Ministerial Staff
SENIOR PASTOR
Larry Bryars (Larry@shalimar-umc.org)
Larry and Vicki (Elementary School Teacher) have been married for over twenty
six years. They have three sons, Paul, Nicholas, and John.
Larry is a native of Stockton, AL. He received his BS degree from the University of South Alabama, Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary, and Doctorate of Ministry from The Theological School of Drew University. He has served as an associate pastor in Bay Minette First and Church Street in Selma. As a senior pastor, he spent fourteen years in the Epworth UMC in Phenix City and four years in the Aldersgate UMC in Montgomery. Prior to coming to Shalimar UMC, Larry served three years as the District Superintendent of the Montgomery-Prattville District.
Larry has served on many boards and agencies of the Alabama West Florida Conference. Presently, he serves as chair of the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry and is a trustee of Huntingdon College in Montgomery, AL. He has been an instructor in the Course of Study for Local Pastors, and was the co-founder of the Huntingdon- Birmingham Southern Course of Study School. He is also past adjunct staff of Candler School of Theology in the Teaching Parish program.
Larry has had the honor of representing the Alabama-West Florida Conference as a member of the delegation to the past four General and Jurisdictional Conferences. He serves as a member of the “Rules and Order” committee for the Southeast Jurisdictional Conference.
ASSOCIATE PASTOR
David Hoppenjan (David@shalimar-umc.org)
As
one of 5 children, I grew up on a farm in Shullsburg, a small town found deep in
the southwest pocket of Wisconsin. I graduated in 1987 from the University of
Wisconsin-Platteville with a B.S. in Agriculture Education and a business
emphasis.
After college, I moved to the Birmingham, AL area where I met my wife, Jennie, where she worked on her Masters of Education at the University of Montevallo. Jennie is from Alexander City, AL and works in the financial industry as a remote employee for Ronald Blue & Co., LLC. We have been married for 18 years and have two sons, Andy and Michael. Andy, who just turned 14, is in the 8th grade. He enjoys reading and being part of the Meigs Middle School band and playing football. Michael is 12 and in the 7th grade at Meigs Middle School. He loves playing, talking about, and watching basketball along with most other sports. Last, but not least, we are the proud “people” for our 2 ½ year old Lab-Boxer mix dog who takes up lots of our attention whenever she thinks we need a diversion.
MINISTER OF MUSIC
Jeff Keeman (Jeff@shalimar-umc.org)
Reverend Jeff Keeman has been serving Shalimar UMC as Minister of Music
since September 2003. He and his wife Renee were married in 1983. Renee serves
Shalimar UMC as church pianist and works fulltime as teacher at a local public
high school.
God has also blessed Jeff and Renee with 3 precious children, Felicia (20), a senior at Florida State University, Suzette (17), a high school senior and Joshua (14) who is in the 8th grade. All three are active musicians at Shalimar UMC and involved musically at their respective schools.
Jeff has a Bachelors Degree in Church Music and Voice from William Carey College; a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from The University of West Florida and a Masters Degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary with a concentration in Christian Education and Music. Jeff, in June 2006, celebrated his 25th year serving in a local church as Minister of Music and currently supervises a vast music ministry at Shalimar. He plans and directs the music for 3 morning worship services and personally directs the Chancel Choir, Contemporary Praise Team, Youth Choir, Church Orchestra and Adult Handbell Choir and provides oversight and direction for other choirs and ensembles found in the music ministry website.
Jeff’s main desire is to use all the musical resources available to him for the purpose of glorifying God, edifying through music the membership of Shalimar UMC and the community it serves. Music enrollment is ALWAYS OPEN.
ASSOCIATE PASTOR
Sean Peters (Sean@shalimar-umc.org)
My name is Sean Peters and I am in my final year of studies for the Master
of Divinity Degree at Asbury Theological Seminary. I felt God's call to
full-time pastoral ministry in 2003 while serving as an Assistant Pastor and
Worship Arts Director at The Grapevine United Methodist Church in Port Saint
Lucie, FL. After receiving my BA in English from Florida Atlantic
University in 1997, I was a high school Drama and English teacher for 6 years in
Saint Lucie County. I have also served local churches part-time and on a
volunteer basis as Youth Pastor and Worship Leader since 1990.
I met my wonderful wife Sandra while studying theatre at Indian River Community College in 1989 and we were married in March, 1991. We have two amazing children, Courtney who is 12 and Quentin who will be 11 in June. Sandra loves to do home repairs, garden and pretty much anything that requires creativity. Her favorite store is the Home Depot. She is an artist, singer and actress, and I consider myself incredibly blessed to have her as a soul mate. Courtney has been dancing since she could walk, and she loves music, drama, sports, the beach, and spending time with friends. Quentin is a football and baseball guy. He loves playing sports with his friends, eating, and video games (not necessarily in that order!) My hobbies include reading, going to the movies, playing my guitars, eating ice cream, watching sports and American Idol, and spending time with my kids. I love all styles of music, the theatre and anything that inspires me creatively. My life verse is Joshua 1:9.
On behalf of my family I want you all to know how excited we are to come and be with you. I am honored to be a part of the team at Shalimar UMC, and consider it a privilege and a blessing to serve as one of your pastors.
Read Sean's blog at http://www.entermission.blogspot.com/
