Pastor Gerald Smith is a man of faith and a man whose car has no air conditioning.

The first is very important, the latter not so much. It’s a good ride and most days runs like a charm.

Heatwave? No problem, he opens the windows and enjoys the fresh air. It whips through his black and silvery hair and the whiskers in his white beard.

But there is one thing Pastor Jerry wouldn’t mind having. Not a sports car or a SUV, but more parking spots at his church.

God, could you please work on that? Thank you Lord for your consideration.

The parking at Pastor Jerry’s church – St. Mark’s United Church of Christ in East Allentown – is limited. Make that very limited. Five spots, most of them handicap. Sure, there is the street, but the street is only so long.

Back in the “glory days” of the church when communities were built around faith, families would get up Sunday morning, fry a few eggs, butter some toast, make a pot of coffee and then put on their Sunday best and walk to church. They left the jalopy in the garage.

“Those were back in the glory days of this church, probably during the 1950s,” Smith said.

Elvis isn’t around anymore and neither are the 50s, but the King of Rock and Roll still reigns for many and the last time Pastor Jerry checked, the true king will forever reign.

On Sept. 16, St. Mark’s threw a party in Pastor Jerry’s honor celebrating the silver anniversary of his ordination and frankly, Pastor Jerry wonders how it all happened. How in the world did he get here? Twenty-five years pass by like nothing. But being a minister is almost unbelievable. Unbelievably great.

“I can’t imagine doing anything else,” Pastor Jerry said. Lots of people say that, but few mean it. Pastor Jerry means it. He loves his church, of which he’s been at two years, and he loves his congregation.

He was raised Roman Catholic and in the worst way wanted to be a priest. He tried like heck, but it wasn’t in the cards. Not because he quit, but as he puts it “they didn’t want me.”

Pastor Jerry wasn’t the type of young man who did real well at school. He is a very wise man. But formal education, well, that’s not his bag.

You’d think Pastor Jerry would harbor ill will toward Roman Catholicism, but he doesn’t. In fact, he appreciates the faith of his youth. In fact, he appreciates many denominations and faiths. That’s Pastor Jerry.

See, Pastor Jerry has his views. He’s opinionated. But not like the opinions you see on those cable news shows where everyone rolls their eyes and yells at each other. Rest assured, Pastor Jerry has deep thoughts. He just doesn’t think he’s the only one going to heaven. See, he thinks being a good pastor means rolling up your sleeves and being among your flock.

“Being a pastor means being with the people,” he said. “Sometimes you just don’t see that today.”

After he got the pink slip on the priest idea, he was down. But he eventually rose up and did some salt-of-the-earth employment.

Now most folks wouldn’t be enamored with what Pastor Jerry did and the pay wasn’t all that hot either. For example, one of the best was the chef apprentice gig in Philly where he was paid $3.25 an hour. But it was in one of these jobs he found the love of his life, Cheryl, in of all places a Wawa convenience store.

See, God does work in mysterious ways.

So Jerry had Cheryl and Cheryl had Jerry. Last month they celebrated 39 years of bliss. “I’ve been blessed with four wonderful children...My wife is a gem.”

Back in the day, he said he had one major sin – a fierce temper. Never happy with his plight, always thinking the grass was greener on the other side.

“I was forced to work many dead-end jobs and I was never thankful for the blessings we received,” he said. Over time, he let those concerns fade away. Over time he began to understand like George Bailey did in “Its A Wonderful Life” that he was the richest man in town.

Today Pastor Jerry is a happy man. A family man.

“Family is very important to me,” Pastor Jerry said and if it’s true a picture says a thousand words then there must a 25,000 word manuscript in his office in St. Mark’s. It is plastered with photos of Cheryl, four children and grandchildren. It’s also crammed with plenty of books and a chair for guests you don’t want to get up from its so comfortable. Pastor Jerry makes coffee in his office and it’s darn good coffee. He’s happy to pour you a cup and hear what you have to say. Really hear what you have to say.

St. Mark’s has an older congregation. He said, “God never opens a church to close it,” but sometimes bad things happen in this world. Or, to put it differently, mortals aren’t meant to always understand everything going on here. That’s why it’s called “faith.” Don’t worry, God has it under control. Matter of fact, Pastor Jerry says, the Lord has everything under control.

Pastor Jerry recently gave a sermon about praying. The sermon was titled “Teach Me To Pray,” The responsive reading that day was Psalm 146. He reads several scriptures. His sermon is equal parts questioning, challenging and comforting.

Pastor Gerald Smith has done his job. Like his bumper sticker on his car says, he works for a Jewish carpenter. For him, even after a quarter century, it’s the best job in the world.

Now, if God would only do something about those parking spots.