Grace United Church of Christ Staff

 

Rev Chance Martinez

Pastor

Originally from Alabama, Rev. Chance earned a Bachelor of Social Work Degree from the University of North Alabama. He is a graduate of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities where he earned his Master of Divinity in UCC Studies.  He moved to Florida in 2016 and pastored Spring Hill United Church of Christ from 2022-2024. Rev. Chance was called to serve Grace UCC in 2024.

 

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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.

 

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Tricia Baptiste

Church Admin/Bookkeeper

 

Tricia 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.

 

Hunt Hughes

Custodian

 

 

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.