Senior Pastor/Head of Staff
Rev. Dr. Gary Cecil E-Mail

Dr. Cecil is a native of the hills of southern West Virginia where he was raised in a Christian home. He felt his call to ministry while a student at King College in Bristol, TN, a Presbyterian institution. There he received a Bachelor of Arts in Bible and Religion with minors in English and Philosophy. During this time, he also served a number of rural churches as a student supply and youth minister.

Rev. Cecil served on the staff of Sequoyah Hills Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, TN, and Westminster Chapel in Bluefield, WV before furthering his education at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA, where he received a Doctor of Ministry degree after serving as an assistant pastor at Overbrook Presbyterian Church in Richmond in the process.

Since then he has served on the staffs of congregations in Pittsburgh, PA and Grand Forks, North Dakota, before moving to West Avenue Presbyterian Church in Gastonia, NC to serve as pastor. While there, Dr. Cecil became very involved in the community’s Family Life council and race relations, and served the presbytery in several capacities, including moderator and GA representative.

Palms West Presbyterian Church, a new church development at the time, called Dr. Cecil in December 2000, where he joyfully served for 9+ years and through 3 hurricanes. Some of his activities with the congregation included contemporary guitarist and baritone in a Southern Gospel group. He was active in the presbytery, including serving as chair for CPM and Transformation committees.

Dr. Cecil is happily married to Sheila Palmer. Sheila is an experienced church educator and administrator and was very active in Palms West, a Korean Presbyterian congregation, and Tropical Florida presbytery where she served as Stated Clerk and Hunger Action Enabler. Gary and Sheila have had a variety of international mission experiences and share an appreciation for international cuisines and cultures. In August 2009, Gary was inducted into the U.S. Martial Arts Hall of Fame after 40+ years of enjoying a healthy hobby. Gary and Sheila enjoy most of all a wonderful family, including 4 grandchildren – all boys! They truly look forward to being part of the wonderful community of Madison!

Associate Pastor
Rev. Dr. Chris Carson E-Mail

Church Administrator
Nicki Peppers E-Mail

Director of Pre-School
Deborah Smoak E-Mail

Handbell Choir
David Boardman

David has been drumming, teaching and conducting for over 40 years, and holds a degree in Music Education from Florida State University.  He has performed with the Savannah, Macon and Augusta, GA., symphony orchestras, and with his own Bizarre Arte percussion ensemble at the 1996 Olympics, 1982 World’s Fair, on commercial and public television, and in the linen department at a major Atlanta department store.  David teaches percussion privately and at Morgan County Middle School, and facilitates HealthRhythms group empowerment drumming programs at Camp Twin Lakes.