Meet Our Staff

Our church is guided by caring pastors and staff who serve the membership and the wider community through preaching, pastoral care, local leadership, outreach and more. In addition to supporting our community, our staff help us grow in faith and provide support to our church family when we need it. Many dedicated people assist our pastoral team in sharing the Gospel, leading our programs, and maintaining our facilities.

Troy Lesher-Thomas

Interim Pastor
Troy has served in interim ministry for New Hope Presbytery since 2017 coming to FPC Raleigh in August 2023. He loves to work on cars, engines, home projects, read, travel, laugh, and play. Along with his wife, Mitzi, they have two young adult children, Mackenzie and Andrew. An ideal day for Troy could well be described with a sunny day, a calm lake, a well-supplied tackle box, a reliable fishing pole, and not a timepiece in sight.
Contact

Laurie Taylor Weicher

Associate Pastor
Laurie enjoys playing games with her family, cooking, and running (very slowly). She loves FPC and is grateful that she gets to do ministry here!
Contact

Don Harpster

Parish Associate
As the Parish Associate for Adult Ministry, Don is looking forward to assisting the Pastors in personal visits to the sick and elderly. Central to the life of the Church is the act of worship. He is grateful for the opportunity to assist in conducting worship services and periodically leading Sunday worship. One of the blessings of this life is family; his consists of two sons, Ben who lives close by and Matt who lives a distance.
contact

Katy Schafer

Director of Children & Family Ministries
Katy stays on her toes as a mom of four young adult children. She enjoys the life and positive energy that children shine into the world.
Contact

Beth Thaxton

Director of Youth & Christian Education
Beth is a Raleigh native. She loves to spend time with her husband and two kids, dabbles with photography, crafts, and loves to watch sports. Beth absolutely loves working with our middle and high school youth and seeing how God is at work in their lives. Supporting the overall Christian Education ministry gives her so much joy - from our Child Development Center to Adult Church School.
Contact

Mark Woodcock

Director of Music
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet non elit, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum faucibus accumsan nulla, non faucibus velit convallis et. Nulla adipiscing elit.
Contact

Kathy Johnson

Director of Community Outreach
Kathy is a proud cradle member of FPC. She enjoys music, baseball, cheering for the Tar Heels, her family, time with friends, the beach, and especially her two Sheltie fur babies, Fen and Lily. Kathy is honored to help lead and guide FPC in serving the community and helping neighbors in need both in our backyard and around the world.
contact

Gail Barrett

Church Administrator
Gail enjoys spending time with her family and fur babies, LJ and Bailey. She enjoys putting puzzles together and pedicures (the massage is the best part)! Gail enjoys being able to serve the members of FPC.
contact

Scott Sommerfeld

Facilities Manager
Scott enjoys woodworking, likes to go boating, riding his bike, and spending time with his family. He enjoys bonding with his coworkers and the congregation.
contact

Jamie Williams

Office Manager
Jamie loves horror movies that she can watch through her fingers. She enjoys time with family and making memories with her siblings. Jamie looks forward to sharing laughs with her coworkers and helping others.
contact

Jean Suber

Communication Specialist
Jean loves spending time with family and friends. She enjoys capturing the extraordinary in the ordinary through photography and is learning how to make polymer clay jewelry. Her favorite part of what she does at FPC is creating as well as getting to know the members of FPC.
contact

Brooke Barrett

Sexton
Brooke loves Dominos Pizza, French Fries, and her cat, Bailey. Brooke looks forward to making new connections at FPC.
Learn More

Melani Willhite

Financial Assistant
Melani has four daughters and enjoys reading, beach trips, and bargain shopping. Her favorite part of work is the staff. She says that if you have to work, it helps to be surrounded by supportive co-workers and sharing lots of laughs together!
contact

Tyler Elrod

Audio Visual Lead Technician
Tyler enjoys the outdoors and pointing out birds with his daughter. He is excited to bring a decade of experience working backstage in theaters across the state to his role serving the church community.
contact

Peggy Taft

Interim Co-Director Child Development Center
Peggy likes to read and share her readings with others. She loves to write quotes and inspirational thoughts. Peggy looks forward to utilizing her gift of S.W.I.M (Smiles, Wisdom, Inspire, Motivate) tools to help children and adults to be successful.
contact

Valerie Vess

Interim Co-Director Child Development Center
Valerie loves traveling and exploring new places, especially the beach. Valerie loves spending time with family and friends, She has a pittbull and a rabbit. Her passion has always been to watch small children learn and grow in a safe and loving, nurturing environment.
contact

Lindsay Anne McCall

Children & Youth Music Director
Lindsay Anne enjoys fashion, trying new foods, and going on walks! Her favorite food is actually Indian food- if you haven’t you should definitely try the chicken tikka masala! She has always loved growing up singing with the church, and is so honored to be able to help youth members grow this passion through a mentor perspective.
contact
Career Opportunities