Sunday marks the 40th anniversary of the ordination of the Rev. John Kovacik, pastor of St. John’s Slovak Lutheran Church in Lansford.

He accepted the call from the local congregation and came to Lansford to assume duties here in February 1934. This year, he has concluded 35 years of continuous service to His Lord in this congregation and to the church at large.

Previously, he served three years as a pastor in Ostra Luka in Zvolen, Slovakia.

He completed his studied at the Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, and was ordained on June 29, 1929.

He and his wife, Olga, are the parents of two children, Olga Nilsen and John.