Cumberland Road

Benjamin Diaz Villa is an ordained elder and pianist at First Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Houston, chair of Trinity Presbytery Board of Christian Education, and is currently a PhD aerospace engineering student at the University of Texas at Austin. His research is currently on hypersonic aeroelasticity, and he enjoys composing music in his free time.

Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue. 
Source:  https:...

Danny Willis is a Cumberland Presbyterian minister in Owensboro, Kentucky. He and his wife Jessica, join me in this faith journey on Cumberland Road. Danny writes, “my story is one of ‘I am lost and now I am found’ and being pulled from certain death, by God’s hand.  My church, wife, and children have all been a huge part of my journey; a journey that has just begun.”

Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue. 
So...

Matthew H. Gore is a British journalist, historian, popular culturist, archivist, and educator residing in Memphis, Tennessee. He is the immediate past-president of the Society of Tennessee Archivists and is best known for his book The History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Kentucky to 1988 (2000). He has also published on a variety of topics as diverse as The Origin of Marvelman (a British superhero of the 1950s...

LeighAnn Morgan is serving as the Congregational Life Director at Winchester Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Tennessee. She was raised in the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination and says she has "loved every second of it". She answered the call into ministry while in high school and graduated from Bethel University in Mckenzie, Tennessee with a major in Human Services. LeighAnn is now attending Memphis Theological Semin...

Carissa Welch lives in Oklahoma. She and her husband have three children, 7, 5, and 2. She is a seminary student and attends Covenant Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

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 loo...

Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Donna Frost is a traveling troubadour with decades of performing and touring experience. Expertly weaving folk, blues and pop, she creates memorable concerts that champion the human spirit. She logs thousands of miles each year, performing across the U.S., solo and with her band. With over 300 songs in her catalog and seven albums, her music has received airplay, charted and garn...

Mitzi Minor joined the Memphis Theological Seminary (MTS) faculty in the summer of 1993. From the beginning of her vocation as a teacher/scholar, first as a grad student, through three years of teaching undergrads, and during all her time at MTS, the primary focus of her work has been (and continues to be) the intersection of the New Testament with our own spiritual journeys. She believes deeply that critical biblical stud...

Reverend Justin Richter recently became the Director of Global Missions of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.  He lives in Albuquerque and served there as a pastor at Heights Cumberland Presbyterian Church for over fourteen years.  He had a multicultural upbringing with multi-ethnic parents and overseas living due to his father’s military career.  He has a passion for cross-cultural ministry and hopes to continue our deno...

Rev. Merlyn Alexander celebrates 71 years of ministry in this faith conversation.  Ordained December 30, 1952, Merlyn has served Cumberland Presbyterian congregations in multiple presbyteries and states, as vice moderator of the General Assembly in 1992 and as moderator of the General Assembly in 1996.  He lives in Jackson, Tennessee.  Thanks to his daughter, Dewana Latimer, for making this faith conversation happen.

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Rev. Emrie Smith Rogers is currently serving as minister of Tusculum Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee. She grew up in Westborough, Massachusetts with a passion for missions and fluency in the Spanish language. Emrie came to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church by God’s leading through many unforeseen circumstances including her thwarted attempts to run away from God’s call. In the Cumberland Presbyteria...

Rev. Rocky Johnson has been in the ministry for over 40 years. He has served Cumberland Presbyterian congregations in Greeneville and Morristown Tennessee and soon will start his 10th year as pastor at Liberty Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Clarksville Tennessee. He has been married to his wife Janet for 31 years and they have a 13 year old granddaughter, Mikeyaka, who lives with them. Rocky says, "We all try to contrib...

The Rev. Dr. Robert S. (Stan) Wood is pastor of the Mt. Tabor Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America in Jackson, Tennessee since 2011.  He was Vice President of Academic Affairs/Academic Dean, Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program, Clara Scott Professor of Ministry at Memphis Theological Seminary retiring in 2017. He earned degrees from Bethel College, Memphis Theological Seminary, and Vanderbilt Divinity School. H...

Rev. Kevin Brantley writes, "I was born Dec. 25, 1971, in Ada, OK, the son of Wes Jr. and Susan Brantley. Dana and I were married May 26, 2007, and have 2 children: daughter Kristi (21) and son Wesley (13). I graduated from Ada High School in 1990, Bethel College in 1994 with a B.S. degree in Mathematics with an emphasis in Business and from Memphis Theological Seminary in 1998 with a M. Div. degree. I became a Christian i...

Earl Goodwin is a Birmingham, Alabama native. He has a background in education as well as his theological endeavors. In his little down time, he enjoys singing and working in live theater. In addition to his responsibilities serving the Stevenson, Alabama church, he is also a full time floral designer as well as Stated Clerk for Robert Donnell Presbytery. Earl is a graduate of The University of Montevallo and Memphis Theol...

Gina writes: "Hello, my name is Gina Wood, and I live in Knoxville, Tennessee. I am a third-generation Cumberland Presbyterian.  My parents are Reverend Leonard and Mary Jo Turner (C.P. royalty, according to me), and they have been at Union Cumberland Presbyterian Church for 51 years. I have two incredible daughters (Taylor & Anna) and a fantastic son-in-law (Matthew). My sister, brother-in-law, and two nephews (Tabith...

Reverend Jill Davis Carr is a Staff Chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri. She is a Board of Trustee member of Memphis Theological Seminary and a board member for Missouri Presbytery of both Christian Education and Camp Cumberland. Jill holds an Master of Divinity from Memphis Theological Seminary and an MBA from Missouri State University. She has served in leadership roles with young people for over 30 years...

Rev. Joy Warren grew up in South Carolina and was ordained by Nashville Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.  She served nine years as Associate Pastor at First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Murfreesboro Presbytery.  Now, she works for NFP as a Design and Consulting Specialist, modeling funding of non-qualified plans for bank executives.  Joy continues her ministry in the Murfreesboro, Tennessee area and b...

Edward H. Adair, a 1985 graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Law, is a former Federal Law Clerk and Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Department of the Interior.  He is currently a Licentiate under the care of the Presbytery of East Tennessee and works for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a Privacy and Regulatory Specialist.

Music is provided by Pierce Murphy, Caldera Blue. 
Source:  https...

Rev. Daniel Barkley is in his twelfth year as the minister at the Gadsden Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Gadsden, Alabama. He is married to Jamie, his high school sweetheart for 27 years, father of three sons (youngest is a senior in college), two daughter-in-laws, one grandson and a granddaughter who will be making her appearance by the end of August 2023. He was born and raised in Paducah, Kentucky and is a graduate o...