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 Illinois 40 years ago.   

I have been a church musician since I was twelve years old.  I started out as the pianist for First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Louisville Kentucky, then was the pianist/organist for both the Protestant and Catholic chapels on San Vito Air Force Base in San Vito, Italy, and then was the pianist for Goodlettsville Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Tennessee.  I have been the pianist for New Hope Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Yale Illinois for the last 40 years. 

I spend a whole lot of time with 'dead people'.  I manage eight cemeteries and I am the historian for both of our families, as well as for several social and religious groups.  I spend countless hours researching ancestral connections, military histories, local histories, and census records in order to preserve the history and bring the 'dead back to life' for future researchers.  

I am a Township Supervisor – the 'mayor' of 48 square miles of farm country.  I am a member of New Hope Cumberland Presbyterian Church, where I serve as an elder, Sunday school teacher, treasurer, musician, and a member of the Program Committee.  I am the Treasurer of North Central Presbytery and North Central Presbytery Cumberland Presbyterian Women's Ministry. I have served as the presbytery Moderator, a member of the Board of Finance and Trustees, and I am on the staff of the North Central Presbytery’s Sr. High/College camps and retreats.  I am the Stated Clerk/Treasurer of the Synod of the Midwest, and am the Secretary of the denominational Board of Stewardship, Foundation, and Benefits   I have more hobbies than I have time to list.  

Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue. 
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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 Bethel College where I met my husband Kip and graduated from Bethel with Christian Education degree.  I worked at the Marshall Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Texas while Kip served at Elmira Chapel.  We lived in Rydal, Georgia for a few years and next was Beersheba Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Mississippi.  While there, I served as the Ecumenical Ministries Director on the campus of Mississippi University for Women. At the Brenthaven Church, I served at Director of Christian Education until beginning my work with the Discipleship Ministry Team as Director of Children and Family Ministry.  We have two adult daughters – Madison and Devin and two dogs – Oscar and Felix.  I love flower gardening, listening to live music, Broadway plays, and exploring and going new places. I have a cancer diagnosis since April of 2021. 

Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue. 
Source:  https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Pierce_Murphy/through-the-olive-branches/caldera-blue
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Additional comments:  modifications made to shorten and loop song for introduction and closing of podcast.
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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 loves to golf and exercise and is happily married to Hyeji and they have one dog: Daisy, and one cat: Songtan.

Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue. 
Source:  https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Pierce_Murphy/through-the-olive-branches/caldera-blue
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Additional comments:  modifications made to shorten and loop song for introduction and closing of podcast.
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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, my dad’s cousins are elders and the session clerk of the church. We moved to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Booneville when I graduated high school after my uncle had retired from preaching. My parents both have been elders at the Booneville Church. My dad’s cousin is Cathi Littlefield who was the interim for the Women's Ministry for the denomination and a previous guest on this podcast. I moved my membership to the 1st Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Russellville in October 2022 because it is 30 minutes from my house and I had been driving 1.5 hours to church for the last 14 years. Rev. Jim Fisk is the pastor and Melinda Reams is a member of church and serves on the Ministry Council.  Both have been on your podcast.
From 2010-2012, I served on the first Young Adult Ministry Council (YAMC). YAMC started my love for ship cruises. I have attended church camp from 2006 and now serve on the camp board as the current chair.  I love the outdoors, traveling, maps, and history. I have a 2-year-old adopted hound/blue heeler dog named Bleu. I have been working on locating old churches in Arkansas Presbytery and marking them on the map.  You can find them and additional information at www.arpcpc.org. I serve as Arkansas Presbytery's IT and Communications Director that includes website, historical research and recording, virtual meetings, local church tech support, and social media. 

Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue. 
Source:  https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Pierce_Murphy/through-the-olive-branches/caldera-blue
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Additional comments:  modifications made to shorten and loop song for introduction and closing of podcast.
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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; Rutgers Future Scholars, a pre-college scholarship program for first generation college students, the Hill Center for College Access, and the Camden College Access Network serving over 1,000 youth a year. Before Rutgers, Peggy Jean served as the Executive Director of the Advocate Center for Culture and Education at the historic Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Center provided programming deeply rooted in social justice, rigorous study, and community empowerment. Peggy Jean also worked at the international relief and development agency, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and served as a missionary and youth director in Laos, Alabama, and Atlanta. In Washington, she worked for the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church in advocacy and awareness raising around the continuing effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam. Peggy Jean received her PhD in Community Development-Public Affairs, and her M.S. in Public Affairs from Rutgers University-Camden, her M.Div. from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, and her B.A. from Fordham University in communications. Peggy Jean currently serves on the boards of Volunteer Odyssey, Memphis’s one-stop shop for meaningful volunteer experiences, Metropolitan Inter-faith Association (MIFA), an organization supporting independence of vulnerable seniors and families, and Room in the Inn, an organization that shelters those experiencing homelessness in a safe environment of hospitality. She is an ordained minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Peggy Jean is passionate about justice, diversity, equity, and all things
food-related. She lives in Memphis with her twin girls, Joji and Luca, and her husband, Matt McCaffrey.

Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue. 
Source:  https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Pierce_Murphy/through-the-olive-branches/caldera-blue
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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 Presbyterian Seminary for his doctoral degree (Columbia Theological Seminary). He served as a pastor in two Baptist churches over a 24 year “career” before accepting the call to First Cumberland Presbyterian in 2015. All of these experiences have helped him develop a tremendous appreciation for the church universal as well as the powerful specifics of the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination. 

Courtney is described by his coworkers and friends as a lifelong learner, an approachable mentor and counselor, enthusiastic and supportive coworker and friend, as well as a spiritual guide and caregiver to people of all ages.

Courtney is married to his college sweetheart Lea. They have two grown children, David who is a phlebotomist in Chattanooga, TN and Sarah who is in graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

In his free time, Courtney can often be found competing in the odd equestrian sport of Ride and Tie (in which he is a seven time National Points Champion), receiving priceless gems of wisdom from his wife, riding his beloved horses or hosting groups, church members and strangers who become friends at their small horse farm in Cleveland, TN.

Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue. 
Source:  https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Pierce_Murphy/through-the-olive-branches/caldera-blue
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Additional comments:  modifications made to shorten and loop song for introduction and closing of podcast.
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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 Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, a Masters in Divinity from Memphis Theological Seminary of Memphis, Tennessee, and a Doctor of Ministry from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  

I married the former Nita Edwards of Lebanon, Missouri, in 1969 and have three children and ten grandchildren. I served pastorates in Arkansas and Tennessee, and my last pastorate was as Senior Pastor of the Holly Grove Cumberland Presbyterian Church near Memphis. 

I am presently the instructor of Church History for the Program of Alternate Studies of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and recently retired as an adjunct instructor of Bible for Belhaven University.

I retired from the full time ministry ten years ago after fifty years of service. I continue to fill pulpits and serve in my presbytery. My hobby is writing and I have published several short stories. My first two novels should be published this year and I am working on my third."

Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue. 
Source:  https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Pierce_Murphy/through-the-olive-branches/caldera-blue
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Additional comments:  modifications made to shorten and loop song for introduction and closing of podcast.
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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 those society views as marginalized. She loves to watch movies, eat sushi with her friends, and go on walks with her puppy Bucky.

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 introduction and closing of podcast.
Copyright Attribution and License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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 is the session clerk. She has taught Sunday school, served on the Fellowship and Mission committees and sings in the choir.
Sherry is passionate about mission work having served on trips to Kentucky, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Colombia, Guatemala, Brazil, and Belize.
Among her passions are Women’s Ministry where she has served as Interim Convention Coordinator, Trinity North Region President, and Secretary as well as serving at the denomination level on the Missions Ministry Team for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Sherry is an active person enjoying running, cycling, yoga, and hiking with friends.

Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue. 
Source:  https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Pierce_Murphy/through-the-olive-branches/caldera-blue
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Additional comments:  modifications made to shorten and loop song for introduction and closing of podcast.
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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://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 introduction and closing of podcast.
Copyright Attribution and License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/