The Rev. Nelson L.
Stokes, Jr. was
appointed to
Simpsonville UMC in June
2007. Rev. Stokes has
served churches in the
upstate, midlands, and
low country of the South
Carolina Annual
Conference. Borne at
Greer, SC, December 10,
1948; married Freida
Brown, May 17, 1969.
Nelson and Freida have
four children, Nelson
Lawton, III (dec.)
November 19, 1970,
Nelson Lawton, IV,
Tabitha Layne, Amanda
Lynne Boone. After
graduating from Blue
Ridge high school in
1967, Nelson served in
the US Army as a combat
engineer, and after
being discharged, he
attended the University
of South Carolina at
Spartanburg. Later he
graduated from
Spartanburg Methodist
College with an A.A.,
from Erskine College
with a B.A., and from
Erskine Theological
Seminary with a M.Div.
Nelson has served on
various boards and
committees within the
Annual Conference, as
well as District boards
and committees. Nelson
enjoys travel, hunting,
fishing, stained glass,
gardening and reading,
but most of all spending
time with his
grandchildren.
You may contact Nelson
(864)967-3071
Rev. Pat Gannaway,
Minister of Christian
Formation, comes to us
from Munsey Memorial
United Methodist Church
in Johnson City, TN.
Prior to her appointment
at Munsey, she was
employed at The United
Methodist Publishing
House in Nashville, TN
for 25 years in a
variety of management
and executive management
positions. Always active
in her local church and
continuing to follow her
call to ministry and
passion for Christian
education, she has made
the commitment to
continue to work in the
local church. Born and
raised in South Florida,
she attended Scarritt
College where she
received her Master’s
Degree in Christian
Education. She also has
received a Master’s of
Business Administration
degree. Pat is an
ordained deacon in full
connection in The United
Methodist Church.
Pat enjoys gardening,
golf and traveling.
Contact Pat at
(864)967-3071
Deana
Gentry, Children Ministry
Coordinator.
Elaine
Fowler Owens is our Director
of Music Ministries. A
Simpsonville native, Elaine
graduated from Hillcrest
High School and received a
BA degree in Music Education
from Lander University. She
has two sons, Jeff and Eric
Fowler and two children from
her marriage to Robert
Owens; Laurel Latta and Drew
Owens.She was a music
specialist for Greenville
County schools for 4 years
and taught private piano and
voice lessons for many
years.
Elaine first came to SUMC as
choir director in 1968, a
job that has grown into a
full-time position with two
adult choirs, three handbell
groups, various children’s
choirs, church orchestra and
several small ensembles
including a men’s choir. She
has served as President of
the Fellowship of United
Methodists in Music and
Worship Arts for the state
of South Carolina and
remains on the board.
Elaine's heart is in the
music ministry of SUMC.
Bringing all her talents
together in God's ministry
is one of her greatest
blessing. At home, she loves
spending time with her cats
Beverly
Stabler, our Organist, is
married to church member
(and Hosanna Brass member)
Berley Stabler. She is the
daughter of Charles and Anne
Ashmore. Beverly was born in
Greenville, SC, middle of 5
children and has remained in
the area her whole life.
Beverly attended Lee Road
United Methodist Church,
where she sang in the choir.
Her parents are still
members there. Beverly
received her Masters in
Elementary Education with
Learning Disabled emphasis
from Clemson University and
is a teacher at Hillcrest
Middle School. She has been
at Hillcrest Middle for 23
years, the last 12 years in
PE. Beverly has 3 children,
Drew, William, and Hannah.
Beverly can be found doing
aerobics at the Golden Strip
YMCA at 5:45 AM most
mornings. She says this gets
her morning off to a great
start by combining her two
favorite things-fitness and
music.
Ann
Benjamin is our Pianist. Ann
was born and grew up in
Greenville, SC where she was
a member of St. Mark UMC.
Ann received a BA and a MEd
in Elementary Education and
an Education Specialist
degree in reading from
Clemson University.
She retired from Woodmont
Middle School in 2005 after
teaching seventh grade
literature and language arts
for thirty-one years. She is
currently adjunct faculty
for USC-Upstate where she
supervises student teachers.
Ann lives in the "suburbs"
of Fountain Inn on McKelvey
Rd (in the Fork Shoals area)
with her shih tzu Dempsey.
She enjoys reading, playing
the piano and spending time
with her family and friends.
Ann has been the pianist at
SUMC for ten years, and she
says she absolutely loves
it! Ann feels that
ministering through music is
truly a blessing for her.
Lee
Talley is our church Sexton.
The Sexton, by historical
definition, is the officer
or employee who is
responsible for the care of
the church and its grounds.
Lee was born in Petersburg,
Tennessee and grew up on a
farm growing corn and
tobacco. At age 12, when his
mother passed away, Lee
became the family cook.
After Lee graduated from
West End H.S. in
Fayetteville, TN, he
enlisted in the US Army.
While stationed at Ft.
Jackson, Lee met his
wife-to-be, Miss Shirley J.
Sanders of Fountain Inn.
They were married in 1965,
and are the parents of 3
children and 2
grandchildren, who still
live in this area. As a
youth, Lee was a member of
Caldwell Methodist Church
and served as MYF President.
In 1966, Lee and Shirley
joined Mt. Zion Baptist
Church in Fountain Inn near
their home. Lee was recently
ordained as a Deacon of Mt.
Zion. He is also his
church's Treasurer and has
been a Trustee. Lee's
favorite college football
team wears
orange.....Volunteer Orange,
that is! He is a faithful
Tennessee fan. He also likes
the San Francisco 49'ers.
His hobby is gardening. He
has over 25 different
varieties of Day Lilies.
Like a lot of us, Lee moved
to South Caroline to find a
job. Besides his in-laws, he
didn't know anyone. He
applied for a job at Cryovac
and worked there over
thirty-five years, retiring
in 2008.
Rev. George M. Riser retired in
2007 and then he and his wife,
Wallis, returned to Simpsonville
UMC as members before he joined
the staff in November, 2009, as
Director of Congregational Care.
George and Wallis have in their
blended family four grown
children and three
grandchildren. A native of
Saluda, SC, George attended
Clemson for a year, transferred
to Wofford College and graduated
there. While a freshman in
college, he heard the call to
enter the ministry. "Because of
my small country church
background, I really believe one
person can make a difference."
Following his graduation from
Candler School of Theology at
Emory University, Rev. Riser
received his first appointment
as pastor of Mt. Pleasant UMC in
Pomaria, SC, and then served for
40 years as a pastor in the SC
Conference (including
Simpsonville UMC from
1999-2003.) George has acquired
a passion for growing roses and
has moved many plants, which he
called “itinerant” roses since
they moved whenever he did;
however, his roses are now
“permanently” planted at their
home near Roper Mountain in
Greenville. He also enjoys his
vegetable garden, golf,
woodworking and listening to the
stories of the people he meets.
Rev. Don McKinney
Pastor Emeritus
Home: 864-213-9898
Edward Stallworth, our
Director of Youth
Ministries, helps families
with teens to develop faith
in Christ, build confidence
in themselves, and create
opportunities for young
people to become part of a
faith community. Prior to
coming to Simpsonville UMC,
Ed has spent seven years in
youth ministry after
graduating from Baptist
Theological Seminary in
2001. He was born in Japan
but was raised in Denver,
Colorado. Ed offers a wide
range of opportunities for
youth ranging from weekly
Bible Studies, to regular
retreats and week-long
mission trips for both
middle school and high
school students. Ed
specializes in ministering
to youth and youth parents
by helping them understand
what it means to be a person
of faith. This includes
theological, Wesleyan, and
Biblical studies, hands-on
missions, current events
discussions, and social
justice awareness. Ed has a
Japanese mother and black
father, and was raised
Buddhist, giving him a
unique perspective on life
and faith. He later became a
Christian shortly after
graduating from High School.
Ed lives with his wife
Jennifer in Greenville with
their two dogs, Isis and
Pebbles. One day he plans to
become a Senior Pastor of a
United Methodist Church.
Karen
Smith, our Administrative
Manager, is the daughter of
Lloyd and JoAnn Johnson and
is very proud to say she was
born and raised in
Simpsonville. She graduated
from Hillcrest High School
and has a college degree in
Accounting and is the mother
of a daughter - Savannah.
While her job consists of
varied duties during a
normal eight-hour workday,
her love is music. Karen
sings in the Chancel choir
and with the SUMC Praise
Band. Karen says she enjoys
working at the church
getting to know the
membership and feels
fortunate to work in an
environment of care and
concern from the church
family
Nancy
Hill, our Church Secretary,
began her job on January 2,
2002. Nancy and her family
recently moved back to
Simpsonville after living in
Travelers Rest for the past
twenty years. Nancy spent
ten years at Morgan Memorial
Baptist doing many of the
tasks she has taken up at
SUMC.First and foremost,
Nancy describes herself as a
person who likes to work
with people. She realizes
that the Secretary is
frequently the first person
an outsider will see or talk
to, and she wants that
contact to be a warm and
caring one. Should you call
or stop by, you will find
her eager to listen and help
out. She loves every aspect
of Church ministry and
believes the position of
Secretary is a ministry
itself. In addition to her
background as a Church
Secretary, Nancy has also
worked as a Faculty
Secretary for North
Greenville College and the
Secretary for Alumni
Programs at Furman
University. She enjoys
learning new skills on the
computer and uses them to
good effect - the monthly
newsletter she produced has
won a design award. Nancy's
husband, Charlie, retired
from the Greenville Water
System filtration plan and
they have two grown sons -
Nathan and Chris. Nancy is
fond of gardening with her
mother, who lives with them,
water aerobics, and crafts
with children.
Our
Preschool Director, Cindy
Gunnells Henderson, grew up
in Simpsonville, S.C. Her
family joined SUMC in 1978.
She attended Hillcrest High
School and is married to
husband Chris. They have two
grown sons, Nick and Brett.
Along with being a mother,
she worked as a preschool
teacher and as a Director of
two different childcare
centers for the last 19
years. Cindy and her family
rejoined SUMC in 2003 and
became the Director of SUMC
Preschool June, 2004 and
absolutely loves being here.
"This is home to me", Cindy
says! She loves working here
with the children, the
parents, and the teachers.
"To know that I am in a line
of work that is so very
important makes me feel so
blessed. One of my favorite
quotes is 'If you can bring
one moment of happiness into
the life of a child, you are
a co-worker with God.' To
see the smiles on the faces
of these little angels, to
feel their little arms hug
my neck… what joy that
brings my heart. This feels
like home to me. I am right
where God needs me to be."
Beverly
Stabler, our Organist, is
married to church member
(and Hosanna Brass member)
Berley Stabler. She is the
daughter of Charles and Anne
Ashmore. Beverly was born in
Greenville, SC, middle of 5
children and has remained in
the area her whole life.
Beverly attended Lee Road
United Methodist Church,
where she sang in the choir.
Her parents are still
members there. Beverly
received her Masters in
Elementary Education with
Learning Disabled emphasis
from Clemson University and
is a teacher at Hillcrest
Middle School. She has been
at Hillcrest Middle for 23
years, the last 12 years in
PE. Beverly has 3 children,
Drew, William, and Hannah.
Beverly can be found doing
aerobics at the Golden Strip
YMCA at 5:45 AM most
mornings. She says this gets
her morning off to a great
start by combining her two
favorite things-fitness and
music.
Ann
Benjamin is our Pianist. Ann
was born and grew up in
Greenville, SC where she was
a member of St. Mark UMC.
Ann received a BA and a MEd
in Elementary Education and
an Education Specialist
degree in reading from
Clemson University.
Lee
Talley is our church Sexton.
The Sexton, by historical
definition, is the officer
or employee who is
responsible for the care of
the church and its grounds.
Our
Preschool Director, Cindy
Gunnells Henderson, grew up
in Simpsonville, S.C. Her
family joined SUMC in 1978.
She attended Hillcrest High
School and is married to
husband Chris. They have two
grown sons, Nick and Brett.
Along with being a mother,
she worked as a preschool
teacher and as a Director of
two different childcare
centers for the last 19
years. Cindy and her family
rejoined SUMC in 2003 and
became the Director of SUMC
Preschool June, 2004 and
absolutely loves being here.
"This is home to me", Cindy
says! She loves working here
with the children, the
parents, and the teachers.
"To know that I am in a line
of work that is so very
important makes me feel so
blessed. One of my favorite
quotes is 'If you can bring
one moment of happiness into
the life of a child, you are
a co-worker with God.' To
see the smiles on the faces
of these little angels, to
feel their little arms hug
my neck… what joy that
brings my heart. This feels
like home to me. I am right
where God needs me to be."