I was in Louisville, MS, attended Noxapater Elementary and Junior High, then graduated from Louisville High School in 1972. I was raised in the United Methodist Church, but my maternal grandmother was a member of Beth Eden Lutheran Church north of Louisville.

I had an older sister Marie who died her freshman year of college. She had felt a call to be a missionary after working one summer at a camp for Choctaw youth in Winston County. After Marie died, I struggled to understand how one so faithful would be “taken”. This struggle to understand led me to feel a call by God to ministry. Eventually, I entered the candidacy process for United Methodist. After attending and graduating from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, I was ordained a deacon. During my time at Emory, I met my wife Susan Burch, who is from Atlanta and who was attending Emory’s division of librarianship in its Graduate School.

After graduating from Candler and for two years, I served as a part-time pastor for two rural Methodist churches in McDonough, GA while working toward a Ph.D. in religion (which I never completed). For a few months in 1983-84, I served on a multi-point parish in Nottingham, England.

After returning from England, I realized that I was having difficulties feeling comfortable in the Methodist church. We began attending St. John’s Lutheran Church in Atlanta, where we felt at home and soon found ourselves becoming Lutheran! I eventually began exploring ordination in the Lutheran Church. I was approved for candidacy in the old Lutheran Church in America and began a year of Lutheran studies at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC. During that time, our first child, Susan Marie, was born. I completed my studies and was ordained at St. John’s in May 1986.

I accepted my first call to be assistant pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Chattanooga, TN where I served for less than two years before accepting a call as pastor of Ascension in Jackson, MS in December 1987. During our first couple of years in Jackson, our daughter Margaret was born. Susan has worked at University of Mississippi Medical Center for most of our time there, first as a reference librarian and then for the last 15 years as Director of the library. Though, initially, we did not expect to be there long, I ended up being pastor at Ascension for 34 years before retiring at the end of May 2022.

During retirement, I have enjoyed gardening, taking long walks, some genealogy, and birdwatching. I am reasonably “handy” around the house but I enjoy a good book, a good glass of wine, bottle of beer, or something stronger.

Susan retired recently as director of the library but continues on working on a project. She expects to retire fully sometime this year, but until then, she expects to “commute”, spending Thursday through Sundays here in Ocean Springs. Our daughter Susan Marie (“Susie”) lives in Metairie, LA with her husband Brett and our 4-year old grandson Connor. Susie has been teaching 5 years at Kehoe France School in Metairie. Margaret is back in Jackson after completing a Ph.D. in Classics at the University of Texas in Austin. She teaches Latin at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. She is married to Will Davies.

I am excited about my time at Christus Victor. Many years ago, I began bringing Ascension kids to camp with CV kids at my good friend Julian Gordy’s invitation. I have known of the people here as a dedicated, open, and loving community of believers who find strength in the assurance of our ultimate hope in Christ Jesus whom we serve. In my time here as your interim pastor, I look forward to serving Christ with you.

May Christ bless us as we serve!