Kim GoddardSenior Minister | kgoddard@mafairumc.org
Kim Goddard was appointed to Mafair UMC as pastor in June 2009.
She grew up on a farm in Giles County, Virginia and made her personal commitment to Christ at Bearspring UMC when she was 15. Kim attended Virginia Tech, received a degree in Animal Science, and dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. During her senior year at VT she felt God calling her in a different direction, so rather than apply to Vet School, she applied to and graduated from Duke Divinity School. Prior to coming to Mafair, Kim was the District Superintendent of the Abingdon District. She has also served several other churches in Southwest Virginia and the Tri-Cities.
Kim is married to Jim, also a United Methodist minister, now retired. Their two daughters, Annie and Lindsey, are students at John Sevier Middle and Dobyns Bennett High School. Their son, Jimmy, is youth director at Brainerd UMC in Chattanooga, and they have two grandsons.
Kim’s ancestry runs through generations of farmers, railroad workers and coal miners. From them, she received the priceless gifts of faith in Jesus Christ, a place of belonging in the Methodist family, a love for the mountains, and a desire to keep learning. In their spare time the Goddards enjoy spending time at their retreat/retirement home on Kim’s great-great-great-grandparent’s farm along the New River in Giles County, Virginia.
Janet LyonMusic Director | jlyon@mafairumc.org
Janet Lyon was born in Kingsport and attended Sullivan County Schools, graduating from Sullivan Central High School. She earned her Music Education Degree from East Tennessee State University; Vocal Performance and Piano and had Graduate Studies in Vocal Performance and Piano at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas.
She has been a soloist with Johnson City Chorale, Kingport Symphony Orchestra Chorus, ETSU Opera Workshop, North Texas University Opera, Boris Godovsky Opera Workshop, roles with the Johnson City Community Theatre, Theatre Bristol, Kingsport Theatre Guild, and Olde West Theatre productions. Her professional positions have included Director of Music at Mafair United Methodist Church 1978 - 1989; Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church 1989 - 1998; Broad Street United Methodist Church 1998 - 2008.
Janet married to James Lyon in 1977. Jim is the Director of Music at Colonial Heights United Methodist Church. They have one son, Devin Parker Lyon, who is a senior at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, majoring in Political Science and Philosophy and minoring in music. He will begin Law School in the fall of 2009. And while Devin is away at school, Tucker is the one who rules the household!
Eric and Betsy RoweYouth Director | erowe@mafairumc.org
Senior/Youth Coordinator | browe@mafairumc.org
Betsy: I was born and raised in Jonesborough, TN. After graduating from college in 1982 as a Medical Assistant, I worked at Johnson City Medical Center for 7 years. In 1990 I met Eric Rowe, who worked as the Youth Director at my church before he joined the Army during Desert Storm. We were married in 1991.
During my husband’s 5 years in the Army, we lived in Georgia and then Kentucky. I continued working in hospitals wherever we were stationed until the birth of our first child in 1993. In 1995 Eric left the service, and we moved back to Tennessee. He returned to college to get his Teaching Certificate and shortly after obtaining it began working as Youth Director full time here at Mafair. Eric started teaching school in 2002 and changed to part-time here. I had been a stay-at-home mom since the birth of our first child, so I began helping out with the Youth Program on a volunteer basis.
This past fall, our youngest entered kindergarten, so I rejoined the workforce here at Mafair. God has blessed me with the most wonderful job anyone could have… I get to work with some amazing young people in the Youth Program, and I get to have fun and travel with our Young At Heart group. Mafair definitely has something to offer everyone whatever your age.
Eric: I am Eric Rowe, the other half of Betsy. I would like to add that she was not a youth when I met her at Jonesboro Methodist. I have served as Youth Director here at Mafair since September of 1998. I also teach 8th grade history at Colonial Heights Middle School, where I coach football and track. I was raised on a dairy farm in Limestone, TN, graduated from David Crockett High School, East Tennessee State University and Tusculum College, and served as an Armor Officer in the United States Army. God has blessed my life, and He continues to work within our youth group and our church. We have many super volunteers who are super examples for youth and parent alike. You are welcome to come and see how Mafair UMC will make a difference in your family’s life.
Patricia DownsParish Nurse | pdowns@mafairumc.org
Patricia and Jim Downs joined the Mafair family in 1983 prior to the birth of their sons Brian (1983) and Greg (1986). After 15 years as a “stay home mom” and following a nudge from God, Patricia returned to college to become a registered nurse. After graduating from ETSU and passing her boards (on her 50th birthday), she worked briefly at Holston Valley Hospital in the cancer unit. When the Parish Nurse position became available at Mafair in the winter of 2005, God placed her there. In addition to her role as Parish Nurse, she also works part time at Friends-in-Need, a clinic for working people who are uninsured.
The Parish Nurse program is a cooperative program sponsored by Wellmont Holston Valley Hospital and allows Patricia to network with parish nurses from around the TriCities area. She considers it a privilege to serve as parish nurse for her church family.
Jessica RogersChildren's Director | jrogers@mafairumc.org
Jessica was born and raised in Spartanburg, South Carolina. She studied Early Childhood and Special Education at the University of South Carolina at Spartanburg and has always been drawn to working with children. She worked at a childcare center during college and babysat several times a week through out high school and college. She often had a child in tow long before having her own.
Jessica and her husband, Allen, knew each other during high school and started dating during college. They were married in June of 2001 and moved to East TN where Allen began work at Eastman Chemical Company. They currently live in Jonesborough with their two sons, Adam and Braeden. When not working with the children of Mafair, Jessica enjoys time at home with her family, interior design, backpacking, sewing, and cooking.
Lisa AllenChurch Secretary | lallen@mafairumc.org
Lisa Allen is a Kingsport native and 1981 graduate of Sullivan Central High School. Her love of writing led her to a degree in Communications from ETSU and a master’s degree in Journalism from American University in Washington, D.C. I worked for a couple of years for the newspaper in Cleveland, Tennessee, and then spent 10 years at the Kingsport Times-News. It was there I met Robert Allen. We were married at Mafair in 1998. Our daughter, Marcy, was born in 1999. I had begun teaching journalism at ETSU at this point and then joined Mafair’s staff the first time as Children’s Director. Not able to sing a lick, I stepped down in 2003 so that the church could find someone who could also direct children’s choir (at the time, we didn’t have Janet). I dabbled in various jobs for several years, mostly being a mom and a volunteer. Now I’m glad to say I’ve come back to Mafair as church secretary and feel like this is where God wants me to be.
Narda FairweatherAdministrative Assistant | nfairweather@mafairumc.org
Narda joined the staff of Mafair in the fall of 1993. She attended the University of Tennessee - Knoxville and earned a B.S. in Communications, majoring in Advertising with a focus on Graphic Arts.
She was born in Tokyo, Japan and has since lived in Virginia, California, Vermont, and Tennessee. Kingsport has been her home since 1992. Her family includes her husband, David, their daughter, Kelly (currently a grad student at The University of Tennessee), their son, Micheil (currently serving in the USAF in Italy) and a daughter-in-law, Shandi.
In her spare time she enjoys cooking, baking, sewing, eating family dinners together and participating in "Friday nights in the summer" with friends. She and her family enjoy supporting the Red Sox! One thing on her "list of things to do before I die" is to attend a baseball game at every major league park... 11 down, 19 to go!
Jerry Bedingfield
Financial Administrator | jbedingfield@mafairumc.org
Anne SorrellOrganist / Pianist | asorrell@mafairumc.org
Anne Harris Sorrell first came to Kingsport with her family when her dad was serving as Kingsport District Superintendent of the Holston United Methodist Conference. Anne started playing organ in her father’s churches when she was in high school. She studied piano and organ in college, receiving her degree in piano performance from UTK. Anne taught public school music for eight years in the Kingsport City School System. She maintains a piano studio where she teaches music to all ages. She belongs to FUMMWA (Fellowship of United Methodist Musicians and Worship Arts), the American Guild of Organists, the Appalachian Music Teachers’ Association (the local association of Music Teachers’ National Association) and the Kingsport Music Club.
Anne has been at Mafair UMC since the Fall of 2000. She is married to Lynn Sorrell and lives with her two children, one grandchild and two dogs.
