Staff | Grace United Methodist

Staff

Pastor

Drew

Drew McIntyre is the Pastor of Grace United Methodist Church...

Drew McIntyre, Pastor

Drew McIntyre is the Pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina. He grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and earned degrees in history and religion from High Point University and a Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School. He recently completed a Doctor of Ministry from United Theological Seminary.

Drew has been the Pastor of Grace since 2016 and has a passion for empowering disciples of Jesus who become servant leaders at home, work, and in the community. He is an avid reader, writer, and student, and currently serves as an Adjunct Instructor in the Department of Religion at Greensboro College. Drew is a self-proclaimed nerd and has projects in progress for the Theology and Pop Culture series on Batman and Game of Thrones.

Drew and Brittany married in 2011 and have a daughter, Cora, along with two rescue cats, Molly and Arthur (named after Harry Potter characters).

Please reach out to Drew with any questions about how to connect with the ministry and mission of Grace!

Director of Youth and Missions

Jo

Joanna ("Jo") Capps grew up in Kinston, North Carolina...

Joanna Capps, Director of Youth Ministries and Missions

Joanna ("Jo") Capps grew up in Kinston, North Carolina and graduated from Kinston High School in 2005. She graduated from Campbell University in 2009 with a Drama and Christian Ministries major. Shortly after graduation, she married James Capps and they were lucky enough to live abroad in England for 3 years while James served in the US Air Force. Jo started working at Grace UMC in 2014 and left briefly from 2018 - 2020 but returned after realizing Greensboro and Grace are her true home. She and James welcomed a baby girl named Evelyn into their family in October 2019. Jo loves to spend time with her family, sing and play her ukulele, take beach trips and discuss nerdy movies and books.

Director of Children and Families

Samantha

Samantha Jones is the director of the Children and their Families...

Samantha Jones, Director of Ministries with Children and Families

Samantha Jones is the director of the Children and their Families Ministry at Grace UMC. Samantha holds a master’s degree in Social Work from Columbia University and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Samantha is married with two sons and enjoys intentional time with her family, great weather and food. Samantha’s heart’s desire is to truly be a light for others to see Christ.

Director of music

James Austin

James Austin Porzenski is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Music...

James Austin Porzenski, Director of Music Ministry

James Austin Porzenski has served as Grace's Music Director since 2019. He is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Music degree in music education at UNCG, and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music with a concentration in vocal performance from High Point University. James Austin also holds a Master of Music degree with a concentration in choral conducting and a certificate in music education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He recently completed a year of service as an HPU AmeriCorps VISTA Civic Leader where he worked to increase the level of community involvement and lead service-initiative programs in the greater High Point community and at Northwood Elementary School located in High Point, NC.

During his graduate, undergraduate and VISTA timelines James Austin has been an active member of the North Carolina and Greensboro Opera choruses, College Music Society, Mu Phi Epsilon, Eastern Music Festival, and UNCG’s summer opera program GLOS.

office manager

Mary

Mary Newcomb joined Grace UMC as the Office Manager...

Mary Newcomb, Office Manager

Mary Newcomb joined Grace UMC as the Office Manager in October 2020. Mary graduated from Gardner-Webb University with a Bachelor of Social Science, Global Studies in 2015 and completed a Master of Divinity from Gardner-Webb in December 2019. Mary has a passion for the church and loves the administrative side!

Mary has been married to Alan since 2014 and they have a dog, Zebedee (Zeb). She enjoys time spent with her little family, playing games, doing puzzles, and reading.

custodian

Karen

Karen Griffin has worked with Grace United Methodist Church...

Karen Griffin, Custodian

Karen Griffin has worked with Grace United Methodist Church since 2017, starting as a custodial helper and then taking the reins as our permanent custodian. Karen loves people and giving to those who need it. Karen loves photography and reading! She has a dog, Precious, and cannot wait to marry her love, Melinda, in June 2022!

Accompanist

Faye

Faye Halvorsen is the accompanist/organist at Grace...

Faye Halvorsen, Accompianist

Faye Halvorsen is the accompanist/organist at Grace United Methodist Church. Faye is an experienced church musician that has served numerous churches in Greensboro, NC since 1986, and Grace since 2014. Faye is an arts professional with a Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degree from UNCG.

Faye was a music educator for Guilford County Schools for thirty-two years, with the last twenty as Choral Director at Southwest Guilford High School.

Faye has three daughters, Allison (Phillip), Ruth (William), Mary, and three grands, Walker, James, and Aralynn. In her free time, she plays tennis socially and with USTA teams.