Pastor Szemesi was born in the former Yougoslavia (now the country of Serbia), and moved to West Germany with his parents when he was 3 years old. Pastor Szemesi received all his schooling in Germany. He grew up bi-lingual, speaking his native tongue (Hungarian) at home and German outside of the house.

After completing High School he moved to Hungary. Here he studied at the Reformed Theological Seminary, which was founded in 1538, in Debrecen, Hungary. Graduated with a Master's of Divinity (Magister Rerum Diviniarum) in 1992.With special emphasis on CRISIS COUNSELING.

Having been drafted into all of the civil war conflicts in the former Yougoslavia, he decided to come to the United States to 'temporarily' serve the Hungarian Reformed Church in Lorain, Ohio. 'Temporary' turned into 'permanent' when Pastor Szemesi met Constance shortly after arriving in the States. They married in 1995.

Constance and Pastor Szemesi have two children, Alexei and Caroline-Aranka. He became a U.S. citizen in 1998. Pastor and his family have been at Amherst Congregational UCC since August of 2001. The church is involved in both local and international ministries, and hosts an annual mission trip to Serbia.

Pastor Szemesi is ordained through the Christian Reformed Church in Serbia and through the UCC. He has a heart to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ based on the Word of God the Bible.