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Pastor Wes Poole
Rev. Patrick W. "Wes" Poole is a native South Carolinian, born in Greenville in 1967. He graduated from Newberry College in 1990 with a Bachelors Degree in Vocal Performance. Early on, he had every intention of pursuing a career as an opera singer. God however…well, He had other plans! So taking a career route slightly different from many of his peers, in June of 1993 he entered the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia. In 1997, he received the Master of Divinity degree from LTSS and was ordained in June of that same year. Following ordination, he served a congregation in Seminole, FL for three years. Fleeing from the heat in 2000, he and his wife Christine made their way to Northeast Pennsylvania in search of a real Autumn! There he served the congregation of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Kingston, PA for over eight years. While he is truly honored and privileged to be called to the ministry of Word and Sacrament, he is also remains passionate about music. Over the past decade and more, he has indeed been fortunate to pursue his musical aspirations while still serving the Lord and his parish. Along with singing professionally, he plays the guitar, mandolin, a bit of banjo, and loves all genres of music from classical to rock to bluegrass! Luckily, his wonderful wife, Christine, has been able to help him keep his obsession with buying guitars to a manageable minimum! They have two beautiful children, Ian (age 5) and Julia (age 4) who are the twin delights of their life. Between ministry, music, and his amazing family, he has been blessed in ways he can barely articulate. When he realized the Holy Spirit was moving them towards seeking new opportunities for ministry, they decided it was time to move closer to homeand family (his extended family still lives in Greenville, SC). Pastor Wes has confessed: "God provided richly by showing us the way to St. James in Sumter. I am truly thankful to be a part of the vital ministry of such an active congregation and look forward to many years of Proclaiming the Gospel with the good people of this special community of faith.
William L. (Bill) Scobee is a native of Paris, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1962. Bill served in the U.S. Air Force including two tours of duty at Shaw AFB in Sumter, and one in Thailand during the Vietnam conflict. He taught at Sumter School District 17 for twenty-six years and was the Organist / Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church in Sumter for thirty-seven years. Following retirement Bill became Organist / Director of Music at St. James Lutheran in 2002.
Shannon Morris was born in Washington St. in 1975. She has lived in SC since she was 8 after her dad retired from the Air Force. She graduated from Sumter high school in 1993 and married her high school sweetheart, Ronnie Morris, Jr., a week later. They are now in the process of adopting 2 little girls, Erin (4) and Jessica (3). The girls have put new meaning in their lives and have changed them in so many ways. Her husband (a minister since 1997) and Shannon have been pastoring Smithville Evangelical Baptist Church since June of 2007 and are very proud of their church family. She is very excited to be working at St. James and looks forward to giving many years of service to such a wonderful and caring church.
It takes a lot of great people to make a great church.
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