Pastor
Reverend Dr. Elon J. Sylvester
Rev. Elon Sylvester has served in an exemplary manner in all of his appointments over the years. He has faced the challenges of ecclesial leadership with courage and demonstrated excellent management and pastoral care skills. He intently improved his growing edges as he navigated the difficult road to full eldership and ordination in the Annual Conference of 2019.
Pastor Sylvester formerly pastored the Bellmore United Methodist Church where he led the congregation in extensive improvement projects to their facility and to their audio-visual ministries. He has labored with the congregation in developing new ministries of outreach and in transitioning their worship experience into a blend of traditional and contemporary styles so as to enhance the congregational appeal to its fast changing community.
Prior to his service at Bellmore, Rev. Sylvester was the founding pastor of The One Foundation Ministries, a new start church project which was an initiative of the New York Annual Conference’s Vision Bearers Program. This he did in conjunction with his wife, Tani, and other colleagues. They converted their pre-existing Bible study/Prayer group into a new church start In the North Eastern Bronx/Westchester area. This nascent church existed for over three years. TOFMin, which the new church was fondly called, grew into a thriving faith community with multiple auxiliaries including a Broadcasting Ministry from which was hosted a weekly two-hour radio program.
Pastor Sylvester and Tani are the parents of four beautiful children who are all actively engaged in ministry. They are Aphia, Sage, Elania and Jaiden. The Sylvesters have a passion for social justice and are actively engaged in developing extra-ecclesial ministries which assist formerly incarcerated people to be reintroduced into the workforce by offering in-field training in various professional trades. This secular assistance coupled with the discipline of spirituality and prayer, enable former offenders to experience the transformative power of God which empowers them to redefine and pursue better and more fulfilling futures.
Pastor Elon has graduated from the NYPD Citizens Police Academy program. He continues to pursue excellence as a clerical professional and is a graduate of the Drew University Doctor of Ministry (DMin.) program. Pastor Sylvester holds a Master of Divinity degree from Drew University. He also holds a master’s degree in Urban Policy and Administration from Brooklyn College, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from York College CUNY.
Ministry has been a lifelong passion of Rev. Sylvester, and excellence in ministry is his objective response to God’s call and the gifts that God has invested in him.
Music Ministries
Organist and Choir Master
Phil Glover
Assisting Musician
Joe Liles
Audio/Visual Technician
Elon Sage Sylvester
My name is Elon S. Sylvester. Most people call me Sage. I am the Audio/Visual Technician at The Westbury UMC. I am 17 years old, and I have been involved in audio/Visual ministry since I was seven.
My career as a tech started when my father, who pastored the new-start church which we attended, asked me to run the Powerpoint slides on Sundays. He told me that this was my ministry. I was proud and enthusiastic to be serving this way. Though it was demanding, I saw how much my dad and the church depended on me to be there. I decided to continue and to do the best I can.
I have been blessed with all that I have learned over the years. I was exposed to all the professional teams that has installed sophisticated equipment in the various churches that my father has since pastored. From these professionals I learned how to run multiple devices simultaneously to deliver the precise images and sound to the audiences to which we were ministering. Whether it was a wedding, a funeral, concerts, parties, or Sunday worship services, I was able to deliver a great audio/visual experience to God’s people.
In short order, and largely due to the pandemic, I was called upon to assist with getting our church broadcast-ready for virtual services, and to deliver our Sunday worship, and weekly bible studies to multiple online platforms such as Facebook live, Zoom, You Tube, etc. While I am still exploring the vastness of these Technological disciplines, we were able to get our church up and running, and to resolve all the issues that challenged us in this effort.
I have experienced much joy in this area of ministry. I wish to continually provide my services to my congregation, and to any other congregation that I can assist. I will also be furthering my studies at college in the field of audio/visual engineering in 2023. I am asking the Lord’s peace and guidance as I embark on this new chapter in my life.
Thank you and be blessed!!!!!!
Social Media Assistant
Jaiden Sylvester
