Our Staff

I am very grateful to have been recently called by the Session of Union Presbyterian Church as Interim Pastor. I graduated from Covenant Theological Seminary in 1989 and was called to Eugene, Oregon where we served for seventeen years. In 1999 I became interested in the Bible and slavery as an ethical/theological topic. These studies were a catalyst to a critical period of rethinking how I read and interpret the Bible. In July 2006 I resigned from my pastoral ministry in Oregon in order to pursue a Ph.D. in Religious Studies with the University of Wales, Lampeter, U.K. I recently completed the last chapter of my dissertation.

We moved to North Carolina because my research focuses on Eli Caruthers (1793-1865), minister of Alamance Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina from 1821 to 1861, and his treatise against slavery, American Slavery and the Immediate Duty of Southern Slave Holders. Caruthers died in 1865 leaving the manuscript unpublished. The document, over 400 handwritten pages, is now in Special Collections of Duke University. Because it is an antislavery document authored by a southern minister in a proslavery state during the Civil War, it is an unparalleled example of dissent for the era.

In addition to my pastoral responsibilities, I also teach in the Religious Studies Department of Lenoir Rhyne University in Hickory. My wife, Michelle, teaches violin and viola for the Suzuki School of the Arts in Hickory. We enjoy reading, music, cycling, and, I guess, working on houses, since we’ve done a lot of that. We were married in 1978. We have a daughter, three sons, and three grandchildren. Ben, our youngest son, is in high school. His older brothers, Jared and Noah, are both in the USMC and have, or are currently, deployed to Afghanistan. Jared has a daughter, Mila, who lives in Alaska. Our daughter, Elizabeth, lives in Hickory with her two daughters, Alexis and Aliyah. Union Presbyterian Church has extended such a warm welcome to our family, and if you are looking for a church home or considering visiting Union, I know you will be welcomed here, too.

Thank you for your interest!

Reverend Jack Davidson

Janice Short

As Administrative Assistant and Disbursing Secretary at Union Church for over 25 years, Janice is loyal, hardworking, and trustworthy. She views her work at our church as her ministry; always giving a friendly hello and a listening ear to our members and church friends. Janice has been married to Clarence Short for over 28 years and has a grown, married son who resides in London.

Sherry Maples

As the Director of Music and Organist, Sherry gives of her talents through her infectious enthusiasm and love for people and music. Sherry terms the choir “The Fun Bunch” because of the great time that they have while practicing and performing. Married almost a quarter of a century to David and mother to Wes and Holly. Sherry also manages to run a thriving floral business in Gastonia.

Janice Short - Administrative Secretary

E-mail: unionpc@bellsouth.net

Sherry Maples - Director of Music

E-mail: maples_sherry@yahoo.com

I am very grateful to have been recently called by the Session of Union Presbyterian Church as Interim Pastor. I graduated from Covenant Theological Seminary in 1989 and was called to Eugene, Oregon where we served for seventeen years. In 1999 I became interested in the Bible and slavery as an ethical/theological topic. These studies were a catalyst to a critical period of rethinking how I read and interpret the Bible. In July 2006 I resigned from my pastoral ministry in Oregon in order to pursue a Ph.D. in Religious Studies with the University of Wales, Lampeter, U.K. I recently completed the last chapter of my dissertation.

We moved to North Carolina because my research focuses on Eli Caruthers (1793-1865), minister of Alamance Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina from 1821 to 1861, and his treatise against slavery, American Slavery and the Immediate Duty of Southern Slave Holders. Caruthers died in 1865 leaving the manuscript unpublished. The document, over 400 handwritten pages, is now in Special Collections of Duke University. Because it is an antislavery document authored by a southern minister in a proslavery state during the Civil War, it is an unparalleled example of dissent for the era.

In addition to my pastoral responsibilities, I also teach in the Religious Studies Department of Lenoir Rhyne University in Hickory. My wife, Michelle, teaches violin and viola for the Suzuki School of the Arts in Hickory. We enjoy reading, music, cycling, and, I guess, working on houses, since we’ve done a lot of that. We were married in 1978. We have a daughter, three sons, and three grandchildren. Ben, our youngest son, is in high school. His older brothers, Jared and Noah, are both in the USMC and have, or are currently, deployed to Afghanistan. Jared has a daughter, Mila, who lives in Alaska. Our daughter, Elizabeth, lives in Hickory with her two daughters, Alexis and Aliyah. Union Presbyterian Church has extended such a warm welcome to our family, and if you are looking for a church home or considering visiting Union, I know you will be welcomed here, too.

Thank you for your interest!

Reverend Jack Davidson

Janice Short

As Administrative Assistant and Disbursing Secretary at Union Church for over 25 years, Janice is loyal, hardworking, and trustworthy. She views her work at our church as her ministry; always giving a friendly hello and a listening ear to our members and church friends. Janice has been married to Clarence Short for over 28 years and has a grown, married son who resides in London.

Sherry Maples

As the Director of Music and Organist, Sherry gives of her talents through her infectious enthusiasm and love for people and music. Sherry terms the choir “The Fun Bunch” because of the great time that they have while practicing and performing. Married almost a quarter of a century to David and mother to Wes and Holly. Sherry also manages to run a thriving floral business in Gastonia.

Janice Short - Administrative Secretary

E-mail: unionpc@bellsouth.net

Sherry Maples - Director of Music

E-mail: maples_sherry@yahoo.com