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Leadership

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Dr. Richard W. McCarty

Senior Pastor

Raised in Iowa and from a Catholic family, Rich McCarty has been ordained since 2001 after graduating from Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. Rich has served congregations in Michigan, Iowa, and Pennsylvania in various capacities. He also chaired the Holy Relationships group from 2003-2009, planning national, regional and local conferences on theology, diversity, and ethics, with a focus on LGBTQ+ inclusion. Through Holy Relationships, Rich had the opportunity to work with a leadership team from around the country, hosting events from the East Coast to the Midwest. 

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Joy L. Johnson

Pastor

Pastor Joy is an authorized (licensed) minister of the United Church of Christ having completed a four- year program of study at the Penn West Academy for Licensed Ministry. She was chosen as Associate Pastor at Community United Church in November of 2016 and was officially installed the following May. Prior to becoming Associate Minister, she served in various roles including pastoral search committee chair, choir member, finance committee member, lector, and deacon.

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Cheryl Strecker

Music Director

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Cheryl graduated from the State University at Brockport (now Brockport State University) with a degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology.  She also minored in Education. Cheryl moved to Erie in 1975, and eventually landed here at Community United Church to teach preschool in 1981.  She taught here for 13 years before making the move to the YMCA to teach there. In 2000 Cheryl took a position at Penn State, The Behrend College, working for Barnes and Noble (the campus bookstore). After “retiring” in 2012 she served as a substitute in the Erie School District and held the position of Personal Learning Aide for several years, until Covid forced her to officially retire (aside from her work here) in 2020.

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