Morristown minister taking the plunge this weekend–for real

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He has delivered a sermon in blue hair. He has tricycled around the Morristown Green in a clown suit.

On Sunday, Pastor Neill will dive into a kiddie pool of ice cubes.

Hey, a bet is a bet.

Neill Tolboom, pastor of the Morristown United Methodist Church, challenged the church youth group to raise $2,500 for the Community Soup Kitchen at its last Hunger Walk.  If the kids came through, the minister vowed to take the plunge.

The kids came through.

neill tolboom
Neill Tolboom, pastor of Morristown's United Methodist Church, will frolic in ice water to pay off a bet. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

And so the Pastor has a rendezvous with destiny at 11:30 a.m. in the church parking lot. (Initial plans called for him to jump in a lake, but authorities are lukewarm to such ideas in January.)

When we last saw Neill he was dodging international jewel thieves in an episode of America’s Most Wanted.

For years, Neill, 57, spent his spare time dodging pucks as a hockey goalie. Which might explain things.

No word yet from the Pastor on his choice of swimwear (Speedos, and we call the Bishop), or his survival strategy. He’s vacationing–somewhere warm, let’s hope.

We suspect polar plunges are routine for Neill, however. He may even have antifreeze in his veins. (Or something very close to it; his wife teaches embalming.)  Neill’s parents honeymooned on an ice floe and his early years were spent along Canada’s Arctic Bay. The family’s next stop, Winnipeg, was even colder. One of Neill’s summer jobs, before he helped create TD Bank, was loading barges serving Inuit villages on Hudson Bay.

So ice cubes actually may feel toasty.

polar bear
Sunday, Jan. 16, promises to be another day at the beach for Pastor Neill Tolboom, taking a polar plunge to satisfy a bet. Photo by Brian Snelson, Wikimedia.org

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