Peter A. Helt

1950 - 2021

Peter Allen Helt born September 3, 1950 in Allentown PA died on December 15, 2021. He was the son of Lloyd Raymond Helt Sr. and Mae Catherine Bendigo Helt Fake. Peter graduated from Lehigh with a degree in mechanical engineering and went on to earn a masters in nuclear engineering from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. After several years working in his field Peter felt a strong calling to ministry. He attended seminary, was ordained and served his local MCC parish in Minnesota as director of Christian Education. In 1989 Peter was appointed as Pastor of the fledgling Metropolitan Community Church of the Lehigh Valley in Allentown PA where he served for nine years. He lead his church in working with the social services agency, AIDS Outreach, preparing food packages for people with AIDS, sewing panels for the AIDS Memorial quilt, and running several different support groups for the local community. Peter was preceded in death by his father, mother, sisters Christa Mae Brinker Petree and Virginia Rae Troutman, and sister-in-law Ruth Connette Gray. He is survived by his sister Bette Jeanette Laurenson and her husband Theodore Laurenson, his brother Lloyd R.Helt Jr. and wife Kathryn Schaffer and numerous nephews and nieces.