By Rachel Slaughter 
  
          Located in North Lansdowne,
The Garden Church is like a safe haven for local families. Like the
celestial North Star, The Garden Church helps families navigate their personal
lives. Thanks to Pastor Timothy Thomson-Hohl, The Garden Church offers
a host of programs that keep parents and children entertained, productive,
and safe. The Rev. Timothy Thomson-Hohl, MDiv, BA, BA, is the Pastor
of The Garden Church, a United Methodist Community.    
          "We welcome everyone
to The Garden Church,"  Pastor Tim said.  "I hope that our church
can be a comfort to families in these tough times." 
          In 2008, The Garden
Church began an outreach ministry called "The Salt and Light Learning
Institute (S.A.L.L.I.)."  S.A.L.L.I. was created to be the umbrella
over a variety of programs designed to help children get involved in
arts and education. S.A.L.L.I. offers academic tutoring, and classes
in Shotokan karate, dance, acting, Japanese, Spanish, and S.A.T. preparation. 
          "I want The Garden
Church to be a place where families can find solutions to their problems,"
Pastor Tim said. 
         Pastor Tim, as he is affectionately
called, came to The Garden Church in 2004.  His goal was to serve the Lansdowne
community.  He had no intention of just giving lip service to the town's
motto "No place for hate."  Pastor Tim adopted the motto as
his own personal mission.  In that effort, he has opened his church doors
to people of many different ethnic backgrounds, and faiths.  
          An ordained minister, Pastor
Tim receives requests to marry couples in The Garden Church. Many couples
are delighted to find that the church is just one small part of the
larger picture. The old stone church is attached to another stone building equipped
with many classrooms, a thrift shop, a social hall, a dance hall, and
a chapel.  Pastor Tim invites couples to marry and celebrate their reception
all in one building. 
          Rev. Thomson-Hohl
is a graduate of Owen J. Roberts High School in Chester County, Pa,
earned a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Business Administration at
Thiel College in Northwest Pennsylvania and earned his Master's of Divinity
(MDiv) at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, MO. He is currently
at work on his Doctorate of Ministry Degree (DMin) from Chestnut Hill
College and Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He is married,
has three children and lives in Havertown, Pennsylvania.