Police officers and pastors have a lot in common, according to the Rev. Elisandra Garcia, senior pastor at the Coaldale and Summit Hill United Methodist churches.

Pastor Eli makes that claim based on her personal experience and knowledge, holding a law enforcement degree from Lehigh Career Technical Institute and studying criminal justice at Northampton Community College before answering God's call to the ministry.Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Pastor Eli immigrated to this country with her parents, Angel Luis and Sandra Noemi Negron Garcia, as a young child. One of seven siblings, she came to place her faith in Jesus as a teen after experiencing the tragic loss of relatives and friends. Those losses helped her discover that "hard times, when dealing with a situation from a healthy perspective, can usher you into your God-given purpose. Afterall, no one escapes the feelings of losing someone, but there are healthy ways to deal with a loss."Citing her own situation as an example, she said her initial goal of a career in law enforcement led her to earn a degree from LCTI and begin her studies at NCC. She earned special honors while shadowing the Allentown Police Department. But God called her in a different direction, and she changed her major to general studies. After earning her associate degree in Pennsylvania, she attended Liberty University in Virginia, receiving a bachelor of science degree in multidisciplinary studies with a minor in biblical counseling. Then, it was on to Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem in pursuit of a master of divinity degree.While completing her studies, Eli kept busy with ministries at Wesley UM Church in Bethlehem and Memorial Church of the Holy Cross in Reading, dealing with large, multiethnic congregations. Those experiences were very different from her current position. "The Coaldale and Summit Hill churches are perfect illustrations of small churches with large hearts. Here, we have multigenerations, so when I get to know my congregants, I also get to know their families."Appointed to her current congregations last July by UMC Bishop Peggy Johnson, Pastor Eli believes strongly in the core values of family and faith, helping each other grow in a variety of ways. "The problem of crime can be tackled from many different angles," she said.As for the law police/pastor connection, Pastor Eli sees her current life path as still "protecting and serving, just in a different way."