OUR LEADERSHIP

Rev. ANNA C. GHEEN

PASTOR

anna@wpcrichmond.org

Rev. Anna C. Gheen is an ordained minister in the PC(USA). She has earned multiple degrees and served in various rolls in business and government. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Theology from NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community.

Rev. Gheen is deeply passionate about mission and outreach, particularly among those who find themselves on society’s margins, and is strongly committed to ecumenical and interfaith ministry.

In her spare time Pastor Anna enjoys a variety of outdoor activities including hiking and horseback riding, artistic pursuits (painting and stone carving), and any hobby that involves hitting things – namely, karate and blacksmithing. She shares her home with three cats: Greta, Crackle Cat, and Baby Eli (her Purrstoral Care Associate).

KRISTI SAUNDERS

BAND LEADER

Kristi has been a member of WPC since 2008. She is a native of Staunton, Va. And graduated from Virginia Tech where she studied art. She also became a hairdresser in Blacksburg. After college, she moved to the DC Metro area where she was a hairdresser in Georgetown, and she dabbled in art. In 1997 she married Gordon Saunders and in 2001 their daughter Gillian was born. They relocated to Richmond in 2003, where they currently reside in the west end. Kristi is mostly retired from the hair business but is always busy with house projects. She continues to create using different media: ceramics, painting, building, tile, and mosaic when she’s not following her daughter and husband’s bands. She is an active member at WPC. She enjoys community service, feeding folks, and has been a part of the praise band at WPC since 2009 along with her husband.

MICHAEL BRADLEY

Assistant BAND LEADER

Michael Bradley is a Richmond, VA–based musician, educator, and composer who performs with various bands, has collaborated with notable artists, and has shared the stage with major touring acts. A versatile jazz, soul, and R&B musician and active freelancer, he also composes original music and has taught private lessons since 2016. He graduated Magna cum Laude from VCU with a degree in Jazz Studies/Performance in saxophone. Michael spent much of his youth at WPC and is proud to call it his church home. On top of his gigs and helping lead the WPC band, Michael enjoys being a 1 on 1 behavioral counselor for children.

Kenna Payne

ORGANIST AND CHOIRMASTER

‍Kenna Payne has been the Organist and Choir Director at Westminster Presbyterian Church since November 2011. Raised on a dairy farm in upstate New York, music was a significant part of her family’s life in school and church. She learned to play the pipe organ while still in high school, filling the need in her home church’s music program. She continued to play regularly throughout college. When she moved to Richmond for work, she joined Westminster and its choir program, and she was a substitute organist for many churches around the city. She stepped into the Westminster position when the previous organist suffered a career-changing injury. She is a retired Accountant and General Finance Officer and is active in the Richmond Symphony Chorus(alto), the Richmond Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (Treasurer), and on the Board of The Belvedere Series (Treasurer), a chamber music series. She and her husband John live in the City.

SHERRY MACLAUGHLIN

OFFICE MANAGER

‍Sherry MacLaughlin grew up in Norfolk and came to Richmond to attend VCU. After a short stint in Baltimore, she returned to Richmond where she met her husband in a clay class at the Hand Workshop (now called the Visual Arts Center). They married in 2009 and live in Henrico.