Rev. Dr. Tony Sundermeier's Bio

Tony has served as Senior Pastor of First Pres. since August 2014. He is known for his relevant and theologically rich and relevant preaching, his advocacy for those experiencing homelessness and the working poor, his success in fundraising and capital campaigns, and his innovative leadership for congregational renewal in the 21st Century.

A native Philadelphian, Tony attended Eastern University graduating with a B.A. in Theology and Youth Ministry (1997). He earned his M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary (2003) and his doctorate in Missional Leadership from Missio Seminary in Philadelphia (2010).

Tony has been married to Rev. Dr. Katie Sundermeier since 2000. Katie is a part-time pastor on FPC Atlanta’s staff and the Executive Director of The Samaritan Counseling Center of Atlanta, a non-profit that provides affordable and accessible spiritually integrated mental health care. They have two sons, Jonathan and Luke.

After growing up Roman Catholic, Tony became a Presbyterian at Wayne Presbyterian Church. He was introduced to the church through a summer internship while at Eastern. He eventually served on staff at Wayne Pres as the High School Youth Director (1998-200). Tony and Katie served in a one-year full-time internship at the American Protestant Church in Bonn, Germany before completing their master’s degrees at Princeton Seminary. Tony was called as the Associate Pastor for Preaching and Teaching at Westminster Presbyterian Church in West Chester, PA (2003-2009. He was then called to serve as the Lead Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, PA (2009-2014).

Tony currently serves on the boards of Princeton Theological Seminary and Eastern University. His previous board service includes Presbyterian Homes of Georgia, Midtown Alliance, Agnes Scott College, Piedmont Park Conservancy, the Gospel and Our Culture Network, and Columbia Theological Seminary. He enjoys traveling with his family, spending time in the mountains of Western North Carolina, cooking, golf, and rooting for the four professional sports teams from Philadelphia. Go birds!