Pastoral Staff

Rev. Dr. Peter Moon
Senior Pastor
Ext. 21
pmoon@woodlakeumc.org

Pete Moon has served as the Senior Pastor of Woodlake UMC since June 2002.  He received his Masters Degree from Union/PSCE Seminary in Richmond, and a Doctorate from Wesley Seminary in Washington D.C.  His focus has been upon changing lives through Christ in the midst of a rapidly growing segment of Chesterfield County.  At the same time, he believes that the church must be invested in the lives of those who struggle for life in our Richmond Community and in overseas missions.  He has been married for twenty years to his wife Lynn and has five children.  In his spare time loves woodworking and building furniture.

Rev. Michael Whaley
Associate Pastor
Ext. 38
mwhaley@woodlakeumc.org

Michael Whaley serves as an Associate Pastor and is head of the Mission Team, which organizes local and global mission trips and opportunities.

Rev. Michael Shirley has recently joined our staff as a Teaching Pastor who delivers the message each week at our Saturday Connect service, as well as teaches Bible studies.

Administrative Staff

Pam Johnston
Director of Stewardship
Ext. 23
phardey@woodlakeumc.org

Pam Johnston came on board as a staff person in 1997 and began attending Woodlake UMC in 1999.  She enjoys being part of a team that helps keep the church running so that people may gather and worship as well as meet other needs they may have.  She is married to her husband Herb and has three children.  Her favorite book of the bible is James.  Her favorite movie is Rigoletto and for fun she enjoys spending time with her family – what little time our schedule allows us to - reading and attempting to do Suduko!

Tracy Garner
Administrative Coordinator
Ext. 25
tgarner@woodlakeumc.org

The Staff Parish Relations Committee is pleased to announce that Tracy Garner will be our new Administrator Coordinator.  Tracy has been a member of the church for several years and has been very involved.  She brings with her many years of administrative experience and skills.  Please stop by the church office and welcome her.  She will be the smiling face that greets you at the front desk.

Shirley Huffman
Treasurer
Ext. 26
shuffman@woodlakeumc.org

Shirley Huffman came on board as a staff person in 2007.  She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance & Economics from Northwest Missouri State University and prior Accounting experience in a non-profit organization.  Her husband, Charles, is a retired Army officer and they have a son, Aaron, living in Florida.  Shirley handles the funds for the church, oversees payroll, benefits, and works very closely with the Finance Committee on the budget process.  Her talents include singing in the choir and playing violin in the orchestra.

Sharon Takai
Communications Coordinator
Ext. 27
stakai@woodlakeumc.org

Sharon Takai has been attending Woodlake UMC since 2004 and came on board as a staff person in 2006.  She loves having the opportunity to use her gift of creativity for work in God's Kingdom.  She is married to her husband, Joe, and has a baby boy named Jayden and two dogs named Chuckie and Lexi!  Sharon has a BA in Information Systems from Virginia Commonwealth University and enjoys painting, interior design, watching movies, reading Nicholas Sparks books, and spending time with her family at the lake.  Her favorite verse is Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Discipleship Ministries Staff

MaryKaye Cochran
Director of Discipleship
Ext. 33
mcochran@woodlakeumc.org

Since July 2006, MaryKaye has served as Director of Lay Ministries, overseeing the Good News Team and Lay Ministry Team.  Her background in Christian Education and new student programming provide a strong foundation for sharing her gifts and talents here at WUMC.  MaryKaye is originally from Ashland, Ohio, but has lived in Virginia for 33 years.  She attended the College of William and Mary as an undergraduate and majored in Psychology and Religion.  MaryKaye attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio for graduate studies in college student personnel.  Her professional experiences include directing the orientation program at Longwood College (now University) and serving as Christian Educator at Farmville UMC (Farmville, VA) and Duncan Memorial UMC (Ashland, VA). MaryKaye is married to Larry Cochran and they have three children, Jason, Samuel and Lauren, and a dog, Annie.  Her favorite book of the Bible is the Psalms and her favorite movie is the “Sound of Music.”  She loves to sing, scrapbook, and read whenever possible.

Beth Christian
Dir. of Children's Ministries
Ext. 28
bchristian@woodlakeumc.org

Beth Christian has been attending Woodlake UMC since 1997 and came on board as a staff person in 2001.  What she likes best about her ministry is the absolute trust and awe children have for Jesus.  The kids “get it” AND share it!  She is married to her husband Roger, and has four children ages 12, 15, 22 & 23.  Her favorite book of the bible is Romans.  Her favorite movie is The Sandlot and for fun she enjoys spending time with her husband.

Lori Snidow
Preschool Director
Ext. 59
lsnidow@woodlakeumc.org

Lori Snidow's official start date as the Director of the new preschool is January 1st, 2008.  Welcome Lori!  The new preschool's grand opening will be in the fall 2008 and will be accepting registrations for children ages 3 and 4 in January.  Click here for more information.

Jennifer Rose
KidZworship/WOW Coordinator
Ext. 62
jrose@woodlakeumc.org

Jennifer Rose is our new KidZworship and WOW Coordinator and started the position in August 2009.

Linda Chapman
Nursery Coordinator
Ext. 55
lchapman@woodlakeumc.org

Linda and her family moved here in 1992 and began attending WUMC. She just came on staff as the Nursery Coordinator in June 2007.  However, she has been volunteering in the nursery for 15 years, so some of you reading this may have had a diaper change from her! (Just kidding)  She has loved children forever and feels God wants her to serve Him in this way. She truly loves your children and considers them treasures of her heart!  Her goal is to make our nurseries the happiest places on earth, the most spirit filled, and a ministry that ministers to the whole family.  She has two grown daughters, Rebekah who has two precious sons, and Amanda who has one son, Liam.  Her husband's name is Greg.  He is a Head Usher and wanders around the church every weekend, (movin' chairs and makin' the coffee and donuts).  They have been married for 35 wonderful years!  She loves to read and hang out at the beach or pool.  She feels honored and blessed to be a part of the WUMC staff!

Amy Beckwith

Director of Youth Ministries
Ext. 35
abeckwith@woodlakeumc.org

Amy Beckwith joined our staff July 1, 2010 as Director of Youth Ministries.  Amy is a trained and experienced teacher with a degree in Health and Physical Education from Longwood University, and she brings those talents to us with many years of experience in youth ministry in the United Methodist church, both as a youth participant and an adult leader.  She is passionate about helping youth discover their spiritual gifts, providing activities that help youth work as a team and be leaders in youth group and in their communities, and engaging youth in missions.

Marie Misiaszek
Director of Adult Ministries
Ext. 30
marie@woodlakeumc.org

Marie Misiaszek came on board as a staff person in November 2007.  Marie has had extensive experience in communications, training and development of training classes and material in the secular world.  Since joining Woodlake Church she has been active on various mission teams, co-chaired and led the recent Women's Retreat, served on the Lay Leadership committee, and has participated in and led a variety of small groups.  We are excited to welcome Marie to our staff at Woodlake and hope that you will join us in this welcome when you see her here at church.

Heather Kinkead
Small Group Coordinator
Ext. 57
hkinkead@woodlakeumc.org

Heather began attending WUMC December 2002. She quickly became active with the United Methodist Women, eventually co-leading JOY Circle, and was instrumental in starting the Mom’s Bible Study.  Heather assumed the role of Small Group Coach, and became a Team Leader in the Discipleship Initiative.  Heather and her husband, Kevin, co-facilitate a couples’ Small Group.  In February 2007, Heather accepted her current staff position as Small Group Coordinator.  Her responsibilities include scheduling, training, and coordinating WUMC’s Small Groups.  In this role Heather most enjoys watching people connect and grow closer to God, individually and as a group.  Her favorite book in the Bible is Psalms and her favorite Bible passages are Jeremiah 29:11 and Matthew 6:25-34.  Heather graduated from Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland, but is truly a “Hokie” at heart.  She enjoys outdoor activities, especially hiking, biking and water sports, with her family and dog whenever possible.  She also enjoys cooking and card making.  Heather and Kevin have three children: Blake, Rebecca and Clara, as well as a small household zoo!

Healing Ministries Staff

Julie Warren joined our staff on July 1, 2010 as Director of Congregational Care.  She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this position through many years of nursing in the areas of behavioral health and labor and delivery.  She also has led mission trips to Africa and Mexico through the United Methodist Church and served as the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission Coordinator for the Central Texas Conference.  She strongly believes in motivating and equipping people, inspiring them to become leaders and team members in ministry partnerships, and looks forward to developing Christ-centered relationships within the church in order to meet the needs of those we serve.

Rev. Erin Reibel
Assoc. Director of Congregational Care
Ext. 37
ereibel@gmail.com

Erin has been working at Woodlake UMC in a variety of contexts since 2001.  She is married and is the mother of four young children, which takes up the majority of her time.  Erin is a graduate of Union-PSCE.  She enjoys cooking and reading although she has very little time for either.  She enjoys her current role of working with the prayer service and visiting people in the hospital.

Larry Cochran recently started serving as Pastoral Care associate for WUMC in July of 2007.  In this position, he is involved with hospital visitation, with various aspects of the prayer ministry at WUMC and with Men’s ministry. He is currently a seminary student at Union/PSCE in Richmond pursuing a Masters of Divinity degree. He has been active with United Methodist Volunteers in Mission work in Cuba and with Habitat for Humanity. Larry is a forestry graduate of Virginia Tech and has worked 28 years with the Virginia Department of Forestry. He is married to MaryKaye Cochran, Director of Inviting Ministries and they have three children.  Larry enjoys spending time with his family.  He is involved with scouting with his son and loves going camping as often as he can with the scout troop.  Larry’s favorite movie is “It’s a Wonderful Life.” His favorite book of the Bible is Acts where he sees God’s people expanding His kingdom to the ends of the earth.  Larry feels Woodlake UMC is a great place to continue the work of the early church by offering people Christ in our community and in mission throughout the world.

Gayle Turner came on board as a staff person in 2007.  She is actually a native Floridian, along with several generations of her family who still live all over the state. She is married to Mark (who plays in the Connect band) and loves to tell the kids that “her boyfriend is in the band!”  They have been married 25 years. She has two children, Josh and Ashley, who are both in college and make her very proud. (They both play with Connect as well!)  She graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in Geology. She loves to play outside in the dirt as much as possible. Her favorite things to do are camp, read, cook, garden, turn teens and adults onto the Bible, laugh, and hang out with her family. She has attended WUMC since moving to Virginia in the summer of 2001. The entire family feels that God led them to this spot in the Richmond suburbs and they actually bought their house based on its proximity to the church.  She is excited about “feeding God’s sheep” and looks forward to increased fellowship with each person at WUMC.

Worship Ministries Staff

Darren Raley
Director of Worship
Ext. 29
draley@woodlakeumc.org

Darren Raley came on board as a staff person in 2001.  He loves being used by God and watching him change lives.  He enjoys being able to make so many different kinds of music and work with such amazing people!  He is married to his wife Julie and has a son named Campbell.  His favorite book of the Bible is Psalms, but Paul’s letters are great, and of course the gospels too.  His favorite movies are A Fish Called Wanda, Monty Python (any of them), Mel Brooks (the early ones) Sci-fi – Armageddon, Apollo 13 Serious films – Truly Madly Deeply, and Monster’s Ball.  For fun he enjoys reading (classics or sci-fi), but mainly spending time with my family – camping, canoeing, just hanging out together.

Michael Berkley
Assoc. Director of Worship
Ext. 34 mberkley@woodlakeumc.org

While serving as the choral director of Clover Hill High School, Michael received a call from the founding pastor of Woodlake UMC saying, “I want you to come and do over here what you are doing over there.”  At that point, in 1997, that meant a part time job creating a youth choir, which was formed in a pretty standard church style.  Some years later, now full-time with the church, the youth choir has evolved into two Rock Gospel Show Choirs, for middle and high school, which are accompanied by a youth band.  They both feature the blending of gospel harmonies, rock, rhythm, and choreography.  This is much more like “what he was doing over there.”

Michael also leads music for KidZworship and our W.O.W. “tweens” ministry. At 8:15 on Sunday mornings he is truly in his element, as the pianist and music coordinator for our traditional worship service which features hymns, soloists and ensembles of voices. He is soon to release a CD of inspirational vocal and piano music, the proceeds of which will benefit WUMC. Michael is also heavily involved in and passionate about our skateboard group, which he helped start in 2004. He feels that more and more people need to know that their skills and passions, whatever they are, can be used for God’s glory and to build His kingdom. 

Shirley Pridgen
Pianist

Shirley Pridgen is our resident Pianist and plays during our 9:30 and 11 AM Sunday services.