About Us - Our Leadership
Pastor/Head of Staff: The Reverend Doctor Anna Pinckney Straight A native of Charleston South Carolina, and the sixth generation of her family to grow up at Second Presbyterian Church in Charleston, Anna Pinckney Straight is a graduate of Agnes Scott College (BA, 1993), Union Theological Seminary in New York City (Master of Divinity, 1996) and Wesley Theological Seminary (Doctor of Ministry, 2007).
Ordained in 1997 she’s served congregations in Arthurdale, West Virginia (Community Presbyterian Church), Greencastle, Pennsylvania (Greencastle Presbyterian Church), Chapel Hill, North Carolina (University Presbyterian Church), Lewisburg, West Virginia (Old Stone Presbyterian Church) and starting in June of 2021, she made the joyful move to New Bern to accept the call to First Presbyterian Church.
A lifelong learner, Anna retreats to Ring Valley Ranch in Dubois, Wyoming, for annual workshops and seminars exploring issues related to ministry and pastoral care. In addition, she is a valued member of The Well, a group of seventeen Presbyterian (U.S.A.) ministers who gather annually to study lectionary texts and to share ideas and sermons with application for ministry today. Outside of work, Anna enjoys boating, running, baking, and history.
Anna is married to Ben Straight. Ben is a microbiologist who has worked in both brewing and scientific research. Their daughter, Sarah Allan, is a first year student at Elon University and a member of the Fire of the Carolinas Marching Band.
Ordained in 1997 she’s served congregations in Arthurdale, West Virginia (Community Presbyterian Church), Greencastle, Pennsylvania (Greencastle Presbyterian Church), Chapel Hill, North Carolina (University Presbyterian Church), Lewisburg, West Virginia (Old Stone Presbyterian Church) and starting in June of 2021, she made the joyful move to New Bern to accept the call to First Presbyterian Church.
A lifelong learner, Anna retreats to Ring Valley Ranch in Dubois, Wyoming, for annual workshops and seminars exploring issues related to ministry and pastoral care. In addition, she is a valued member of The Well, a group of seventeen Presbyterian (U.S.A.) ministers who gather annually to study lectionary texts and to share ideas and sermons with application for ministry today. Outside of work, Anna enjoys boating, running, baking, and history.
Anna is married to Ben Straight. Ben is a microbiologist who has worked in both brewing and scientific research. Their daughter, Sarah Allan, is a first year student at Elon University and a member of the Fire of the Carolinas Marching Band.
Director of Children, Youth and Families: Reverend Catherine Campbell is an eastern North Carolina native and a two-time graduate of Campbell University. She completed a B.A. in Religion in 2010 and a M.Div. with a concentration in Theological and Historical Studies in 2013. Her most recent time in Raleigh was spent networking among non-profits and pastoring in Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregations where she is an ordained clergy member. In 2020, Catherine also became a RYT-200 Yoga Teacher. In her free time, Catherine and her husband Drew enjoy spending time on the water, playing with their dog Maggie, and watching cows on the family farm.
Facilities Supervisor: Tim Elliott and his wife, Diane moved last year to New Bern from Annapolis, MD to be near their daughter's family. They found First Pres and immediately felt the warmth and welcoming of the community. Tim's background was 30 years in local government finance, retiring as Finance Director for the City of Annapolis. He followed that with 10 years as the Chief Financial Officer for a full service retirement community in Annapolis, where he also managed new building projects and daily plant operations. Besides their daughter, her husband and 3 granddaughters in New Bern, Tim and Diane also have a son and his wife and 2 more granddaughters in Tampa, FL.
Office Administrator: Marcy Latteman and her husband Ken have lived in New Bern since early 2019. She grew up in Rhode Island, where her father was an architect and a Navy Captain, so being by the water in a historic area feels like home! She has a long history of administrative/secretarial and church experience. While living in NJ, she served at Church of the Saviour (Episcopal) as Vestry Clerk for 10 years, taught Sunday School for 3 seasons, sang in the choir, and participated in fellowship activities. While living in Hawaii for 4 years, she danced with the hula ministry, Nā Wahine Hilina’i iā Iesu, at Mana Christian Ohana. Her sister, Rev. Sarah Brockmann, is the rector of an Episcopal church, and her son Joseph hopes to be a pastor in the future! Marcy enjoys outdoor activities, travel, being by the water, cooking, baking, and spending time with family and grandchildren.
Financial Administrator: Summer Hough is a transplant to New Bern from Rochester, NY. She has worked in the not-for-profit and church sectors for 19 years. Ranging in responsibilities from Non-Profit Manager, Pastor, Program Administrator, to Director of Development. She has a passion for warm weather, her family including her husband Zeb of 18 years and her two children Isaiah and Eden, community, and quippy one-liners. She sees her role as Financial Administrator for FPC as an epic adventure of numeric possibilities.
Richard Colflesh is currently working in the Maintenance department at First Presbyterian Church since September 15, 2022. Richard is originally from Pennsylvania and has settled in New Bern, NC with his wife Shannon since his military retirement. Richard enjoys running his snow cone business with his wife when he is not working at First Presbyterian.
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Director of Music: Pat Kerr Rowlett The daughter of a Presbyterian minister and an organist, Pat is a graduate of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, NC, where she was a math major and voice minor. Since 1980 she has been Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church where she administers 7 choirs - children’s, youth, adult, and handbell. For 36 years she has been Co-director of the Craven Messiah Chorus and Artistic Director of Pro Musica of New Bern. She has also appeared in many theatrical presentations in New Bern as well as soloist for Messiah and various community musical events. She has lived in New Bern since 1978, and enjoys gardening and sailing.
Director Resurrection Singers: Susan Mabie has been serving in the Music Ministry of First Pres since the fall of 1997. She has a bachelor of music education degree from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. She and her husband Stephen have one married daughter, and two precious grand kids.
Preschool Director & Children's Worship: Kerri Wheeler has been our Preschool Director since 1999. Originally from the Detroit area, she fell in love with New Bern when she took a teaching position in North Carolina after graduating college. “Miss Kerri” also teaches our Children Worship & Wonder program on Sunday mornings. In her spare time she enjoys cooking with her hubby and spending time with her human children, Bailey and Brook and furry babies, Minnie and Big.
Communications Facilitator: Cathy Wingfield began serving First Presbyterian in the fall of 2018. She has a Master's Degree in Media Technology from Appalachian State University. "Cradle" Presbyterian, serving as Elder and Moderator of Presbyterian Women in previous churches. Cathy and Dale moved to New Bern in 2017. She and Dale have five kids, two daughters-in-law, three sons-in-law scattered across the country, three grandchildren, and one very spoiled "Journey" dog.
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The governing body of First Presbyterian is our Session. Our Session is made up of 21 elders, elected by the congregation for three-year terms. To facilitate the work of the Session, members serve in six different Commissions — each responsible for a major area of leadership: administration, care, education, fellowship, outreach, and worship.
Class of 2022Kevin Avolis
Margaret Cooper Madison Crum Marc Finlayson Patti Fleming Julia Speight Hal Vandersea |
Class of 2023Phoebe Briley
Brent Hinckley Middleton Hinckley Mark Moeller Micajah Newman Elizabeth Paul Margaret Pritchett |
Class of 2024James Copland
Christin Grady Kenneth Holton Vaughn Purnell Helen Robinson Joyce Weaver |