Cumberland Road

Elea Brown Forester is a Cumberland Presbyterian from Memphis, Tennessee. She is a history major at Maryville College and is discerning a call to ministry. She enjoys playing guitar, going on long walks, and laughing at inappropriate times. Music is provided by Punk Rock Opera, I Wanna to be a Machine .   https://files.freemusicarchive.org/storage-freemusicarchive-org/music/ccCommunity/Punk_Rock_O...

Cynthia Paulk's Faith Journey I was born in Jacksonville, Texas and raised in Texas and eastern New Mexico. My father’s work required that we relocate every couple of years so I learned independence and developed the ability to “start again.” I was raised in Presbyterian churches across Texas and eastern New Mexico. I took catechism classes in New Mexico and joined the church in Junior High. I don...

Jeff DeWees is a jack of all trades… master of none… or at least he’d like to think that of himself.  Jeff was born into a Christian family who loved Jesus, but did not do life perfectly… a trait which Jeff continues on today.  He was raised in Lyles, a small town in Hickman County, Tennessee.  Jeff used to like to boast of being from the county that held the record in Tennessee for the most numbe...

Laura Reed resides in the Tampa Bay area in Florida and is originally from the Northeast. She attended the University of Tampa where she received a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Business and Spanish and she received her MBA from St. Leo University. She is currently a student in the Program of Alternate Studies program and hopes to work towards her Master of Divinity in the future. Lau...

Logan Dixon is a Program of Alternate Studies student under the care of Arkansas Presbytery working towards his ordination in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.  He serves the Mars Hill Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Pottsville, Arkansas as their stated supply.  Logan hosts his own podcast called The Monday Morning Megaphone .  He is also a writer for the adult bible study, The Encounter, and...

Rev. Mitch Boulton surrendered to the ministry of the Word and Sacraments in 2002.  He graduated from Bethel College in 2008 and Memphis Theological Seminary in 2011.  Currently, Mitch is continuing his education with a Doctorate of Ministry at Knox Seminary.  Having served congregations in Kentucky and Tennessee, Mitch currently serves the Olivet Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Savannah, Tennes...

​Rev. Dr. Milton L. Ortiz is the Team Leader of the Missions Ministry Team in the Cumberland Presbyterian Denomination. He is a graduate from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts and has served as bi-vocational pastor for more than 25 years.  He is originally from Colombia, South America, but has lived in the United States for almost 30 years. Rev. Ortiz is married to Francia Ortiz...

Maddie Taylor is a student at Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee studying degrees in both Political Science and Sociology.  Originally from Memphis, she considers McKenzie First Cumberland Presbyterian Church and Colonial Cumberland Presbyterian Church her two home churches.  She has grown up Cumberland Presbyterian and was baptized at the age of two.  Her faith really grew out of attending...

Rhonda McGowan’s Faith Journey Part 1 Salvation Story My Faith journey begins when my uncle Steve invited me to go to church with him and Vickie.  I can not remember when this was but I went with them.  The church and people treated me very kind however, I did not feel it was for me.  A few Sundays later I decided to start visiting Mt. Calvary Missionary Church in Crossroads TN.  I went for some t...

Rev. Dr. David Lancaster is the Professor of Christian Studies at Bethel University in McKenzie, Tennessee.  He earned a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School and began his first pastorate in West Paducah, Kentucky.  Later, he relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee serving the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church over the next 19 years.  For 12 years, the Knoxville congregation sponsored a daily...

Reverend Billy Price is the Associate Pastor of Youth at Beaver Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, TN.  He resides there with his wife Lara, step-son Eden, and son Woods.  Billy was ordained in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 2016 and has been serving at Beaver Creek for the past three and a half years. Music is provided by Punk Rock Opera, I Wanna to be a Machine .   https:/...

Rev. Neal Wilkinson is the Senior Pastor at White Oak Pond Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Lebanon, Missouri. Neal grew up in Northern Ireland and moved to the United States in 2011, coming to Nashville, Tennessee with the Center for Youth Ministry Training, where he served for 4 years as a Middle School Minister in a United Methodist Church. It was in Nashville where he met his wife Joanna, a f...

Rev. Joyce Merritt directs Still Waters Family Ministries , a Middle Tennessee outreach ministry headquartered in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  This ministry serves families, with a focus on single parent families, who need a hand up to move forward to the full and secure life God wants for all God’s children.  Prior to founding and directing Still Waters Family Ministries , Joyce pastored the Rockval...

Rev. Dr. Susan Parker was ordained as a Cumberland Presbyterian minister in 2014 after graduating from Memphis Theological Seminary’s Program of Alternate Studies. Since that time Susan has been serving as interim and supply pastor in various Cumberland and USA Presbyterian churches in North Alabama. During 2018-2019, Susan served as Interim President at Memphis Theological Seminary.   Prior to th...

John grew up in the same neighborhood in Albuquerque, New Mexico as Rev. Shelia O'Mara and Rev. Lyle Reece and is tremendously disappointed he didn't know them as a child. John's parents were both Presbyterian elders and active in a PCUSA church in Albuquerque. John might be best known there for his disdain for pre-school. He would often cry in the corner while secretly waiting for the pastor to c...

Rev. Samantha Hassell was raised in the Rose Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church and has served the Cumberland Presbyterian Church as a christian educator and youth pastor since 2001.  She is a graduate of Bethel College (B.A.) and Memphis Theological Seminary (MAYM).  Samantha has been a contributing writer for Faith Out Loud , Feasting on the Word , Growing in Grace and Gratitude and was the wr...

Nathaniel (Nate) Mathews is an Ordained Minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He is a graduate of Bethel University and Memphis Theological Seminary. Nate is currently serving as the Senior Pastor of First Cumberland Presbyterian Church (FCPC) in Lubbock, Texas of Presbytery del Cristo. He and his wife Anna, along with their two pets, have been residents of the Lubbock area for over 2 ye...

Rev. Fredy Antonio Diaz Caedeno is a Cumberland Presbyterian minister serving as the Associate Pastor of Multicultural Ministries at the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Houston, Texas.  Fredy has a background in electrical engineering, a master's degree in Theology from International Biblical Seminary and currently is studying for a doctorate of ministry at Memphis Theological Seminary.  H...

The Rev. Dr. Jody Hill became the ninth President of Memphis Theological Seminary on January 1, 2020. Hill grew up in the Mt. Zion Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Falkner, Mississippi, and he is a direct descendant of Ephraim McLean, a founding member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.   He was a three-year letterman on the Ole Miss Rebels Football Team from 1990 to 1992. Rev. Dr. Hill is a...

Rev. Byrd Broyles was born in Johnson City, Tennessee and is a 4.5 generation Cumberland Presbyterian.  He has a degree in Special Education from East Tennessee State University and is a graduate from the Program of Alternate Studies.  He serves the Pleasant Mount Cumberland Presbyterian Church outside of Columbia, Tennessee and is a Special Education teacher at Marshall County High School.  His c...

Rev. Becky Zahrte was ordained in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in March 2020.  She serves both the Madisonville First and Rose Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Churches in Kentucky.  She is a graduate of the Program of Alternate Studies has a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in organizational communication.  She and her husband Chris have been married for twent...

Alan Butler is from Forth Worth, Texas and a recent graduate from Memphis Theological Seminary.  He will soon be ordained to the word and sacrament in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and is the Coordinator of Benefits the denomination's Board of Stewardship, Foundation and Benefits.  Alan also serves as youth minister at St. John United Methodist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. Music is provided...

Rev. Dr. Tommy Clark is the minister at McCain’s Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in Columbia, Tennessee, actively serves the Urban Bicycle Food Ministry in Nashville and is a consultant for individuals developing urban ministries in various cities in the United States. In addition to ministry, Tommy is an avid runner, cyclist, and outdoors enthusiast. And, he is a devoted husband to his partner in...

A native of Jackson, TN, Rev. Shelia O’Mara graduated from Bethel College, McKenzie, TN, in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.  She received her Masters of Divinity from Memphis Theological Seminary, Memphis, TN, in 1983 and was ordained a Cumberland Presbyterian minister in January, 1983.  She was commissioned in the United States (U. S.) Navy Chaplain Corps in June,1983.  Shel...

Patrick is an ordained Cumberland Presbyterian minister and he, his wife Jessica and two daughters Bella Grace and Jacqueline have been living in Colombia, South America for three plus years.  Patrick has been called to provide training to develop leaders within a new presbytery, mentoring seminary students, helping establish youth programs in the churches, training youth leaders, helping with cam...