Published: May 02, 2008 11:14 pm            

Preacher's wife lends voice to choir, conservation efforts

SOMERSET — Amanda Deal readily admits she isn’t the best singer, but that doesn’t stop her from trying.

Deal, whose husband, Matt, is pastor at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Somerset, sings in the choir and recently entertained students along with a co-worker at the Somerset Conservation District.

The 26-year-old Somerset woman and co-worker Keith Largent, a popular country singer in the area, sang about hybrid poplar trees during Outdoor Heritage at Quemahoning Reservoir.

“The kids seemed to like it a lot, especially the younger kids,” Deal said with a laugh.

As for the church choir: “I’m not very good, but I like doing it. By being the preacher’s wife, they let me sing, anyways.”

Actually, she’s better than that, her husband said.

“She’s her own worst critic,” Rev. Deal said. “She sings pretty well. She has a good voice for our choir.”

Rev. Deal described his wife’s musical style as eclectic.

“She enjoys playing the guitar and singing everything from Bach to Johnny Cash,” he said.

Raised in Ravenswood, W.Va., a town on the Ohio River near Parkersburg, Deal earned a graduate degree from Frostburg University in Maryland in May 2005, got married a month later, and moved to Somerset a month after that.

So far, she enjoys living in the borough, though she is no fan of the snow.

“I like it here, but winter’s not my favorite,” she said. “I don’t like cleaning off my car every day. I guess that’s incentive to build a garage.”

Her husband has been pastor at St. Paul’s UCC for nearly three years.

Deal currently is working at the Conservation District through the AmeriCorps program. Come August, she will begin full time as environmental educator and resource scientist.

She mainly does conservation programs at schools, along with stream studies such as a comprehensive look at the Stonycreek River watershed. She also is coordinator of the county Envirothon, an environmental competition for students.

Deal is talented with global information systems, mapping and water quality, said Largent, the Conservation District’s erosion-control technician.

More than that, he said Deal is “the type of person people can open up to easily.

“She’s very friendly, amicable, nice, charming and always smiling,” Largent said. “She’s very nice to be around.”

In her spare time, Deal is learning to fly fish.

“I’m just now starting to catch trout,” she said.

As a preacher’s wife, Deal concedes there is some pressure. But she said she’s received terrific support from Lyn Schellenberger, whose late husband formerly was a pastor at the church.

“It’s nice to have her around,” Deal said. “She’s been a mentor.”

Rev. Deal said his wife gets the most out of life, whether it’s with her family, friends, work or church.

“What I enjoy about her is that she’s a very generous person, a person who enjoys getting to know other people and learning about them,” he said.

        

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