New Nazarene pastor pulls double duty

Mickey McCandless balances time between Sandy church and chaplain job

By Marcus Hathcock

The Sandy Post, Aug 30, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

New pastor Mickey MCcanDless says he's received a warm welcome from his church and the community.

marcus hathcock / the sandy post

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Although the Sandy Church of the Nazarene doesn’t have the largest congregation in the Sandy area, its new pastor can claim to be the spiritual shepherd of more than 500 people.

That’s because in addition to serving the needs of his Jarl Road congregation, Mickey McCandless works for Marketplace Chaplains, where he tends to the employees of several large Portland-area employers.

McCandless, 41, arrived in Sandy in early July to be the permanent replacement for interim pastor Vic Dunton.

The McCandless family made the move to its home in Happy Valley from Lioti, Kansas, to be closer to wife Michelle’s family. (Her maiden name is Boring.)

“It’s a little intimidating” living in a place where the name Boring is everywhere, McCandless said. “No, it’s fine. It’s a great conversational starter.”

He says he’s enjoying the natural beauty of Oregon.

“It certainly is very pretty, quite different from the prairies of Kansas,” he said.

McCandless, a native of Atlanta, worked as a college administrator, a Home Depot corporate employee and a Navy medic before joining the ministry in 2003.

Today, he spends 20 to 25 hours a week in Portland, where he serves the employees of Oak Harbor Freight Lines, McClain Food Distribution, Ryerson Hardwood Floors and MEC Northwest.

“It’s better than an employment assistance program,” McCandless said. “I visit every week and establish relationships with employees. When a crisis happens in an employee’s life, instead of calling a 1-800 number, they can talk to us. We know them and their families, and where they are in life, and are able to provide more personal immediate care.”

McCandless says the skills he’s developed as a chaplain – communication, empathy, problem-solving – surely will come in handy as a pastor.

He said the response from the church over the past month has been “very positive.”

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