Rev. Ellynda Lipsey was born in Pakistan as the daughter of Methodist missionaries. As a United Methodist Pastor, home is where she serves currently. Rev. Lipsey has served in rural, urban, and suburban contexts as well as on college campuses. She has served as a US-2 missionary in a Latin-American Church and Community Center in Long Beach, California and in Tishomingo, County, Mississippi as a Church and Community Worker, serving in two parishes and a total of nineteen churches (truly a Circuit Rider!) Rev. Lipsey is married to Hal Lipsey, who is retired from working in the International Division of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank. They love gardening, studying languages, traveling, reading and collecting antiques. Another mutual love is their pet bunnies, Francesco and Ciara, named after St. Francis and Saint Claire.
Pastor Ellynda loves to connect people to one another, their surrounding community, and to the world parish. She enjoys serving alongside the laity at Jonesboro First UMC to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world and hopes to meet you soon!
Dr. Zeller is Director of Opera and Vocal Studies at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia, and is active throughout the country as a vocal adjudicator and clinician. Dr. Zeller trained at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where he became the first undergraduate in that institution’s history to earn concurrent degrees in Theater and in Music. His graduate studies were at the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati, where he was awarded a MM in Voice Performance and a DMA in Voice Performance with cognate studies in Opera Directing and Musicology.
Dr. Zeller has held numerous church music positions as vocal soloist, choral conductor, and organist since beginning his church music career by substituting for the organists at First and Sunnyside United Methodist Churches in Portland, Oregon, at age 12. During his undergraduate years, he was tenor section leader of the Perkins Chapel Choir at the Perkins School of Theology of Southern Methodist University, under the direction of noted conductor and composer Lloyd Pfautsch. During his graduate studies, he was director of music at Mt. Auburn United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.Before relocating to Georgia, Dr. Zeller was tenor soloist and assistant to the music director at First Congregational Church (United Church of Christ) in Portland, Oregon.
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