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Ministers & StaffDr. Bill Etheridge, Senior Pastor We are excited to welcome Bill and Becki to the Aldersgate family of faith. Bill's first Sunday at Aldersgate will be January 8, 2012. Bill was born on May 12, 1956 to Earl and Betty Etheridge. Bill has lived in several cities in the states of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Bill considers Sylacauga his hometown and Sylacauga First UMC is where Bill answered the call to preach. Bill’s mother, Betty still lives in Sylacauga. Earl, his father passed away in January 2006. Bill is married to Becki and has three grown children Will, Wesley and Mary Elizabeth. Will and Wesley live in Huntsville. Mary Elizabeth lives in Jacksonville. Will is the Youth Pastor at Hazel Green UMC and attending Asbury Seminary. Wesley is the Youth Pastor at Hope Presbyterian Church and is attending UAH. Mary Elizabeth lives and works in Jacksonville while attending Gadsden State Community College. Bill and Becki have been married for 16 years. Bill has served the North Alabama Conference since his first appointment as a student pastor beginning in 1976. Bill enjoys spending time spending with his family. He also enjoys tennis, racquetball, reading, movies, and going to plays. Bill graduated from UAH in 1979 with a Major in Sociology and Minor in History and Philosophy. As an Honor's Scholar, he received a Master of Divinity degree from Emory University's Candler School of Theology in 1983. In 1990, Bill recieved his Doctor of Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary. His dissertation focused on New Testament studies in parables, Christian child development, and the writing of a bible study for elementary age children using parables. This bible study was used by Elementary Camp IV in the summer of 1990. In 1991 all the Elementary Camps at Camp Sumatanga used the bible study. Todd Owen, Associate Pastor
Todd graduated from Auburn University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree. After 2 1/2 years in the engineering field, he entered into full time youth ministry and began the process of working towards seminary and ordination. Todd became a licensed pastor in the North Alabama Conference in 2000, serving Asbury UMC in Madison, AL. In 2003, the Owen family moved to Frankfort, Kentucky for Todd to complete his seminary studies while also serving the First UMC of Frankfort. Todd received a Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in May 2005. Todd was ordained as an Elder in the North Alabama Conference in June 2008. He has sixteen years of full-time ministry experience in large churches. Todd's duties at Aldersgate are working with the Missions Team, Trustees, Older Adults, and assisting the Senior Pastor with all pastoral duties. Todd and his wife Marsha have been married since February 1992. They have two daughters, Victoria and Ashtyn. As a family they enjoy soccer, swimming, boating, and playing games. Todd enjoys running, fitness, golfing, fishing, and just about anything else outdoors! Pat Mahan, Associate Pastor
Pat's duties at Aldersgate are preaching, leading a weekly Bible study, and assisting the Senior Pastor with all pastoral duties. Pat and his wife Kathy have been married since July 2006. Pat has two children, Andrew and Anna. Email Pastor Mahan: pat.mahan@aldersgate.ws Chris Jones, Director of Youth
Over the past 14 years, Chris has served in both very large and small churches. While serving as a youth pastor he also had the privilege to train undergraduate and graduate students at Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky. Chris currently consults with youth ministries across the country as a consultant with Youth Ministry Architects. Chris also earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science/Pre-Law from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Arts in Theological studies from Andersonville Seminary. Chris is married to Lisa Jones. Lisa is a school teacher in the Huntsville City Schools. He has two daughters, Kristian and Bethany, and one amazing Shih-Poo dog. Email Pastor Jones: chris.jones@aldersgate.ws Lydia Locke, Director of Discipleship and Family Ministries
Lydia gives oversight to the Children's Ministries. She works directly with children on Sunday night. Lydia gives leadership to the areas of adult discipleship and church wide fellowship. Outside of church, Lydia enjoys reading and spending time with her family. During vacation time, she can be found back on her parent's farm in Kentucky. Email Lydia Locke: lydia.locke@aldersgate.ws Rachel Sparkman, Assistant Discipleship & Family Minister
Rachel loves working with children and young adults, and she leads the kids' worship services and college group at Aldersgate. She is the person you should talk to if you want to have an event at the Parkway. She enjoys spending time with friends, watching derby practice and filling your news feed. You can be friends with Rachel on Facebook, read her blog at rachelofthewell.blogspot.com and email her at rachel.sparkman@aldersgate.ws.
Dennis Cornelison, Bread Worship Leader
He attended Crete Monee High School where he was on the wrestling team and also started his first band. Dennis’ family moved back to their hometown of Scottsboro, AL, when his father retired from Ford Motor Co. Dennis remained in Illinois to continue his music career. For more than 30 years he has played various music venues and traveled across the country with an array of artists.
Dennis met his wife Fran after moving back to North Alabama. They were married on August 5th, 1998. Dennis and Fran were part of the music ministry at Trinity United Methodist Church for 8 years and began worshipping at Aldersgate in 2006. Since that time, Dennis has attended an Emmaus Walk and was recently baptized in the Aldersgate Bread Service. Both Dennis and Fran are active in serving at Aldersgate and in the Emmaus Community. Dennis is quick to state that “God has mightily blessed me by leading me to Aldersgate.” Email Dennis Cornelison: dennis.cornelison@trinitycounseling.com Pat and Leah Brislin, Worship Leaders for Aldersgate-Parkway Pat and Leah met and became close friends while part of the youth group at Lakewood United Methodist Church. They have been married since 1990, and have five children. Pat is a native of Huntsville, and the family lives in his childhood home. Pat has been employed at Norris Cylinder since 1991, and Leah is a homemaker and homeschooling mom. Email Pat and Leah: patleah.brislin@gmail.com Michael Gimenez, Director of Music/OrganistMichael has been successful in virtually every aspect of church music. Conducting, directing, arranging, singing, acting, accompanying, musical direction and vocal coaching and now he brings that wealth of experience to the Aldersgate UMC. He studied at both The Cleveland Institute of Music and Birmingham-Southern College, where he received his degree in music composition, with organ as his principal instrument. Michael served the Church as a Music Minister or organist for more than fifteen years, and continues his ministry as a Director of Music at Aldersgate UMC. He is active in the community as a piano and voice teacher. Rebecca Bundy, Accompanist
Rebecca attended the music program at Snead State Jr. College. After graduation, she taught piano, both in the Preparatory Division of the college and for a local music store. She later went on to Jacksonville State University where she graduated with honors in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a concentration in Piano Performance. After graduation, she was appointed choral director at First Presbyterian Church in Albertville. She remained there until coming to serve Aldersgate in 1991. Rebecca met her husband, Mike Bundy, in 1991 while she was working for the Huntsville Police Department and the Madison County EMA. They were married in 1992 at Aldersgate. Their daughter, Heather, was born in 1994. In 1995, Rebecca left her job with the city police and resumed teaching piano. Marcia Moss, Office Manager
Marcia is married to Rod Moss, who is the Executive Director of United Methodist Residential Alternatives. They have two sons, Ben and Dan. In her spare time, Marcia enjoys reading, swimming, and watching sports with her family. Wendy Sampson, Financial Manager
Joey Hough, Facilities Manager
Joey is a retiree from Dunlop Tire Company where he was employed for 28 years. Prior to Dunlop, Joey attended Jacksonville State University, served six years in the Army Reserves, worked for 3M and volunteered for the Madison County Rescue Squad. After retiring from Dunlop, Joey worked in retail at Target. Joey is married to Dianne Wesley Hough, and they have two children, Jennifer and Christopher. Joey, Dianne, and Christopher joined Aldersgate in 2003. They have been life-time members of United Methodist Churches.
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Pat received his Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary in 1997. He was ordained as an Elder in Full Connection in the South Georgia Conference in 2003. Pat has about 20 years of ministry experience.
Chris Jones is originally from Tuscaloosa, Alabama where he attended the University of Alabama. After college, he joined the United States Air Force as a military nurse. After ten years of military service, God called Chris into student ministry.
Lydia is a graduate of Western Kentucky University with a degree in Public Health. She has a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. She began church work in 1989 in Kentucky and also served as Minister of Education at Riverchase UMC in Birmingham for 8 years. In 1999, her family, husband Parker and sons Rob and Will, moved to Huntsville. Soon afterward, she joined the staff of Aldersgate as the Children's Director.
Rachel is a PK (preacher's kid), so she moved around a lot during her childhood. Some of the places where she grew up are Tuscaloosa, Weaver, Arab, Helena, and Hartselle, AL. She is 24 years old and graduated from Auburn University with a B.S. in Early Childhood Education before answering the call to ministry in March of 2009. She was the children's minister for The Bridge UMC in Huntsville until it closed in 2010.
Rebecca has over 35 years experience providing piano and/or organ accompaniment for church worship services. She began playing full-time for Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Albertville, AL at the age of 9. During that time, she was a regular part of Pastor Cook's Sunday morning radio show on WAVU. She played for the show, and often joined her brother Steve for special music duets. At age 16, Rebecca began playing for Solitude Baptist Church in Albertville. At age 19, she went on to First Baptist Church in Albertville to play for the Youth Choir and the Sunday night service. She later would add playing for Sunday morning services at First Presbyterian to her schedule.
Marcia is a graduate of Birmingham-Southern College with a degree in English. Although this is her first job on a church staff, she is a life-long Methodist, a daughter of a UMC minister, and has served in numerous lay volunteer positions throughout the years. She joined Aldersgate UMC in 1994, and joined the church staff in 2003. Marcia has also served Aldersgate as a Wedding Coordinator/Director for the past five years.
Wendy and her husband Rich have been residents of Huntsville for over 30 years. Rich took a job with PPG Industries after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh (PITT). Wendy has a degree in Psychology/Sociology and has taken several courses in Accounting at UA Huntsville. She and Rich have been members of Aldersgate UMC since February 1984. They have two children, Jill is a Physical Therapist in TN and Jimmy is a Dentist in Birmingham, AL.
On July 1, 2008, Joey Hough was added to the Aldersgate Staff as a Facilities Manager. This position is very familiar to Joey because of duties as Trustee Chairman.