Cumberland Road

Debbie Shanks writes: "I have been married for over 50 years to Roy: we have three children by birth, three children by marriage, and twelve grandchildren. Roy is from Casey Illinois and I am from Louisville Kentucky.  We met and married in Louisville and spent the next eighteen months in southern Italy (Air Force), spent one year in Indiana, and then seven years in Tennessee before moving to Illi...

Jodi Rush writes: I grew up in the McKenzie Cumberland Presbyterian Church but began life attending a Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Illinois from the time I was born until we moved to McKenzie, Tennessee when I was five. I was very active in leadership at the McKenzie Church serving as a Sunday school teacher, VBS director, and as an ordained elder while in high school.  I attended Be...

John Pyon is a part of the "GJH Ministry" new church development located in Duluth, Georgia and is currently working at the Air Force ROTC department at University of Georgia as an Instructor and serves in the United States Air Force as a Captain. He is also attending Memphis Theological Seminary to pursue a Master's Degree in Divinity and praying to become a chaplain following graduation. John lo...

Dusty Taylor writes: My name is Dustin, my family and camp friends call me Dusty. I am a have Associate in Applied Science in Land Surveying and that is what I do for a living. I grew up in the Walnut Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church in the middle of nowhere Arkansas. My mother’s brother was our preacher, and my dad’s family has been attending since the start of the church in the 1930s. Also,...

Rev. Dr. Peggy Jean “PJ” Craig serves as Senior Pastor at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Germantown (CPCG) in Germantown, Tennessee. Before coming to CPCG, Peggy Jean was the Assistant Director for K12 Partnerships at Rutgers University-Camden, New Jersey. She oversaw the university’s civic engagement strategic priority, while also leading Rutgers-Ignite, a STEM-based after school program;...

Rev. Dr. Courtney Krueger is fortunate in that he grew up in a family that helped him experience Jesus’ love in many and various ways. He was born in South Carolina to a Roman Catholic father and a Baptist mother. He was raised in the Baptist church and went to a Baptist college (Furman University). He then went to a Methodist seminary for his master’s degree (Duke Divinity School) and a Presbyter...

Rev. Dr. Ron McMillan states: "I was raised on a farm in west-central Missouri and graduated from Centerview Elementary School in 1960 and the former College High School of Warrensburg, Missouri, in 1965. After high school, I graduated with a B.S. in History from Bethel University in McKenzie, Tennessee. Also, I have a Masters of Arts from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education of Union Th...

Reverend Emily Trapp Young is a pastor in the Cumberland Presbyterian Denomination. She serves at Allsboro Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Cherokee, Alabama with her husband of four years, Ryan Young. Emily also works for Room in the Inn-Shoals which is a non-profit that provides emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness. She has a passion for ministry with youth, children, and thos...

Sherry Poteet is a retired and working music educator having spent 29 years as middle school band director in Texas. After retirement, she continues to serve area schools as a mentor, consultant, and band adjudicator as well as supervising student teachers for Stephen F. Austin State University. She is an Elder at Elmira Chapel Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Longview serving on the session and...

Rev. Mark Craven is a Cumberland Presbyterian minister, biologist and the Dive Safety Officer at the Tennessee Aquarium. He is a graduate of Moody Theological Seminary in Chicago and is the pastor of the Jasper Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Jasper, Tennessee. He and his wife, Katrina, live in Chattanooga and have two children. Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue .  Source:  https:...

Rev. Greg Tucker is the minister at the Faith Fellowship Cumberland Presbyterian Church near Knoxville, Tennessee.  He is a native from Milan, Tennessee and he and his wife, Rhonda, have two children and three grandchildren.  He is a graduate from North Greenville University and Beeson Divinity School.  He has served congregations in Tennessee, South Carolina, and Alabama.    Music is provided by...

Rev. Wes Johnson is Tennessean by birth but Texan by choice, having moved to Texas in 1982. Born and reared in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Wes accepted God’s gift of salvation during a Fifth Sunday Youth Rally at Richard City Cumberland Presbyterian Church at age 13. Nurtured in the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in his hometown, Wes was influenced by many ministries and mentors, including the F...

Dale Irby is an attorney, substitute teacher, and elder at the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Olive Branch, Mississippi.  In this faith conversation he shares the ethics of law coupled with faith, discerning new career paths, and overcoming a difficult period in his life.  Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue .  Source:  https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Pierce_Murphy/thr...

Rev. Dr. Joe Butler is a Cumberland Presbyterian minister who came under the care of Leitchfield Presbytery in 1970.  He serve as stated supply beginning in 1971 and was ordained in 1975.  Joe is a graduate from Bethel University and Memphis Theological Seminary with M.Div and D.Min.  He has taught at Bethel for 12 years and at the Program of Alternate Studies 13 years.  He has also served as pres...

Jessica Neas is a new mother and a newly ordained elder at the Mohawk Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Tennessee.  Jessica shares how her faith, life, and motherhood have shaped her over the last several months.  Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue .  Source:  https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Pierce_Murphy/through-the-olive-branches/caldera-blue Comments: http://freemusicarchiv...

Carla Bellis is a member of Orange Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Aurora, Missouri. She is involved in all levels of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church having served as Convention President of the Cumberland Presbyterian Women’s Ministry, chair of the Nominating Committee for the General Assembly, a volunteer at three Presbyterian Youth Trienniums, and as a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian...

Reverend Jenny Muraya is a Chaplain at Regional One Health Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.  She is graduate of Nairobi University and Memphis Theological Seminary.  She has two sons and one granddaughter.  Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue .  Source:  https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Pierce_Murphy/through-the-olive-branches/caldera-blue Comments: http://freemusicarchive.org/ A...

Reverend Tami Terpstra, MDiv, BCC is an interfaith staff chaplain at a public safety net and Level I Trauma hospital in Denver, CO. Her special passion is in providing care to behavioral health patients experiencing severe spiritual and psychiatric crises. After a decade of seminary and three more years of chaplaincy training, her long-suffering spouse and only child (who practically overnight bec...

Reverend Anna Brockman serves as an Associate Pastor at the Winchester Cumberland Presbyterian Church. She is a graduate of Bethel University and Memphis Theological Seminary. She lives in Winchester, Tennessee with her husband Wesley, their daughter Rachel, and their one-eyed pug Pepper. Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue .  Source:  https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Pierce_Mur...

Rev. Karen Schmidt is a native of Nebraska, living in the Denver Colorado area for the last 31 years. She is married to her college sweetheart, Pete for the last 33 years. They have three children in their 20’s. A writer, Karen is a graduate of Denver Seminary with an Master of Divinity in Leadership. She is currently employed as a chaplain for Christian Living Communities. She has been an ordaine...

Bowman Vowell is the stated supply at the Clinton Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma for the past two and a half years. He is preparing to be ordained as a minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination.  He is married to Natalie and they have two dogs: Bailey the Beagle and Coco the Pitbull. They also have been foster parents for almost a year and currently are caring for a young bo...

Rev. Bobby Spurling is from East Tennessee currently living in Western Kentucky where he serves the Hopkinsville Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He has a wife who is a lifelong Cumberland Presbyterian and two boys: 11 and 14.  He is a member of Covenant Presbytery and serves on the Board of Christian Education. He enjoys coaching youth sports and spending time with family. Music is provided by Pie...

Rev. Jennifer Hayes is a decent wife, a goofy mom, and the Director of Spiritual Care at Cook Children’s in Fort Worth, Texas. Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue .  Source:  https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Pierce_Murphy/through-the-olive-branches/caldera-blue Comments: http://freemusicarchive.org/ Additional comments:  modifications made to shorten and loop song for introducti...

Rev. Dr. Tiffany Hall McClung often says that she was conceived Cumberland Presbyterian. It is true. Being a part of this denomination does not feel like a choice. She is okay with that. She has served the Cumberland Presbyterian Church her whole life, officially since being ordained on February 5, 2000 - as close as she could get to the birthday of the church. In her 22nd year of ordained ministr...

Rev. Byron Forester is the minister at both the Roellen and Newbern Cumberland Presbyterian congregations in West Tennessee Presbytery.  He is married to Michelle Brown and has three adult children:  Rachel, Elizabeth, and Eleanor. Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue .  Source:  https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Pierce_Murphy/through-the-olive-branches/caldera-blue Comments: http...