PASTOR

Rev. Keith Leach is our teaching elder and also serves as Chaplain for Hampden-Sydney College. Keith is the son of a Presbyterian minister and is a Hampden-Sydney alumnus. He was born in Farmville, baptized in College Church, and then lived in several places before graduating from high school in Forest City, North Carolina.

Keith graduated from Hampden-Sydney College with a B.A. in History in 1981. While at Hampden-Sydney, Keith was involved in a number of college activities. He played football for four years under Coach Stokeley Fulton. He was member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, serving as treasurer, and was on the Inter-Fraternity Council. He participated with the Rugby Club and worked in the Career Counseling Office. 

After graduation Keith attended the College of William & Mary School of Business Administration, earning his M.B.A. in 1986. Keith’s business career took him to various places and employers for the next 24 years, but the majority of his work was in the field of construction. From 1994 until late 2010 Keith worked for a commercial construction firm in Tallahassee, Florida. While in Tallahassee, Keith served as a lay Pastor in a Presbyterian retirement community from May of 2002 until September of 2011.

A lifelong Presbyterian, Keith became a member of the first “distance” cohort at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in 2007 and graduated with a Masters in Divinity in 2012. As part of his Clinical Pastoral Education, he served as a Trauma Chaplain at Tallahassee Memorial hospital. This program allowed Keith to fulfill both his call to minister to a particular congregation and prepare himself for ordination as a Teaching Elder. He was ordained as a Teaching Elder/Minister of Word and Sacrament in May of 2012 and installed to the First Presbyterian Church of Cambridge, Ohio.

In 2016, Keith was called to serve as pastor of College Church. Keith is married to Janis and is the father of two boys and one daughter-in-law.

Elders

College Church is led by a Session comprised of eight ruling elders, with the pastor serving as moderator. Elders serve a three-year term, with elections typically occurring in the fall. The current ruling elders and the ending year of their term are:

Anita Garland (Class of 2024)
Jackie Hall (Class of 2023)
Virginia Kinman (Class of 2023, Clerk of Session)
Bill Porterfield (Class of 2023)
Unfilled (Class of 2024)
Scott Tucker-Simms (Class of 2025)
Ken Townsend (Class of 2025)

Committees

The life and work of College Church are also guided by three committees, each led by two or three ruling elders.

The Administration Committee deals with finance, personnel, property, cemetery, and insurance issues. The elder guiding this committee is Ken Townsend.

The Congregational Life Committee handles fellowship, congregational care, worship, and Christian education. The elders guiding this committee are Anita Garland and Scott Tucker-Simms.

The Outreach Committee addresses missions, benevolences, and student ministry. The elders guiding this committee are Jackie Hall and Bill Porterfield.