Leadership
& Staff

Our church is led by a pastoral team of two plus our music & arts minister, parish associates and administrative staff. 

Officers
& Governance

The Kirk’s Governance structure assigns governance and ministry decisions to appropriate bodies and staff.

Ministry Teams
& Committees

A Ministry Team is a group of individuals with a shared call to particular forms of service to the mission of the church.

our pastoral team

Bridge Interim Senior Pastor/Head of Staff

Associate Pastor for Christian Nurture & Mission

Stated Supply Associate Pastor for Congregational Care

Director of Music & Arts

Associate Director of Music & Organist

Learn About Our Pastoral Team

The Rev. Dr. Steve Schaick (“Shike”) accepted the call to be the Kirk’s Bridge Interim Head of Staff, beginning August 29th, 2022. Steve was born and raised in a United Church of Christ Church in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. His calling to ministry came as a college student at the University of Wisconsin, where he also met Denise, his wife of 39 years. Following the completion of his MDiv at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, he served for three years as Associate Pastor of Mt Zion UCC in Beavercreek, Ohio. In 1988, he entered the United States Air Force as a Chaplain. Originally ordained in the UCC, in 2006 Steve was accepted into the Florida Presbytery as a PC (USA) chaplain. Steve and Denise served God’s people in Arkansas, Germany, Arlington National Cemetery, Alabama, the US Air Force Academy, Turkey, Florida, Virginia, San Antonio and DC. Last summer, after 35 years of uniformed service, he and Denise retired from the Air Force. Steve was assigned to the Pentagon his last six years and served the last three years as the US Air and Space Force Chief of Chaplains. Upon retirement, Steve and Denise left Washington DC and moved to Chapel Hill (their 21st move!) to be near two of their four amazing grandchildren…and their parents, too.

Steve and Denise love to bike, golf and love on their grandbabies. They also look forward to partnering in ministry with the amazing, gifted and loving Saints of the Kirk.

Stephanie Arnold Workman – Associate Pastor at Kirk of Kildaire, Presbyterian, a church in Cary, NC.

Stephanie is Associate Pastor for Christian Nurture and Mission. She has been at the Kirk since 2003 and was ordained in 2005. While she moved many times in her younger years (Oxford, England; New Mexico; Illinois; Texas; New Jersey; and Louisiana) she claims Louisiana as home, though she has now lived in North Carolina for longer than anywhere else.

She received her undergraduate degree in Sociology and Religion from Wake Forest University and her Master of Divinity from Princeton Seminary. During her time at the Kirk, Stephanie has gotten married to James “Jim” Machado Workman, another Presbyterian minister. Together, they have a very active and adorable son, Clinton, and a rescue dog named Sandy.

Rev. Molly Smerko is a child of God, twin, daughter, and friend. She grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, where her faith was nurtured by her parents and the saints of First Presbyterian Church, as well as her love for salt, sand, and seafood. When she was ten, her family moved back to Raleigh. Her faith and call to ministry continued to be nurtured by White Memorial Presbyterian Church. Molly is a graduate of Broughton High School in Raleigh (International Baccalaureate program). She continued her education at Meredith College (B.A, Religious and Ethical Studies, Spanish) and Union Presbyterian Seminary (M.Div). She has served PC(USA) churches in Richmond and Roanoke, Virginia, and Charlotte, North Carolina. She was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the New Hope Presbytery. Molly’s heart for pastoral care has been nurtured through completing units of clinical pastoral education (CPE) at UNC Rex Hospital and UNC WakeBrook Hospital in Raleigh. Molly is a Spanish speaker, and she finds great joy in building bridges of connection and hospitality through both speaking and tutoring Spanish with others.

Molly is delighted to be worshipping and serving at the Kirk, living closer to both her immediate and extended family.

For fun, you can find her reading, enjoying live music, spending time with her loved ones, or playing soccer with her German Shepherd, Ginny.

Molly sums up her life philosophy like this: She believes that the story of God’s love for humanity is the greatest story ever told; she yearns for every second of her life to reflect that story.

Dr. Larry Abernathy, Director of Music at Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church in Cary NC

After being away from his home state over twenty-years, Dr. Larry Abernathy was called to serve as the Director of Music Ministries and Arts at the Kirk in January 2010. Prior to being called to the Kirk, he served Reid Memorial Presbyterian in Augusta, Ga. He has served congregations in Columbia, SC, and Petersburg, VA. He has one son, Lawrence.

Larry’s education includes a DMIN degree from Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA, a Master of Music degree from Southern Seminary, Louisville, KY, where he was awarded the performance award in organ performance, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Wingate University. He has had post-graduate studies in Organ Performance and Choral Directing at the University of South Carolina and Peabody Conservatory.

His choirs have recorded for the Georgia Public Broadcasting Network and been invited to sing at Westabou Arts Festival and at the yearly Lessons and Carols service with the Augusta Collegium. The Kirk choir has been invited to lead in worship at Montreat Summer Worship. In addition to presenting in the public school system in SC, and serving as clinician at handbell festivals, he has served as a presenter for LOGOS Systems Associates for several years.

Dr. Moon Choi joined the Kirk staff in 2016. A native of South Korea, he is a pianist, organist, and collaborative musician. He earned a master’s degree at New England Conservatory of Music under Professor Victor Rosenbaum. At the Conservatory, he received multiple scholarships and won the conservatory’s honors piano competition. Granted a full scholarship, he earned another master’s degree in Collaborative Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance at Michigan State University. Since coming to the USA, he also studied Organ under Dr. Tom Handel, Dr. David Lynch, and Mr. Christopher Jacobson at Duke Chapel.

As a solo recitalist and guest artist, Dr. Choi has enjoyed an active performing career throughout the United States, South Korea, Russia, and Italy. He performed at Jordan Hall in Boston and was invited to perform in the Carnegie Weill Hall in New York City.

Dr. Choi was a pianist for the Korea National Opera and performed more than 50 concerts with their artists. He worked as staff pianist for the New England Conservatory in Boston and he was invited to be an instructor for young musicians at the Iksan Art Center in South Korea.

Previously, he served as pianist for the First Presbyterian Church in Holt, Michigan, and as Music Director and Organist for the University Baptist Church in Lansing, Michigan. Now, he serves as Associate Director of Music and Organist at the Kirk.

 

Parish Associates, Parish Chaplain & Parish Nurse

Learn About Our Parish Associates, Parish Chaplain & Parish Nurse

Rev. Willem Bodisco Massink, was born in the Netherlands and served his country as an MP in the Dutch Army. He graduated from the State College for Agriculture with a B.Sc. degree in Tropical Agriculture and received his M.Div. from the Colgate Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, New York in 1974.

Willem became pastor of the United Protestant Church of Curacao, the Netherlands Antilles, returned to the USA in 1977 and for the next 30 years served churches in up-state New York and Pennsylvania. He was honorably retired in 2007 from Susquehanna Valley Presbytery. Willem is married to Janet and they have 4 children and 11 grandchildren.

Alice is a native of Pittsburgh, PA and came to North Carolina with her husband John in 2012. While raising her family of four children, she attended seminary at Union (VA), Pittsburgh and San Francisco, earning MDiv and MA (Christian Education) degrees.

She has served the church in Pennsylvania and West Virginia as a pastor, church educator and presbytery staff. She has a background in theater and dance, and now she and John keep busy traveling and doting on their 11 grandchildren.

Bill Sadler grew up in western Pennsylvania hearing the call to Christian ministry at age 12.  He worked on computers while attending Pitt.  Education continued for him at Princeton Seminary and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Studies in organizational communications and conflict resolution equipped Bill for serving 8 called pastorates and 16 interim pastorates.   He taught at UWis, Western Illinois University, McCormick and Princeton seminaries.  Susy and Bill came to NC and the Kirk in 2020 to follow their grandkids.   Woodworking, gardening, birding and glass mosaic are his hobbies.

A parish nurse is a registered nurse who works with a faith community to address holistic health (mind-body-spirit) and provides education, advocacy, resources and caregiving.

Caryn may be contacted at:
nurse@kirkofkildaire.org

Administrative Staff

Learn About Administrative Staff

Ellen is a native of North Carolina. She is a 1986 graduate of the business school at UNC-CH. She is a CPA who specializes in non-profit accounting. She and her husband have two grown daughters. Ellen spends her free time reading, exploring local parks, and volunteering at Saint Francis UMC.

Cyndi has been the Office Administrator for the Kirk since August 2015 and is the first friendly face you see as you enter the church. She has been married to her high school sweetheart since 1998 and has three young adults, all of which bring her so much joy and happiness. In her spare time, you will find Cyndi in her yard gardening or practicing her cooking skills.

Cyndi excels at customer service and has been noted as the “quarterback for the church” ensuring everything runs smoothly at the Kirk. Please reach out to her if you need assistance, she is more than happy to help you!

Joel is our part-time office assistant. On his office days, he is the second person you see when you walk into the church office. Joel is a long-time member of the church and is also great at answering questions and providing encouragement.

Governance & Church Officers

The Governance structure assigns governance and ministry decisions to appropriate bodies and staff, while seeking to be flexible in addressing the changing needs of our congregation.

Our model consists of five primary components:

  1. The Session
  2. Committees of the Session
  3. The Deacons
  4. Ministry Teams (in some cases incorporating Sub-Teams)
  5. Staff

The Session is ordinarily composed of the Teaching Elders and thirteen (13) Ruling Elders, including one Youth Elder. Its focus is the larger issues of our church: discerning the mission and direction of the church, establishing goals in cooperation with the Ministry Teams, and participating in denominational issues.

The two standing Committees of the Session are the Personnel and Finance Committees. These two aspects of the church’s life are so interwoven with the policies and actions of the Session that they demand direct Session representation.

In 2020 the Session approved the ordination and installation of individually commissioned Deacons at the Kirk. The Kirk Deacons provide pastoral and congregational care for an initial term of two years and may continue beyond with yearly re-commitments.

A Ministry Team is a group of individuals with a shared call to particular forms of service to the mission of the church. Ministry Teams are empowered by the Session to work independently, within policy guidelines, to achieve the goals of the church. Responsibility for the day-to-day business of the church rests with Ministry Teams.

The Staff are guided by individual job descriptions and, as a general principle, serve as mentoring, coaching resources for one or more broad areas of ministry.

The governing year runs from April to March of each year, with the installation of incoming Ruling Elders occurring in March, and their terms of service beginning in April and ending in March.

The fiscal or stewardship year runs from January to December of each year.

Lynne Hicks
Lindsay Ray
Jackson Riley
Patty Snow

Susan Auman
Shirley Church
Emyr Edwards
Brett Mastalli
Anna Shartzer

Jonathan Allen
Elaine Hoffman
Steve LaTour
Jim Pinson
Elizabeth R.
Amy Woynicz

Ann Branch
Carol Bennett
Barry Harmon
Barney Hale
Hannah Lugiano
Linda Menton
Jerry Rankin
Melanie Rankin
Karen Slack
Helen Stanfield
Kathy White

Ministry Teams & Committees

Mission Ministry Team

Justice and Equality Ministry Team

Worship Ministry Teams

Education Ministry Teams

Other Ministry Teams

Committees