Veritas Board President Announces Retirement

Sheri Hartzler (with her husband Jay) came to Veritas for the first time in 2013 to spend one year. Nine years later, after living in Sighisoara nine months of most of these years, they are retiring and returning home to Virginia in June. Now in their early 70s, Sheri and Jay say they have been privileged to live and work in the Sighisoara and Tigmandru communities during the first years of their retirement. 

At Veritas Sheri was involved in a myriad of activities: writing newsletters, emails and Facebook posts; managing the Veritas website; organizing clothing donations and distribution; organizing schedules for visiting work teams; working closely with Petra and the Leadership Team in making decisions for the Foundation and serving as President of the Veritas board for the past three years. 

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24) Petra Popa says this verse came to mind as she thought about Sheri's time at Veritas over the years. 

She commented, “Sheri was a great example of serving others in many different ways: teaching, carrying boxes, singing, encouraging people, preparing special devotional and celebration times, organizing cabinets, rooms, and even buildings, offering professional advice, being the engine for any action, and coming up with more than one solution for any problem. For all of these, I am so grateful. I feel privileged to have a friend like Sheri and a coworker in building God’s kingdom.” 

Sheri recalled, “I've received more than I've given during my time here in Romania and will always treasure the friendships and memories I have made.”

With Sheri's retirement, Jonathan Phillips has been elected as the new Veritas Board Chair. Jonathan has been involved in Romanian culture since his early days as a student in the Romanian Studies Program in 2001. He is a district superintendent for the Church of the Nazarene in Romania, fluent in Romanian and enthusiastic about serving the community in his new position.

This article was originally published in the Spring 2022 edition of the "Veritas View" newsletter, available at this link.