PAstor Bill Ledford
I love preaching and getting to teach people the Word of God and make it understandable to whoever is listening and relatable to their life. I give all credit to God because preaching is something I relish every opportunity to do. As a pastor, I will not rest (metaphorically) until our church has explored different methods of social ministry and reaching out to marginalized communities until we find something we are able to actually take action on.
I am thankful for the ever-present empowering of the Spirit that comes with the call from God to minister in their name. Getting to preach, teach, lead small groups, do pastoral care, lead social ministries in the church, do administrative things in the church, and even the more "mundane" tasks of maintaining a church are all exciting to me. I strive to be a leader that is relatable, approachable, and knows when to be serious and, just as importantly, knows when not to be serious.
My mission is to show the world that Christianity is a faith known for its unconditional love, grace, and acceptance. I want to counteract the harm done in the name of Jesus and the church that have countered those three ideas. As a pastor, I want to raise up a church of people that will share this baptismal call with me.
I am thankful for the ever-present empowering of the Spirit that comes with the call from God to minister in their name. Getting to preach, teach, lead small groups, do pastoral care, lead social ministries in the church, do administrative things in the church, and even the more "mundane" tasks of maintaining a church are all exciting to me. I strive to be a leader that is relatable, approachable, and knows when to be serious and, just as importantly, knows when not to be serious.
My mission is to show the world that Christianity is a faith known for its unconditional love, grace, and acceptance. I want to counteract the harm done in the name of Jesus and the church that have countered those three ideas. As a pastor, I want to raise up a church of people that will share this baptismal call with me.
COUNCIL MEMBERS
Elaine BastianCouncil presidentI was born in Mountain Home, Idaho. My father was in the Air Force so we moved around some. I like to say I was raised “loosely Lutheran” as we usually attended whatever Lutheran Church was nearest. My father said he and the Lord had an “understanding” so his attendance at church was limited. Upon landing in Utah, my relationship with attending church changed. I was in the eighth grade at the time and eventually quit going to church just as the rest of my family had.
As an adult I began to feel a pull to return and tried attending several of the cache valley non-LDS churches but never found a church home. Then, one day I happened to see an article in the paper about the organization of a new Lutheran church called Prince of Peace! I attended the very next Sunday and have been a member ever since! I have served on the Worship Ministry team since the beginning. I have loved being a part of creating the worship experiences and music. I have loved singing in the choir, also! This is my second time of serving on council and my third year of this current time. I never expected to take on the role of council president and certainly never expected to find myself doing it without a Pastor. But, God leads us into ventures unknown and I find myself working with an amazing group of council members. Prince of Peace is an amazing, adaptable and thriving community and we are doing our best to continue to do God’s work of loving and serving our neighbors. |
CARY YOUMANSCouncil MEMBERCary Youmans moved to Cache Valley in early 2011. He knew the congregation at PoP were the people he was going to worship with in his new home after his first worship service with them.
He was asked to direct the PoP choir in 2012, and was baptized into church membership Easter, 2018. His journey following Jesus began at Quaker Hill Church Camp during the summer of 1977, and he began sensing a call to ministry in 1978. In preparation for his vocation, he earned a BS in Religion from Barclay College in 1983 and an MA in Church Music from Seattle Pacific University in 1992. He has pastored three congregations, and the PoP choir is the third church choir he has directed. Through all that time in vocational ministry, spanning 1985 to today, Cary is an exemplar of the idea of "sinner and saint," experiencing God's limitless love and grace while being carried through the consequences of some monumentally poor choices. Cary's life and ministry are summed up in Psalm 40:1-3 and Luke 4:18-19: Psalm 40 1 patiently waited, Lord, for you to hear my prayer. You listened 2 and pulled me from a lonely pit full of mud and mire. You let me stand on a rock with my feet firm, 3 and you gave me a new song, a song of praise to you. Many will see this, and they will honor and trust you, the Lord God. Luke 4 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, 19 and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. (Both citations Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright © 1995 by American Bible |
Holden PotterSecretaryHolden is a post-Evangelical nonbinary person from Utah. He is an undergraduate at Utah State studying history and English. Holden has also been a part of other Christian traditions, such as non-denominational Evangelicalism, InterVarsity, and the United Methodist Church. Holden is deeply interested in liberation theology and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Church.
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Brad kroppTreasurerBrad came to Cache Valley over 30 years ago after accepting a faculty position at Utah State University. A life-long Lutheran, he joined Prince of Peace not long after it became established as a church.
He has been involved at one point or another in many different roles in church life ranging from Sunday school teacher to Treasurer. Brad has served on Council several times over the years. Brad spent most of his career teaching and doing research in Biology at USU. Now retired, he has almost too many interests to keep track of. Brad loves anything to do with nature or art. These days, he spends most of his time either painting and learning cello (he thinks he’s an Ok painter but a lousy musician!) or outdoors hiking, fishing, and hunting mushrooms. Inexplicably, his interest has recently been piqued by millipedes. |
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