Sunday, November 16 St. Paul United Methodist Church (UMC) will celebrate its 145th annniversary durng the 11am service and Reverend Tim Gearheart invites the community to join our service and hear from the guest minister Dr. Patricia A. Jones, natve of Christiansburg VA. Rev. Jones is a life long Methodist and member of Asbury UMC in Christiansburg. Her maternal great-grandparents were founding members of Ashbury UMC.
Rev. Jones is a graduate of Ferrum College and Norfolk State University. She earned her Master of Divinity degree at Vanderbilt University and her Doctor of Ministry at Wesley Theological Seminary. She was ordained in 1992 and served United Methodist congregations throughout the VA Annual Conference. Rev. Jones was the first African American clergy woman appointed to serve a white congregation in the VA Annual Conference and the first African American clergy elected to the VA Annual Conference’s Board of Ordained Ministry.
She served on the Children’s Initiative Committee, Board of Directors the Wesley Foundation at William and Mary, VA Conference Board of Ordained ministry and other district and conference committees. Rev. Jones went into full retirement as an elder in 2012 but has served several churches in Valley Ridge District as a part time retired elder.
Spiritual growth was and continues to be important to her and she led congregations in discovering their spiritual gifts.
Missions is also one of her passions. She is a certified volunteer in mission team leader and has traveled to 21 countries and preached in United Methodist Churches in Zimbabwe, Russian, El Salvador, and Cambodia.
In retirement she was a member of the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Program, Asbury Churches’ United Women in Faith, and serves on the Board of Directors of The Christiansburg Institute Alumni Association, Inc and other organizations.
St. Paul UMC at 502 Gilmer Avenue NW, welcomes the community to experience Open Hearts, Open Minds, and Open Doors.
