Our new conference year began on July 1 and brought many new faces to the Three Notch’d District. We are excited to introduce them to you here.
- Gina Anderson-Cloud, Trinity (Richmond)
- Gennie Bowles, Wesley Memorial UMC
- Daniel Burch, Palmyra UMC
- Larry Cochran, Belmont UMC
- Jason Elmore, Skipwith UMC
- Katie Frooman, Bethel/Westover/Bethsaida
- Korri Garrett, Ginter Park UMC
- Michael Kendall, Mount Pisgah – Midlothian
- Yoonsik Lee, Amissville UMC
- Blaine Oliver-Thomas, Shady Grove UMC (Short Pump)
- David Vaughan, Shady Grove UMC (Short Pump)
Rev. Gina Anderson-Cloud
Trinity UMC (Richmond)
| Previous Appointment | Floris UMC |
|---|---|
| District | Northern Virginia |
About Gina
| Family | I am married to a clergy person, Rev. Bert Cloud serving River Road UMC. We are the proud parents of three awesome young adults – Trae, Danielle, and Kayana. |
|---|---|
| What are you most excited about for the coming year at your new appointment? | I am excited about getting to know the community and people of Trinity, as well as discovering the greater Richmond area. Looking forward to where God’s Spirit is hovering both in the Church and community. |
| What are you most passionate about in ministry? | I am passionate about connections – connecting people to one another and to a loving God and seeing that love transform their lives and also our world. |
| What was your very first job? | First job was cashier at Wendys. |
| Fun fact about you: | Love being an all-in sports parent, which is coming to a close as this is our youngest daughter’s last year of playing college basketball. |
Rev. Gennie Bowles
Wesley Memorial UMC (Charlottesville)
Previous Appointment
| Previous Appointment | edges – Blacksburg UMC |
|---|---|
| District | Valley Ridge |
About Gennie
| Family | I have an 85lb lap dog named Charles Wesley |
|---|---|
| What are you most excited about for the coming year at your new appointment? | I am most excited about doing justice work with the folks at Wesley Memorial. We also have a wonderful children’s ministry and I am excited to get to know the kids and help them know God! |
| What are you most passionate about in ministry? | I am most passionate about spiritual disciplines and worship. |
| What was your very first job? | RA at Virginia Tech |
| Fun fact about you: | I have competed in three crossword tournaments and am excited to do more! |
Rev. Daniel Burch
Palmyra UMC
| Previous Appointment | Mt. Sterling First UMC in Kentucky |
|---|
About Daniel
| Family | Married to a PCUSA Pastor, Linda Kurtz Burch. (She took a double last name so “Kurtz Burch” is her full last name.) I have a dog named Maker and he is my best friend. My mother and family of origin live in Fredericksburg. My wife’s parents live on Smith Mountain Lake in Bedford county, VA. |
|---|---|
| What are you most excited about for the coming year at your new appointment? | A change of pace and seeing what God can do in the most unexpected of places. |
| What are you most passionate about in ministry? | People. Caring for people, talking with people, helping people. Anything with people. |
| What was your very first job? | A farmhand. |
| Fun fact about you: | I play 4 instruments: mandolin, guitar, banjo, and trombone |
Rev. Larry Cochran
Belmont UMC
| Previous Appointment | Westover Hills UMC and Belmont UMC |
|---|---|
| District | Three Notch’d |
About Larry
| Family | I have been blessed to be married to MaryKaye for 34 years. We have three children, Jason who is an oncology nurse in Issaquah, Washington, Samuel who is a Roanoke city Police officer and Lauren who works at a daycare in Winnipeg Canada. We have one grandson, Sawyer. |
|---|---|
| What are you most excited about for the coming year at your new appointment? | I am looking forward to seeing what God will do in the lives of the people of Belmont UMC and surrounding community. God is at work in our food pantry and clothing closet. |
| What are you most passionate about in ministry? | I love to be in ministry with the multi-ethic church at Belmont. I also love to be in ministry with those who are living on the margins with the prayer that people will come to know Jesus. Our work with the Racial Justice Network has been inspiring. |
| What was your very first job? | Delivering newspapers at the age of 11. |
| Fun fact about you: | MaryKaye and I love to camp and hike. We also lead mission teams to Cuba. I have served on 23 UMVIM teams to Cuba since 1998. |
Rev. Jason Elmore
Skipwith UMC
| Previous Appointment | Providence (Chesterfield) |
|---|---|
| District | Three Notch’d |
About Jason
| Family | I have two daughters |
|---|---|
| What are you most excited about for the coming year at your new appointment? | I am excited about the opportunity to grow a church that has great potential but has slowed over the past few years. |
| What are you most passionate about in ministry? | Worship and preaching are pretty high on my list of things I am passionate about. I love trying to bring the Word of God to life through practical application preaching. |
| What was your very first job? | I worked for a parks and recreation dept for the city I grew up in. We would maintain the city parks, cut grass, pick up trash and prepare sporting fields for their games. |
| Fun fact about you: | I am a Virginia High School League official for football and softball. I am a internationally credentialed public information officer through the Center for Public Safety Excellence. I am 1 of 100 in the world and only 1 of 5 in Virginia. |
Ms. Katie Frooman
Bethel/Westover/Bethsaida
About Katie
| Family | Our home is a little wild with me and Steve plus our son and daughter, a dog, two geckos, 13 chickens and 13 baby chicks – and soon a cat! |
|---|---|
| What are you most excited about for the coming year at your new appointment? | It’s going to be exciting to see how the three churches work together to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community. |
| What are you most passionate about in ministry? | Jesus calls us to love God and love our neighbor, I’m most passionate about the relationships we build with each other and our neighbors through our love of God. |
| What was your very first job? | I worked at a combination Pretzel Time/TCBY making pretzels. |
| Fun fact about you: | I used to SCUBA dive and had an Advanced Open Water certification. |
Rev. Korri Garrett
Ginter Park UMC
| Previous Appointment | Oak Grove/Riverview/Uzzell UMC |
|---|---|
| District | Mission Rivers |
About Korri
| Family | I live with my older sister, Paula, in our family home after the passing of my parents. |
|---|---|
| What are you most excited about for the coming year at your new appointment? | I am excited to build upon the already great outreach work that Ginter Park UMC is doing in the Northside of Richmond. |
| What are you most passionate about in ministry? | I am passionate about making connections and building relationships with my church family and connect to organizations, schools, etc. to create a better quality of life for our members in the body of Christ. |
| What was your very first job? | I was a courtesy clerk (bagger/porter) for Ukrop’s Supermarkets. |
| Fun fact about you: | I love to create binder covers for students and educators so that they will be more engaged in their notes and notetaking with their classes. |
Rev. Michael Kendall
Mount Pisgah – Midlothian
| Previous Appointment | Duncan Memorial |
|---|---|
| District | Three Notch’d |
About Michael
| Family | My wife, Kathy, and I have three children. Our oldest is married and lives in Hanover County where his wife teaches first grade. He is with a marketing firm in Richmond and is involved with weekly worship broadcast. Our daughter is earning her graduate degree to become a Physician’s Assistant. She lives in Fredericksburg. Our youngest is in high school is interested in engineering and videography. |
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| What are you most excited about for the coming year at your new appointment? | I have been blessed by the core group I have met already, and I am eager to know our wider congregation and community. We have |
| What are you most passionate about in ministry? | Helping people imagine God’s creative possibilities in ministry, to tap their excitement and energies, and see meaningful relationships emerge. |
| What was your very first job? | I was a lifeguard, for Boy Scout Camp, a local community pool, and for Water Country USA. |
| Fun fact about you: | Growing up, I loved to play with model trains. Seeing the movement of the trains, creating a neighborhood community on the layout with people and storylines, and imagining what the various railcars transport to help provide for a community, was always a fun world to see. |
Rev. Yoonsik Lee
Amissville UMC
| Previous Appointment | Skipwith UMC |
|---|---|
| District | Three Notch’d |
About Yoonsik
| Family | I married Grace whom I met in India. Both of us were single missionaries at that time. We have one son who is a youth pastor at Trinity UMC in Dallas, Texas. |
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| What are you most excited about for the coming year at your new appointment? | Making small groups based on several themes in the church. |
| What are you most passionate about in ministry? | Evangelism–for that I am visiting church members’ homes and trying to be a chaplain of the Sheriff office of the county. |
| What was your very first job? | Working at the Korean Embassy to India. |
| Fun fact about you: | I like road trip and camping. I traveled LA to Dallas and Dallas to Virginia moving my residences with a U-Haul truck. |
Rev. Blaine Oliver-Thomas
Shady Grove UMC (Short Pump)
| Previous Appointment | Bethany UMC (Weyers Cave) |
|---|---|
| District | Shenandoah River |
About Blaine
| Family | Married to Ashley Oliver-Thomas with our four-legged fur boy Rico |
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| What are you most excited about for the coming year at your new appointment? | Getting to work alongside a wonderful senior pastor, an excellent team, and folks who are willing to offer all of their gifts and graces to extend God’s grace into our community. |
| What are you most passionate about in ministry? | I love serving alongside young people and extending the table of grace to places where Christ’s hope may not be as visible! |
| What was your very first job? | A runner for a private investigator |
Rev. David Vaughan
Shady Grove UMC (Short Pump)
| Previous Appointment | Calvary (Stuarts Draft) |
|---|---|
| District | Valley Ridge |
About David
| Family | My wife April is a nurse. We have two children, along with a black lab named Sabre. |
|---|---|
| What are you most excited about for the coming year at your new appointment? | I’m excited to meet new friends at Shady Grove, connect with neighbors in our community, and chase some God-sized dreams together! |
| What are you most passionate about in ministry? | God’s love is real, and it’s really for us. I am passionate about helping people discover this truth about themselves–and everyone else! |
| What was your very first job? | I’m not sure which one came first, but I worked as a substitute teacher, research assistant, basketball official, landscaper, and youth minister before becoming a pastor. |
| Fun fact about you: | Besides Jesus and my family, my favorite things are new places and long runs. So if I look like I’m lost somewhere on the streets of Richmond, it’s on purpose. Maybe… |
This is a work in progress; check back for more introductions soon.