Gary and his wife Karen live in Canton. Gary is Pastor of Amazing Grace Lutheran in East Baltimore. Karen is a Neo-Natal Nurse Practitioner at Johns Hopkins.

Gary Dittman received his BA in Religion and Speech and Drama from Lagrange College in Georgia and his Masters of Divinity from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He served at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Lincolnton, North Carolina for 20 years. In his time in North Carolina, Emmanuel greatly impacted the community through creating and providing leadership in a cooperative Crises Assistance Center and the County’s first and only homeless shelter. Additionally, Pastor Dittman initiated ecclesiastical worship weeks to bridge relationships between neighbors of all cultures and colors to begin the healing process addressing racism. 

In 2009, he was called to be the Pastor of Amazing Grace in McElderry Park.  Amazing Grace is deeply committed to be a healing presence in the community, and through his leading, has greatly expanded the programming at the Center for Grace-Full Living at Amazing Grace, a wellness center which houses a food pantry, after-school programming, a Suboxone clinic, and is the current temporary home of Safe Streets East. There are also wellness offerings like yoga, mindfulness meditation, community gardening and cooking classes. The Center collaborates with as many community partners as possible (including Johns Hopkins) to create a network offering wrap around holistic services. The pandemic has greatly impacted programming, however, and the congregation just completed a community outdoor pavilion to strengthen opportunities to build community and learning in a safe outdoor environment.
 
Amazing Grace is deeply connected to neighbors and responding to challenges with community created solutions and resident leadership. Pastor Dittman also is the secretary of Charm City Land Trusts (CCLT). CCLT was founded in 2000 by community members, Amazing Grace, and the McElderry Park Community Association. Since that time, CCLT has stewarded 18 lots (Amazing Port Street Commons) which has greenspace, community gardens, a prayer labyrinth and play space for neighbors to gather. In 2019, CCLT began housing development and has completed the first two homes in McElderry Park with additional permanently affordable land trust homes in planning phase.

Currently, Pastor Gary also serves as Dean of Baltimore City Pastors in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.