Dilworth United Methodist Church

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Pastoral Staff

The Reverend Ben Devoid
Pastor Ben has a BA in Sociology from Pfeiffer University and a Masters of Divinity from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Ben was ordained an Elder in the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1987. From 1987 to 1990 he served as an associate at Dilworth United Methodist Church, and has returned 16 years later as the Senior Minister. Pastor Ben was raised in Massachusetts, but has claimed North Carolina as his home for most of his adult life. He is married to Sandy Harthan Devoid and together they have two children, Alex and Hannah.

mark larson

Pastoral Counselor and N.C. Licensed Professional Counselor: Dr. Mark Larson
Mark became an ordained United Methodist minister in 1985, and a full-time staff Pastoral Counselor with the Methodist Counseling and Consultation Services in 1994. He offers therapy with individuals, couples families and groups, parish consultations, supervision and workshops on various topics. To contact Mark or MCCS, call 704-375-5354, ext. 203, or see www.mccsvs.org.

Mark received his BA from the University of Wisconsin, M.Div. from Duke University Divinity School and his D.Min. from Columbia Theological Seminary. Mark and his wife, Rev. Cathy Hasty have two daughters.

Educational Staff

The Reverend Rhonda Hermann, Director of Children and Family Ministries
Rhonda completed her Deacon studies in 2009. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia. Her Masters in Christian Education from Pfeiffer. She has been working in Christian Education for about 18 years and loves it! Rhonda has three children and a husband who works at UNC at Charlotte as a Communications Specialist.

Tresca McSwain, Director of Youth Ministries

Tresca McSwain received her undergraduate degree from Wofford College and received her Masters in Christian Education with a specialization in Youth Ministry from Pfeiffer University in 2006. She has worked in youth ministry for over 9 years and is excited to be at Dilworth UMC. Tresca lives in north Charlotte with her husband Robert and their two "children"- a dog, Lexi, and a cat, Patton.

Cynthia Kara, Director of Dilworth Child Development Center Cynthia has been the Director for Dilworth United Methodist Church Child Development Center since 2004, is an active in the Director’s Leadership Academy’sMentor program. She has her graduate degree in psychology and has been an early care and education director for over 20 years working in non-profit, for profit and corporate centers in Ohio, North and South Carolina. Cynthia, husband Rick and five boys(ages 3-20) call Fort Mill, South Carolina home.

Stephanie Kluttz, Director of Dilworth Weekday School
Stephanie became the Director of Dilworth UMC Weekday School in July of 2006. She received her Bachelor of Social Work from UNC Charlotte and her Master of Social Work from UNC Chapel Hill. Stephanie and her husband Evan are Dilworth church members and have three children, Lainey, Ben, and Hope.

Music Staff

Director of Music: Robert (Bob) Pritchard
Bob has served as Dilworth's director of music since September 1998. He earned a bachelor of music education degree at Mars Hill College and a master's in vocal performance at Louisiana State University. Bob is also founding conductor of the Singers of Renaissance, a community chamber choir, and is operations manager of the choral music department of Brodt Music Co.

Organist: Steven Mowery
Steven Mowery, our new 2010 organist, has his Bachelor of Music degree in choral music/piano and his Master of Arts degree in church music/educ/organ from AppState and his Doctorate from Union Seminary. He has many years of experience in worship and worship music, serving churches in Boone, Valdese, Lowell, Kannapolis, and Mooresville. He is also employed in the Registrar's Office of Pfeiffer University and serves as Adjunct Faculty to the Pfeiffer Department of Music. Steven and his wife Kathy have two adult children (David and Page) and a son-in-law (David).

Director of Children's and Youth Choirs: Linda Warren
Linda received her BA in music and BME in voice from Birmingham-Southern College and a master's in music education from the University of Alabama. She also teaches music in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system. Linda is a longtime member of the Dilworth music staff, having previously served for about 20 years as director of music.

Administrative Staff

Office Manager: Carol Biddy

Financial Secretary: Open

Hospitality Staff

Shirley Darby, Church Hostess

Jimmy Davis, Custodian

Steve Clark, Sunday Custodian