Love is a basic tenet of Christianity and Reverend Steve Barch has devoted his life to sharing God’s love with others. The paths of such a vocation have been varied, but the journey continues to offer him many opportunities to share the Good News.

Reverend Steve was born in May of 1966 in Detroit, the 10th of 11 children. To this day, he’s convinced he was his mother’s favorite although he also knows every one of his ten siblings believes they were the favorite child. He says he never went through the rather typical “I don’t like you” rebellious stage with his parents. He speaks of them, they are both deceased now, with great affection and respect.  “Mom made each kid feel so special,” he says fondly.

In a large, devout Catholic family, it is not unusual for a son to make the decision to become a priest. In the Barch family, two sons made that decision. Both Steve and his oldest brother Howard were ordained in Peoria in May of 1993. Steve was assigned to a Peoria church. “I loved being a priest,” he says. “But it was a lonely lifestyle, and I found it especially lonely coming from a strong devoted family.” After much consideration and prayer, he made the difficult decision to leave the priesthood in the spring of 1995.

He says his decision was met with some strong feelings from his family. “I think it was a disappointment initially. At first they had a hard time with it. My mom was the first to be accepting. Others took longer to understand.” His brother, who is a priest in the Rockford Diocese, was supportive of his decision, and could understand his reasons for leaving although he (Howard) chose to remain an active priest.

For Reverend Steve, leaving the priesthood did not mean giving up strong Christian beliefs. “God is active in our lives and we can live in God’s love every day. Faith is so wonderful and can help you in your life, although Christians still deal with hardships,” he says.

Not only has his spiritual journey included interesting pathways, so has his career. He worked as a probation officer for over eight years, has counseled victims of domestic violence, and currently is a domestic violence counselor for perpetrators through programs at Center for Prevention of Abuse. He also works at Kroger’s, and pastors the Union Church at Brimfield, UCC (United Church of Christ) and Parkview Church, UCC on Gale and University in Peoria.

“Getting back into ministry was fantastic,” he says. He took courses in Chicago and in 2004 became “officially” active in ministry again. But he’s quick to point out that the various work he does, both in the secular arena and in the church, all offer opportunities to minister to others and share God’s message of love. “It has different aspects to it,” he says, “but ministry is available in all of it.”

Reverend Steve, and the love of his life, his wife Lisa, are the parents of two sons, Kale and Craig. The family lives in Peoria. Sundays are busy with church services first in Brimfield, and then later in Peoria. “They are both unique congregations,” he says, and is pleased that membership is growing. He credits the staff at both churches for their help and involvement. “There are wonderful people that take care of many details to make this possible,” he says gratefully, adding, “There are benefits to serving both churches. It certainly makes things interesting.” His candor and willingness to share his story with both members and visitors to the churches also makes for interesting dialogue.

He believes that “our human life helps us to understand our faith life.” And he passionately follows the command to love one another, emphasizing, “my job is to love you not judge you. God never said ‘judge them.’ God said ‘love them.’”

Grateful for his Catholic religious background, and his opportunities to minister to others, he says, “with the path I took, God has used my decision to bring good from it and I am able to help others.” He believes Faith is a personal journey, and that it’s essential to be open and affirming to those on that journey. “We love and help people where they are,” he says. “I don’t ever want to close a door that doesn’t need to be closed.” Reverend Steve is much more interested in opening doors to those seeking God or those renewing their commitment to God.