 The Rev. Wayne Jack Plumstead holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in News-Editorial from the Drake University School of Journalism in Des Moines, Iowa (1970) and a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary (1974). Ordained an Elder in Full Connection in the United Methodist Church on June 4, 1975, he has served since 1991 as Senior Pastor at the Park United Methodist Church in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Prior to that time he served pastorates in Lower Berkshire Valley, Bayonne, Arlington and Jersey City, all in New Jersey.
Rev. Plumstead began his study of Aesthetic Realism in 1971 and studied with Eli Siegel to teach Aesthetic Realism in 1972. In 1973, he had the honor of being appointed an Aesthetic Realism consultant by Mr. Siegel and has served on the teaching faculty of the Aesthetic Realism Foundation since that time.
Rev. Plumstead credits Aesthetic Realism with having a profound and invaluable influence on his theological formation, writing: “Eli Siegel taught me that the heart of religion lies in aesthetics. ‘Aesthetic Realism,’ he said, 'sees the making one of opposites as the beginning of meaning in religious fact. There are many passages in the Bible showing that. Whenever God has been described, He is described in terms of opposites—for example, God should be feared and loved; He is in your heart and He has made mountains.’"
Rev. Plumstead has given public seminars at the Aesthetic Realism Foundation in New York City, speaking about the principles of Aesthetic Realism in relation to the lives of persons such as John Newton, Peter Marshall, Father Damien of Molokai, Father Edward J. Flanagan, Henry Ward Beecher and Frederick Douglass, among others.
In 1994, the Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church invited him to give a presentation at a consultation on Developing Multicultural Congregations in San Antonio, Texas. The purpose of this presentation was to assist national church staff in developing strategies for congregations in transitional communities by presenting his own successful experiences using his Aesthetic Realism education to build flourishing multicultural congregations.
In 2000, Rev. Plumstead was invited by Bishop Alfred Johnson to give the opening sermon at the first meeting of the 683 clergy in the newly formed Greater New Jersey Annual Conference. And, in 2002, the United Methodist Publishing House printed his article titled How Much of the World Does Jesus Ask Us to Include? in its national magazine for United Methodist clergy, Circuit Rider, in order to help pastors minister effectively in the aftermath of 9/11.
Rev. Plumstead has served as president of the ecumenical Protestant Social-Outreach Agency Let’s Celebrate, located in Jersey City, as a member of the Raritan District Committee on Ordained Ministry and as chairperson of the Gateway North District Committee on the Superintendency.
It was Eli Siegel who taught him, with impeccable and heartwarming logic, that the purpose of religion is the same as the purpose of life itself: to like the world. And with great imagination, and humor, Mr. Siegel questioned his desire to use a narrow notion of religion against the rest of reality. He often quotes Eli Siegel’s statement: "Religion in action is trying hard to show that this world is not just God’s apprentice work.”
Rev. Plumstead is proud to be married to Aesthetic Realism consultant and educator Rosemary Amello Plumstead. They were wed in 1983. He values traveling with his wife, reading historical non-fiction, taking nature hikes, and photographing.
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