Visit us: 1422 Springwood Church Rd., Burlington, NC 27215
Mail to: PO Box 5, Whitsett, NC 27377
Meet Our
Team
Pastor
Marybeth Asher-Lawson
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Marybeth undertook her duties as Pastor at Springwood on November 13, 2017. Born and raised in Daytona Beach, FL, (her mother is from Reidsville) she is a graduate of the University of Texas (B.S., Education). She received her Master of Divinity at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. Marybeth is both "beach baby" and "mountain mama". She loves the sound and rhythm of the waves, but equally enjoys putzing in her garden in Burlington and breathing in the cool mountain air in western North Carolina.
Marybeth is a PCUSA pastor with over 25 years of pastoral ministry experience. After first working as a primary school teacher in Texas and Kentucky, she began her ministry in Philadelphia as Associate Pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church, Jenkintown. In 2000 she and her family moved to Hong Kong where she served international churches with the permission of Philadelphia Presbytery until 2016 when they returned to the USA.
In addition to preaching, teaching, and pastoral care, Marybeth loves working with children and drinking tea with friends. She engages in "procrasti-baking" on Saturdays when the sermon won't gel. She lives with her husband Scott Lawson, who for 30 years has led her in hilarious adventures around the world. Scott is an avid cyclist and he loves to play acoustic and electric guitars. Marybeth and Scott have one daughter, Grace, who is truly amazing.
Vision Implementation Pastor
Anita Newkirk
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Anita is a native of NC. She retired from Chapel Hill Transit after serving them for 30 years where she did a variety of tasks from driving to supervising. She has two grandchildren that she adores and volunteers in her church fellowship. She is a person who loves to help people and believes God called her to be an encourager and a helper to those who cross her path. God blessed her with many talents and she loves sharing them with others. She loves the Lord and everyday seeks to be better than she was the day before. Anita migrates to jobs where she can interact with people. She brings a smile everywhere she goes and enjoys a good sense of humor! When not serving, Anita likes to be creative (graphic design) singing, reading, watching TV and traveling with her sister, whenever possible.
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Church Executive Admininstrative Assistant
Music Ministry/ Communications Associate
Sarah Jones-Ely
springwoodmusicministry@gmail.com
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“Energetic”, “patient”, “joyful”, “great personality”, “God-loving”, “talented”, “fun”, “thoughtful”…. These are the words that our choir members used when asked to describe our church music leader, Sarah Jones-Ely. (Those same words above also could be used to describe our choir members, so this is definitely a match made in heaven!) Sarah is originally from Pittsboro, where she grew up on a farm with her parents and three siblings. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, where she majored in general music, with a concentration in voice and piano, and minored in photography. She has served as an accompanist at First Baptist Church Thomasville and as Praise Team Co-leader at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Pittsboro. In addition to her music ministry, Sarah does freelance photography and works at Starbucks as a barista trainer. Sarah lives with her musically talented husband, Zach Jones-Ely, and they are expecting a little Jones-Ely to come around Christmas this year!
Church Treasurer
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Lisa Griggs
treasurer@springwoodchurch.org
Lisa Griggs is an accomplished bookkeeper with years of experience in the Burlington area. Lisa is an excellent chef and yoga master, who enjoys spending time with her family and 2 awesome dogs. Lisa is available to assist with all financial matters at Springwood.
Church Session
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Class of 2024
Jim Bleiler
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Wanda Small
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Class of 2022
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Mike Griggs
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Linda Kennedy
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Lisa Shelton
Class of 2023
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Arthur Buckaloo
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Russ McNeal
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Rick Sutton
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