Our Staff

1. Senior Pastor
2. Pastor of Congregational Care
3. Pastor of Multicultural Ministries
   
4. Pastor of Christian Counseling
   
5. Pastor of Encouragement
6. Minister of Discipleship Development
7. Director of Youth Ministries
   
8. Director of Children’s Ministries
9. Director of Build and Introduce
10. Director of Grow and Equip
11. Director of Going Forth
12. Music and Media Coordinator
13. Choir Director 
14. Handbell Director
    
15. Church Business Administrator
16. Director of Communications/Administrative Assistant
17. Ministry Assistant
18. Manager of Facilities/Activities
    

Dr. Deborah Wallace-Padgett

Senior Pastor, E-mail

Debbie Wallace-Padgett was appointed to St. Luke in 2004. She is a graduate of Berea College, Scarritt College and Graduate School, Lexington Theological Seminary and Asbury Seminary. Pastor Debbie has served as Director of Christian Education at Epworth United Methodist Church, Director of Leadership Development at Lexington First United Methodist Church, Pastor at Paris First United Methodist Church and District Superintendent of the Prestonsburg District. She is married to Rev. Lee Padgett, Director of Aldersgate Camp and Retreat Center. They have two teenage children, Leanndra and Andrew.

Dr. Lowell Langefeld

Pastor of Congregational Care, E-mail

Dr. Lowell Langefeld came out of retirement to join the staff of St. Luke in 2001. He served the Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church for over 40 years. He has served Mt. Beulah, Claylick, Louisa, Aldersgate in Lexington, Prestonsburg First, Pikeville and Ashland First as minister. Lowell also served as Superintendent of the Barboursville and Frankfort Districts. On two occasions, he has served as interim Superintendent of the Redbird Missionary Conference. Dr. Lowell attended Asbury College, Asbury Seminary and Lexington Theological Seminary. Lowell and Betty, his wife of 50 years, have 3 children and 7 grandchildren.

Harun Gatobu

Harun has been instrumental in the successful launch our our monthly Multicultural Gatherings. He is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. He and his wife Anne are both members of the Nebraska Annual Conference. The Gatobus are parents of Mutethia (Te), Nabii and Munene.

Don Cutter

Don Cutter has been a member of St. Luke since 2009. He grew up in the Baptist Church and is a graduate of Southern Baptist Seminary. He served as a Baptist pastor for a period of time. He and his wife Wanda owned and operated “Cutter Homes” and built houses here in Lexington for 25 years. After the sale of that business, Don established a sport fishing business in Brazil. Wanda set up a charitable organization to provide educational supplies to the remote villages in the Brazilian Amazon. Don recently sold the fishing business and is now retired. Don and Wanda are now involved leading the Kemp Sunday School Class. Don received a lot of exposure to counseling ministry in his seminary training. He has a keen interest in this type of ministry and brings considerable experience to it.

Bob Ockerman

Bob Ockerman is a charter member of St. Luke. He is recently retired from the insurance business after 45 years. He has been involved with the United Methodist Church for 50 years. He and his wife Bettie are very active in the work of this church in a number of ways. He serves in the capacity of the visitation of persons who are shut-ins or in nursing homes, as well as making home and hospital calls as needed. Bob is well suited for this work because he has a love for people and a passion for visitation.

Dawn Beamish

Dawn Beamish’s call to ministry is invitational, so that all may invite Christ in and become his disciples and as they mature spiritually in the Lord, that they may strive to become disciple makers to build up the Body of Christ, God’s church.  Her ministry journey began by teaching secondary education (health, science, nutrition and consumer ed.), serving as a local pastor in a three point charge in Big Rapids, Michigan, studying at Asbury Theological Seminary to earn a Master’s in Divinity and serving as Kidz4Christ Ministry leader at St. John’s UMC in Sarasota, FL prior to joining St. Luke’s staff in 2008. She has also earned a Master’s in Science Ed from The Ohio State University, and Bachelor’s of Science in Life Management Education from the University of Akron. Her hometown is Parma, Ohio. Dawn and her husband, Rick have been married for 24 years and their son, Eric, resides in Ann Arbor, MI. Rick and Dawn have sailed over 20,000 miles mostly on the Great Lakes. Dawn enjoys swimming, kayaking, backpacking and skiing (all three). Kodiak their Husky/Chow pooch is an active therapy dog who brings mirth and cheer to students and the elderly.

Jeremy Arnold

Jeremy grew going to First UMC and later worked as a worship leader at Southern Hills UMC.  He graduated in 2006 from Asbury College with a degree in Bible and Theology. He has a passion for youth ministry and seeing teenagers realize God’s plan for them. Jeremy has 18 completed credit hours at Asbury Theological Seminary and will continue his education in the fall working towards a Masters of Divinity. Jeremy and his wife Michelle have been married for 5 years and have 2 dogs, 2 cats and a horse. Jeremy loves to watch and play basketball and is an avid UK fan.  He also enjoys playing guitar, disc golf and ping-pong. 

Susan Cutshall

Along with the Children’s Ministry Leadership Team, Susan heads up the children’s ministries ranging from the nurseries to 5th grade. A full time job for our very important children. Susan joined the staff in 1994. She has a B.S. in Education from the University of Tennessee and an M.S. in Education from Indiana University. Susan is a presenter for Children’s Ministry Seminars and leads workshops at Children’s Pastors’ Conference. She taught school for 10 years prior to joining St. Luke. Susan and her husband, Greg, have two children, Lance and Lauren.

Reid Buchanan

Director of Build and Introduce, E-mail

Reid is a graduate of the University of Kentucky in Engineering and Asbury Theological Seminary in World Mission and Evangelism. He is an ordained deacon in the Kentucky Annual Conference. He served as Director of Outreach/Youth Center at Jackson First UMC, The Mission Society since 2001, Ghana for six years, Ghana/USA since 2007. Reid and family began attending St. Luke in 2007 and he became the Director of Build and Introduce in 2009 as an unpaid staff member and in July, 2010 as part-time paid staff. Reid is married to Lola, a Registered Nurse with Central Baptist Home Health. They have four children, Andrew, Jeremy, Serwaa and Akua.

Nora Conner

Director of Grow and Equip, E-mail

Nora holds degrees in Psychology and in Education from Eastern Kentucky University, where she also received a Masters Degree in Education (Curriculum and Instruction). She is a student at Baptist Seminary of Kentucky, where she is enrolled in the Masters of Divinity program. Nora taught science and math in Fayette County Public Schools for ten years, and more recently she has tutored student athletes at the University of Kentucky. At St. Luke, Nora has served in various roles and currently serves on the Servant Leadership Team, in the choir, and facilitates the College-Age Sunday School class.  Nora began attending St. Luke in 1996, where she met her husband Todd. Todd and Nora have one son, Taylor.

Larry Grabau

Director of Going Forth, E-mail

Larry Grabau is the Director of Going Forth. This position focuses on service opportunities and ministries within and beyond St. Luke UMC. Larry is on the faculty at the University of Kentucky where he serves in several roles related to undergraduate instruction. Larry and Mary Jo have been members at St. Luke since 1986, and they have three adult children: Joseph, Laura, and Jonathan.

Landon Cunningham

Music and Media Coordinator, E-mail

Landon has experience representing musicians in the marketing, recording, songwriting and business aspects of their careers. Most recently he was responsible for promoting and marketing the 2010 Ichthus Festival. Landon is an accomplished musician himself, with the ability to play drums and guitar primarily, along with a number of other instruments. He is adept at many of the new technological advancements in music arranging, and also has a command of a variety of musical styles within the area of church music including gospel. On a more personal note, Landon’s parents, Gary and Elaine Cunningham, live in Henderson, Kentucky, and his 19-year old sister is attending Northern Kentucky University majoring in History with a minor in Religion. In his spare time, Landon enjoys riding his bicycle, playing softball, golf, ultimate Frisbee and Frisbee golf and watching movies on Netflix.

Brent Merritt

Choir Director, E-mail

Brent Merritt is the chancel choir director. Brent is Director of Choral Music at Scott County High School. He and his wife Tonya joined St. Luke in 2008 and have 2 sons: Eli and Will.

Linda Edmister

Handbell Director, E-mail

Linda Edmister is the handbell director. She and her husband Brent have have two adult children, Megan and Larry. The Edmisters have lived all across the world including Australia and Germany. A retired army family, they now have their permanent residence in Lexington.

Paul Bramel

A long-time resident of Lexington and a member of St. Luke since 1989, Paul joined the staff in June, 2003. He held numerous positions at Long John Silver’s during his 23-year tenure where he was most recently Director, Communications and Web Services. Paul and his wife, Diane, have three children, two grandsons, one granddaughter and a very spoiled Shih Tzu pup. When Paul is not ‘administrating’ for St. Luke, he will most likely be found fishing, reading or performing genealogy research. He especially enjoys fly-fishing and travel.

Brooke Harris

Brooke Harris joined St. Luke in June, 2007 as our Administrative Assistant and later took on the role as the Director of Communication. As administrative assistant, Brooke coordinates volunteers, designs and prints the bulletin weekly  among other office tasks. She loves seeing the behind the scenes of a growing and serving church. She also maintains the church’s web site, graphic designs and figures out the best way to communicate information. In the time that she has worked here, she has a deeper appreciation for St. Luke and all that the church does. She graduated from Asbury University with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in Art. Brooke’s family has been members at St. Luke since December 1999. Brooke enjoys spending time with her husband Aaron, Irish dancing, writing and listening to the Beatles.

Dawn Wallin

Dawn first attended St. Luke in August of 2001. She was baptized and joined St. Luke on April 23, 2002. She is now the St. Luke newsletter editor. She also coordinates God’s Backyard buddies. In 1990, she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from the University of Georgia and has two minors, Economics and Latin. She and her husband, Eric, moved to Lexington in 1991. They have three daughters, Julia, Amanda, and Brenna.

Ed Towle

A native of Lambertville, New Jersey and a 1987 graduate of Marshall University with BA in Adult Fitness/Exercise Science, Ed comes to St. Luke with more than 20 years of Wellness and Management experience. In 1991, Ed moved to Lexington after being hired by Ashland Inc. where he worked for approximately 18 years as their Recreation and Fitness Supervisor and Health Management Administrator before coming to St. Luke. Ed has served as the Kentucky State Director for the National Strength and Conditioning Association; as an assistant football coach and as an FCA Character coach.  Ed and his best friend Marianna, have been married 22 years, and have been members at St. Luke since 1996.  They have been blessed with three wonderful children, Anna, Olivia and Bryce, who all attend SLUMC.