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Bill has been the Pastor of St. James since June 2012. He met his beautiful wife Sherry on a snow skiing trip in Colorado back in 1990 and have been married for 25 years. They have three awesome kids who love God more than Xbox and Snapchat, and that's saying quite a lot! Living in a Dawg-central region, Sherry forgives Bill for attending the University of Alabama. They enjoy weekly lunch dates with Mexican food and they root for the Bulldogs together, although Sherry's cheers are a touch louder. Beyond being a sports junkie, Bill enjoys landscaping and he likes it even more when his kids do the work!

Bryan Shaw came to St. James back in August of 1978. He has been on staff in the Music Ministry for the last 27 years.  In his current position as Minister of Music, Bryan directs the choir, leads the Praise Team and coordinates the overall music program.  When he's not behind a piano, Bryan can be occasionally spotted on a community theatre stage, and more often on a tennis court. Bryan is blessed to have his three beautiful sisters living in Athens with their families, and assisting with the St. James Music Ministry.

Jenny joined the staff as Children’s Minister in January 2017. She and her husband, Mark, have two boys—Chase and John. Mark and the boys like to run, but Jenny prefers a slower pace. In her free time, she enjoys walks around the neighborhood with the family dog, Pepper. She also enjoys baking and photography. Jenny has a B.A. in English Literature from Florida State University. Elizabethan Drama and Southern Literature, interestingly juxtaposed, were her favorite classes in college. Jenny’s main goal for the Children’s Ministry at St. James: Show them Jesus.

Rachel first wandered into St. James in the fall of 2013 when she transferred from Mississippi State University to the University of Georgia. She kept coming back because of the hospitality she found at St. James and ended up signing up as a youth group small group leader the next fall. In 2016, she graduated from UGA Magna Cum Laude with dual degrees in Latin and World Languages Education. Following graduation, she interned for two years at the UGA Wesley Foundation in prayer and prophetic ministry areas while still devoting her time as a youth small group leader here at St. James. Rachel loves to celebrate Sabbath each week, and in her free time, she may be learning pottery on the wheel, eating ice cream, or arranging fresh flowers from the Athens Farmers’ Market.

LaMurl Morris has served as part of the music staff at St. James since 2003. For over thirty years, she has accompanied and/or directed church music ensembles. In addition to her responsibilities at St. James, she is a teacher and Fine Arts Director at a local Christian school. LaMurl is very active in the mission field leading mission teams to Tanzania, Africa, and Estonia. She and her husband, John, are the parents of two adult children—Christina, who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and Tyler and his wife, Kendal, who currently live in South Korea.

Cathy has always been one of those “organizer” type people. She started as a child and even now… always organizing something. From rehearsal dinner parties to office events; Cub Scout Den leader projects to baseball practice and scheduling games; even gutting an old house and making it into efficient work space for an engineering company. She wouldn’t say she was OCD, but maybe little CDO (controlled demolition operator). She describes herself as organized; a farm girl (she LOVES animals); outdoors whenever possible; and a music appreciator who can’t sing a lick.

She now uses her organizational skills in new ways as a servant of Jesus. She joined the staff as Finance Secretary in January 2017, and says the staff and church members at St. James are such a joy to be around and has learned much from each of them.

Mary joined our St. James staff as part-time Administrative Assistant in 2013, and very much enjoys her contact with fellow Christians each day. Before moving to Athens in 2012, Mary was an Administrative Assistant at a Baptist church in Thomasville, Georgia, for twelve years, following a 27-year career as a professional musician and teacher in the Washington, D.C. area.

Mary and husband of 44 years, George, have a daughter in Athens, a son in Colorado, and three wonderful grandchildren, which they continue to spoil rotten. In her spare time Mary enjoys needlework, knitting, interior design and committee work for her home church here in Athens. She treasures the many friends she has made from working at St. James.

Stan joins the staff of St. James as Director of Discipleship and Special Projects after two previous careers. He worked for a major telecommunications company for 37 years and then took early retirement to join the staff of TMS Global where he served nine years as Senior Director for Church Ministry. Stan has served on or led more than 20 short-term mission teams, been a regional representative for Mission Aviation Fellowship, a Lay Adviser to the Colombia field for OMS International, and served on the board of directors of SIFAT.

He has regularly written for Unfinished magazine and occasionally for Good News magazine and Seedbed. He is the author of the Guide for Developing a Global Outreach Plan, a process that helps the local church carry out a balanced, strategic outreach locally and internationally, and Conducting a Global Impact Celebration Playbook, a guide for creating a high impact, annual mission event in the local church. Stan and his wife, Deborah, have four children and seven grandchildren. In their spare time they enjoy boating and fishing the waters of Lake Oconee.