Christopher Scott Gobrecht

Christopher Scott Gobrecht, born October 25, 1965 in Maryland, passed away on December 2, 2023, in Timonium, Maryland. He was preceded in death by his beloved mother Donna Jean Karper Gobrecht; and father Rodney Stonesifer Gobrecht. He is survived by his wife of 30 years Rebeca Elena (Ponte) Gobrecht; daughters Danielle Vida and Alexandra Vida; and grandson Silas Vida-Cremens and brother Philip Gobrecht (Darlene).

Christopher began his education at Timber Grove Elementary School; Franklin Junior High and graduated from Franklin High School in Reisterstown, MD in 1983.

He attended Johns Hopkins University from 1978 to 1980, taking classes in astronomy, French, German, and SMPY (Math for precocious children); Defense Language Institute in Monterey CA from 1984 to 1985 where he studied the Arabic language; Chaminade University in Hawaii where he took evening classes for college core classes from 1986 to 1987; the University of Hawaii where he studied the Tagalog language from 1986 to 1987; Ohio State University where he earned a BA summa cum laude with a minor in International Studies and Arabic from 1989 to 1992; Southern Baptist Seminary where he obtained a Master of Divinity Pastor Track from 1992 to 1995 and Wesley Seminary where he took worship and polity classes from 1994 to 1995 as well as Fuller Seminary where he earned a Doctor of Ministry with concentration on Evangelism (Appreciative Inquiry) from 2002 to 2009.

Christopher had an illustrious career as a pastor. He served at Grace United Methodist Church located in Hampstead, MD from 1996 to 2001, Taylorsville United Methodist Church located in Taylorsville, MD from 2001 to 2006, New Covenant United Methodist Church located in Cumberland, MD from 2006 to 2018 and Timonium United Methodist Church located in Timonium, MD since 2018. He was ordained as a Methodist Pastor in June 1996.

As part of his military service he was involved with the Iran-Iraq war while serving on two ships during the Kuwaiti Tanker Re-flagging effort. This war was part of the Iran-Iraq war that took place between 1988 to 1989. In 2011 Christopher became a member MCL Detachment #1071 located in Cumberland, MD. He was trained as an infantryman as well as becoming a crypto-linguist. Honorable discharge as US Marine- Sergeant in 1988.

His love for the scriptures informed everything he did. He was open to new ideas and challenges. He loved preaching, teaching and singing the word of God. In his spare time, Christopher enjoyed reading, playing chess, cooking, hiking, playing softball, football, shuffleboard and volleyball - always being very competitive when playing games.

He leaves behind many friends who will remember him fondly for years to come. May his memory be eternal. RIP

A celebration of life is being planned for spring 2024