Meet the team

They help put the Faith and Love into Action

Rev. Ken Timmerman

Pastor Ken, our Senior Minister, came to John Wesley UMC in July, 2020, marking his 38^th year serving churches in the SC Annual Conference. A native of Graniteville, SC, he graduated from the University of South Carolina. Prior to his current appointment, Ken was pastor of the Lexington United Methodist Church.

After getting his degree in history, he later graduated from Lutheran Seminary with an M.Div. John Wesley is his first church in the Charleston District. Over the years, he has served churches in Greeleyville and Lane, Fairfax, Gramling, Myrtle Beach, Greenwood, Cheraw and Lexington. He has one son who is a student at the College of Charleston. Pastor Ken’s interest include sports, golf and reading.

Rev. Stephen Gaither

Pastor Steve came to John Wesley UMC in July 2020 as Associate Pastor following his retirement as an Elder in the United Methodist Church. A native of Jacksonville, FL, he first spent time in Charleston while serving as a submariner here and in the Norfolk area with the United States Navy.

During his time here, Pastor Steve received his call to the ministry while attending Knightsville UMC in Summerville. He retired from military service in 1994.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Limestone College. His first appointment with the United Methodist Church was a three-point charge in the Marion District while he attended Lutheran Southern Seminary in Columbia and Erskine Seminary in Due West. He received his Master of Divinity from Erskine in 1999 while he was pastor of Friendship UMC in Cross, SC.
In the ensuing years, Pastor Steve has served in various appointments in the Charleston, Rock Hill, Columbia and Hartsville Districts. By the time of his retirement as an Elder, he had served the UMC for 25 years.
Pastor Steve is married to the Reverend Sara White who is currently the pastor of Hibben UMC in Mt. Pleasant and a former senior pastor of John Wesley.

He has three daughters who live in Louisiana and Washington, D.C.

Pastor Steve’s hobbies including playing golf and watching movies, especially those concerning history. He also connects to his roots with the U.S. Navy by serving as a volunteer at the U.S.S. Yorktown where he assists at the Information Desk and sometimes as an impromptu historian.

Margaret Downs

Margaret Downs, our Director of Music Ministries, is a native of Charleston. She graduated from Middleton High School in 1986 and then pursued a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

After earning a Bachelor of Music Education degree, Margaret returned to Charleston to teach chorus in the county school district for 8 years before joining the John Wesley team as organist and in 1993 she became Director of Music. Margaret directs the Chancel Choir, 4 handbell choirs, 2 youth choirs, and 3 children’s choirs in addition to the Ladies’, Men’s and Senior Adult Ensembles.

Margaret and her husband, John Upshaw Downs, Jr., have a son, Johnny, born in 1998, and a daughter, Charlotte, born in 2000.

David Boudolf

Director of Youth Ministries David Boudolf grew up in John Wesley UMC. After graduating from Clemson University, David relocated to Atlanta as the Director of Activities Ministry. In 2002 David followed God’s call to St. Andrew By-The-Sea UMC on Hilton Head Island as Director of Youth and Relational Ministry.

In 2007 David joined the John Wesley UMC staff as Director of Youth Ministry. David and his wife, Christy, were married in 2000 and have a son, Noah, born in 2005, and a daughter, Molly, born in July of 2010.

Hope Murphy

Our Director of Children’s Ministries Hope Murphy is a lifelong Methodist, raised in Hampton, SC. Having graduated from College of Charleston with a BA in English, Hope taught in Charleston County Schools for ten years.

After several years of volunteering Hope joined the staff of John Wesley UMC in June of 2002 as Director of Children’s Ministries. Her duties include coordinating programs for children and integrating the children of the congregation into the body of Christ.

Hope and her husband, Michael, have two sons, Sam, born in 1997, and Andrew, born in 2000.

Judy Morast-Morin

Judy Morast-Morin, SHRM-CP, joined the John Wesley staff in March, 2020 as Financial Services Administrator. Her professional experience includes work with churches, non-profits and financial organizations with a focus on accounting, human resources and payroll.

She is married to David Morin, Sr., an employee of Seacoast Church, where she also worked for more than 11 years. They have two sons, David, Jr., and Nick. Judy enjoys spending quality time with family and friends and loves seeing what God has planned for her.

Judy and her husband David attend Seacoast Church.

Cindy Covington

Office Administrator Cindy Covington, who joined the staff in 2020, came to us from Atlanta, GA. She is the smiling face you will see upon entering our office suite. In addition to Cindy’s recent experience as an office administrator with a Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, she taught elementary school for 15 years in both Georgia and South Carolina.

Earlier in her career, she worked in a variety of office managerial jobs while following her husband around the world as he served in the U. S. Army. Cindy also had the experience of growing up as a preacher’s kid. She and her husband, Frank, moved to Charleston (Johns Island) in late 2018. They have two grown children — Chelsea and Logan — who have continued the military family tradition with their spouses. Since becoming “empty-nesters,” Cindy and Frank have adopted an adorable Boykin Spaniel named Max.

Magdelene Maclin

Nursery Supervisor Magdalene Maclin, a Charleston native, has been a part of John Wesley since 1995. The mother of two with four grandchildren, Magdalene has spent her life working with children. She recently retired as a human resources supervisor in children/family/adult protective services.

She remains with John Wesley where she cares for our youngest visitors while their parents attend worship or other church programs. She takes pride in the staff who work with her. Most of those helpers have been with the nursery for many years. Magdalene is a graduate of Claflin College and has a degree in Social Science.

Jocelyn Lawton

Jocelyn Lawton joined the John Wesley staff in 2019 and has tackled the tough job of keeping the church clean during the pandemic. “You’ve got to be careful in cleaning,” she says. She regularly puts on a backpack and sprayer to sanitize the classrooms, bathrooms and other areas, paying special attention to the places where children stay.

She grew up on a farm in Walterboro and attended a Baptist church where her grandfather was a deacon. Jocelyn also learned sign language from her mother, who is deaf. With two grown daughters and a third who is a student at Burke High School, Jocelyn stays busy. In addition to keeping things clean at John Wesley, she also works at Ashley Hall School where she has been a custodian for many years.

GET THE LATEST, SUBSCRIBE TO OUR E-NEWSLETTER

Get all the latest happenings at John Wesley with our weekly E-Blast.

Meet the Team