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Furthering or intended to further the unity or unification of Christian churches; promoting cooperation or better understanding among differing religious faiths.

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Our Staff


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 Mitzi The Rev. Mitzi Lesher-Thomas (Parrish Assistant) grew up in the Disciples of Christ faith, attended Mary Baldwin College, and received her MA and MDiv degrees from Union Theological Seminary.  A residency at UNC Memorial Hospital led to a hospital chaplaincy.  Following a move, she was pastor of a small church in Sanford, NC.  Mitzi's husband, Troy, is the pastor of Pittsboro Presbyterian Church.  After taking some time to begin their family, Mitzi is returning to ministry as a Parrish Assistant at Chapel in the Pines.  She will work with Stephen Ministry, adult education, and will lead in worship several times during the year.
   
 

Jeremy Nabors (Director of Music Ministries) was born in Essex, England, and his family moved back to Birmingham, MI, where his parents worked for Ford Motor Co.  He received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan.  Jeremy currently works as the Director of Vocal music at Chapel Hill High School.  He has two older brothers who are both married with daughters and one with a son on the way.  In his spare time, he enjoys reading and singing in the Durham Choral Society and the Durham Vocal Arts ensemble.  [Jeremy is on leave until the summer of 2010.]  

   
Shugart Marilyn Shugart (Interim Director of Music Ministries) and her husband Ken moved to North Carolina from Pensacola, Florida in May 2008.  In Pensacola, Marilyn was an active member of the musical and performing community in capacities such as Chorus Mistress for the Pensacola Opera Company,  Music Director and performer for the local community theater, college and university productions, and soloist, lecturer and Board member for the Pensacola Choral Society.  Marilyn was the full-time Director of Music at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Pensacola for five years.  At Trinity, she led an annual high school choir summer concert tour, which took them to St. Louis, Chicago, New York, and a two-week tour throughout Scotland, the highlight of that trip being singing in the Abbey on the Island of Iona.  During her time at Trinity, she directed two separate inter-generational productions of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."  Marilyn earned both her Bachelor of Music Education and Masters of Humanities (Music, Art, Theater) at the University of West Florida, where she was also an adjunct instructor for five years.  A public school teacher for twelve years in Florida, Marilyn currently is in her second year of teaching at Northwood High School in Pittsboro, where she teaches Chorus, Musical Theatre and Guitar and Keyboard.  Ken, an Academic Advisor at Carolina, and Marilyn have two daughters, Elizabeth, an Oncological RN in Pensacola, and Meagan, who is in her second year of teaching in Davidson County, NC.  They share their Fearrington Village home with their dog Zakia, and cats Zippy, Louie and Sophia.
   

 

Aviva Enoch (Church Accompanist) teaches piano lessons in her home studio in Hillsborough. She accompanies chorus and movement classes at Emerson Waldorf School, where she also works as a part time kindergarten assistant.  She spent several years directing a parent choir at EWS, which performed regularly at the school’s May Faire and other special events.  She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas in 1979 and her Master of Music degree from Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas in 1981.  After several years of music teaching, Aviva’s career took a new path when she began working in public radio, putting her music degree to work on the airwaves.  She worked at public radio stations in Lawrence, KS and Beaumont, TX before moving to Chapel Hill in 1985 to accept a position at WUNC FM.  In addition to hosting music shows, she produced regular arts features that sometimes aired nationally on NPR.  When she became a mother in the early 1990’s, Aviva discovered that she loved  being part of the joyful, creative and imaginative world of the young child.  She left her high pressure work in radio, and started teaching music and movement classes for young children and their grownups both privately and at preschools in the Triangle area.  She has run her own music teaching business, with classes and piano lessons since 1996. She lives in the woods with her teenage son, Noah, who is also a pianist, and two cats.

   
 

Nana Morelli (Administrative Assistant) was born in Yokohama, Japan.  Her parents Troy and Yoshiko met while her father was stationed at Camp Zama.  She has a sister Loraine in Oklahoma and a brother Danny in Chapel Hill.  When she came to Chapel Hill in 1976 as a freshman at UNC she fell in love with the town.  She and her best friend Dominic have been married for 24 years.  Dominic works for UNC Football and the family spends fall Saturdays at Kenan Stadium cheering on the Tar Heels.  They have two children, Kaitlin a graduate of UNC-G School of Nursing and Troy Joseph a student at Carrboro High School.  They live in Dogwood Acres and love their extended family in this wonderful community neighborhood.  And she says “I love working for Mindy and Chapel in the Pines!”

   
 Askew Janet Askew (Bookkeeper) grew up in South Carolina.  She received a Bachelor of Science degree and a M.B.A. from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina.  After college, Janet spent several years managing department stores in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.   When Janet and her husband Keith were married, she relocated to North Carolina.  She was the accountant for the American Red Cross in Durham for twelve years.  Janet and Keith have two children:  Jamison, who is eleven, and Mitchell, who is eight.   They live in Hillsborough and stay very busy with school, sports and piano lessons.  Keith is a UNC alumnus.  So of course, they are all UNC fans and love going to football and basketball games!
   
 

Kelly Hunter (Newsletter Editor) was born in San Antonio, Texas (her birthday is June 21). She grew up in Birmingham, Alabama but moved to Charlotte, NC in high school.  Kelly went to Sweet Briar College where she majored in Music History. She moved with her husband, Sid, to Chapel Hill in 1982 for grad school and just never left! They have 3 daughters, all grown, and a son who is 13. Kelly has worked in offices for Kelly Girl (ha ha), a law firm, and now for Presbyterian Campus Ministry. She also spent four years as a teaching assistant in the 2nd grade.  She thinks she prefers the college students!  Kelly has one dog, Biscuit, who is a great foot warmer and her constant shadow. Her dreams are to own a horse and to find time to play piano again. Until then, she knits and gardens a little to relax and she loves to watch baseball—especially her son’s team(s)! 

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Worship Service
We worship at 10:30 AM every Sunday at North Chatham School, 3380 Lystra Road, Chapel Hill, NC, near the intersection of Lystra Road and Jack Bennett Road. Here is a map to the school.

Childcare is provided during worship.

Sunday school starts at 9:15 for all ages.

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Chapel in the Pines is a Stephen Ministry congregation.


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