Grace United Church of Christ Staff
The Rev. Gerry C. Hanberry
Pastor
The Rev. Gerry C. Hanberry served as pastor of Glade UCC, Walkersville, MD for almost 14 years. Beginning January, 2009 Gerry became an intentional interim pastor (2009-current). Prior to joining Grace UCC as the Interim Pastor, Pastor Gerry served six different congregations. Most recently (April, 2018 – May, 2021, he served as the interim pastor of Trinity UCC, Manchester, MD, the church where The Rev. Jessica Ashcroft-Townsley serves as pastor. Prior to that Gerry served for two years as the interim pastor at Columbia United Christian Church, a multi-denominational parish in one of the Interfaith Centers in Columbia. MD. In addition. Gerry served two congregations in Carroll County, MD, and one congregation (Zion Reformed UCC) in Hagerstown (2009-2010).
Prior to his current work as a minister, Gerry worked as a community developer, program administrator, trainer and researcher in both higher education, community development and educational consulting. Pastor Gerry “has a heart for racial justice and the LGBTQ+ community.” He is a member of the Racial Justice Leadership Team of the Central Atlantic Conference of the UCC. Gerry had a lead role in developing an Anti-Racism Audit for local Congregations, an extensive process designed to assist local congregations in becoming “anti-racist Churches.” This project is now in its second major developmental/field-testing phase. Also, Pastor Gerry is in the third year of a three-year national UCC course called “Sacred Conversations 2 End Racism.”
He holds a B.A. in Church Music (Furman Univ.); Masters and PhD in Adult Education and Community Development (Florida St. Univ.) and a Masters of Divinity (Wesley Theological Seminary). You may contact Pastor Gerry at e-mail: Pastorgerrygrace@gmail.com.
He lives in Frederick with his wife, Pat Hanberry, and their cat, Elwood, one of the two “blues brothers” cats of Frederick. Pat and Gerry share 5 children and 14 grandchildren, the joy of their lives.
All his life, Gerry has been a NY Yankees and a ‘Washington professional football team’ fan…still trying to come to terms with the name the ownership, whoever will be their quarterback, and their name--“the former long-time name was always inappropriate and racist”. He is an avid bicyclist, even in the cold weather of this winter.
Nathan Strite
Director of Music and Organist
Nathan Strite completed an undergraduate degree in Organ Performance at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, where he studied organ with Mark King, piano with Dr. Yu-Hsuan Liao, and choral conducting with Dr. Rachel Carlson.
As a church musician, Nathan served various churches in the Hagerstown area before coming to Grace UCC in Frederick. Mr. Strite has also worked as a choral accompanist and has accompanied Hagerstown Choral Arts and various other choral groups while at Shepherd University.
As a performer, Nathan has participated in recitals given by the Cumberland Valley chapter of the American Guild of Organists and has performed numerous times in the Annual Bach Festival held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Hagerstown. He also performed the dedicatory organ recital for the installation of the Trompette en Chamade at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Hagerstown, MD. Currently, he presents his own recitals that include a broad variety of music. These are often in conjunction with his partner and fellow musician William Miller, a clarinetist and multi-instrumentalist.
Kelly Pineda
Church Admin/Bookkeeper
Kelly handles the day-to-day running of the church office. She is responsible for creating the worship bulletins, weekly email blast, monthly newsletters, answering the telephone and email, keeping the church files in order, and updating the membership database. She handles the scheduling of all meetings and events on the church calendar, provides secretarial support to the Pastor and the Church Council, and acts as the webmaster for Grace's website. She also serves as the church's financial secretary and bookkeeper.
Regular office hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Kelly Pineda
Director of Children & Youth Ministries
A little bit of how I came to call GRUCC home. I met Pastor Rob when I covered for his administrative assistant in 2021. Pastor Rob and I were instant friends and I believe God put me in this church to serve a greater purpose than covering for a couple of short weeks.
I have several years of experience working with children in a Christian daycare center, and I share 5 kids with my "superman husband" Richard. It's safe to say my love for people, and my strong belief in Jesus will help guide me through this new journey.
If you see me around, please say hi! I'm super friendly, but I'm working on being more outgoing. I am so excited to learn more about each of you, and working here at Grace!
~ Kelly~
Mat Lutman
Caretaker
Our Caretaker works 3 days a week making sure the building is in good working condition. He cleans up after worship, fellowship events, weddings, and funerals, and does many odd jobs around the church.