Ashland Church Welcomes
Rev. Shannon Meacham

Please welcome Rev. Shannon Meacham as our newly installed Pastor/ Head of Staff of Ashland Church.

Shannon grew up in Kentucky. She received a B.A. in Music from University of Louisville and a Master's of Divinity from Louisville Presbyterian Seminary.

Since 2005, Shannon has served as Pastor for Bethany Presbyterian Church in Menands, New York. She serves as chaplain for the local fire department and has been an active member of the Mission Support Committee of Albany Presbytery.

Her husband, Will, is an attorney with Legal Aid in Albany. They have two wonderful children, Maggie, 4 years old, and Gus, 16 months.

For her next call, Shannon seeks a church rooted in the Spirit and in the Word of God who joyfully celebrate faith through mission and ministry and discern the will of God for the church. Ideally for Shannon, "worship is not just about Sunday morning but extends to each part of our lives."

As a worship leader, Shannon focuses on the Word, relating it to contemporary life. With her music degree, she enjoys including music for a cohesive worship theme. She has also used art, photography, and movement worship in services. 

Shannon's approach to leadership is that "Jesus teaches us that we are better together." She works as a servant leader, helping others to discern their gifts and empowering them use these gifts.  She strives to ensure that every voice is heard and met with willingness to listen.

Shannon enjoys joining in youth and adult mission trips in her present call. She spearheaded a new mission for shut-in local residents, providing rides and other assistance. She works on website development and uses social media for outreach and spiritual growth opportunities.
 
As a key theological issue for the church, Shannon identifies the important need to gather as a loving Christian community. The church is invited to journey together in community, supporting and lifting up each other, seeking God's guidance, and continually asking the Holy Spirit to enter our lives. Shannon is known to say, "if we can agree to love God and our neighbor, surely we can figure the rest out!"

SHANNON MEACHAM- STATEMENT OF FAITH

I believe in God and in Jesus Christ, God's own Son, who lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, both now and forever. This triune God is to be worshipped and praised in our coming in and our going out.

THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST-I believe that Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God. I believe that God revealed God's self to humanity through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe Christ has atoned for our sins in his death and resurrection. Through Christ's earthly ministry he revealed the kingdom of god and brought us into a right relationship with God.

THE LOVE OF GOD-I believe that in life and in death we are never separated from God's love. This is because of the abundant grace and mercy that God has shown us and toward all of creation through our Savior, Jesus Christ. I believe God calls all people into a life of service as shown to us in Holy Scripture. Scripture is the unique and authoritative witness to Christ and God's word of love, grace and redemption to us.

AND THE COMMUNION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT- The Holy Spirit is our advocate and our guide, through the Holy Spirit we are empowered for the work and ministry that God calls us to do. We come to know God in all God's forms through Holy Scripture, which is revealed to us through the Spirit.

IS WITH US ALL- I believe that God's redeeming grace is offered to all people. God adopts us into the covenantal family through our baptism, which is corporate and individual. I believe the baptismal covenant that my parents established for me in my infancy and that I affirmed when I became and active member of the church encouraged me to look at my life and say "what love God has for me that I am called as a child of the God."

THOSE WHOM WE LOVE- The church is our family in Christ and as the church we are the body of Christ. It is through our faith community that people experience Christ in the world today. In the gathering of the church community we are to listen to God's word, to baptize and participate in the Lord's Supper and to pray and to have fellowship with others. In the celebration of the Lord's Supper we are to be mindful of whose body we have become members. As the gathered church communes together we are reconciled with God and with one another.

AND EVEN WITH THOSE WHOM NOBODY LOVES- We live in a broken world and through baptism and communion Christ calls us to be Christ's body for our world. I believe that Christ called us to work in the world to bring about God's justice, especially for the oppressed.

THIS DAY AND EVERY DAY- I believe that God never leaves us and that the Peace of Christ is always with us. We may feel alone or afraid in the world, but that God is with us even when we feel empty. We are a community and that even when we cannot affirm our faith for ourselves, the church exists as a community of faith to support us and affirm our faith on our behalf through the power of the Holy Spirit.