 in a village in Rajasthan, India, helping school students develop their conversational English.