Meet the dedicated staff of the Commission on Congregational Development!
Rev. Rebecca Craver, Director of Congregational Development (she/her)
As Director of Congregational Development, Rebecca works with congregations and provincial leadership to provide resources and support their ongoing work towards greater health and vitality. She works to cultivate collaborative relationships between and among pastors, congregations, provincial and interprovincial agencies and other partners. Working with communities of faith, her passion for capacity building and innovation have shaped her 15 year career in ordained ministry. She has led communities in reimagining their structures, practices, and traditions as they embrace Jesus’ call, supporting them through organizational change, worship creation, and adult learning curriculum. Rebecca’s evenings and weekends are often spent investing in good conversation over a mocha, making new connections in the community, or delighting in the laughter of her children and spouse. Email Rebecca. Rebecca is in office Tuesday-Wednesday 8-4.
Christy Clore, Faith Formation Specialist (she/her)
As Faith Formation Specialist, Christy will be engaging with congregations to support and build upon current discipleship practices in local contexts. She will help strengthen the outreach and witness of congregations through education and spiritual formation for all ages. She will also serve as the denominational representative to the Association of Partners in Christian Education organization that brings together resources for discipleship and faith formation through ecumenical partnership. She will be available to help with curriculum suggestions and resource sharing with congregations. As a vital part of the Commission on Congregational Development staff she will contribute to the planning and implementation of training events and connecting us with outside courses and resources to enhance the local ministry of congregations and communities. Email Christy. Christy has office hours Wednesday 9-12 and Thursday 1-4.
SamLevi Sizemore, Communications Coordinator (they/them)
SamLevi is putting an artistic and linguistic spin on this “tech guy” role at the CCD office. They manage various newsletters, social media, and other digital content from the Southern Province and CCD office. They graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor’s Degree in English Creative Non-Fiction and Studio Art. SamLevi grew up in Winston-Salem and has recently returned to town to work in this roll. Growing up, they attended church with their grandmother at Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church and The Summit Church’s youth programming. In their free time, they enjoy reading comics and memoirs, making spreadsheets, making their own clothes, letterpress printmaking, and practicing German. Email Samlevi. SamLevi is in office Tuesday-Thursday 9-5.
Ethan Smith, Youth Ministry Specialist
At the 2022 Synod of the Moravian Church in the Southern Province, we resolved to create a staff position focused on youth and young adult ministry to “to provide new, innovative, relevant leadership, training, resources, programming, and assistance to Southern Province congregations as well as the youth in their surrounding communities…” (Resolution #31) The CCD was tasked with developing a job description and gathering information from congregations throughout the province about the opportunities for youth ministry they see and what the province can do to support them in answering God’s call to youth and young adult ministry. Synod committed funding for the position so that we can invest and support the development of ministry focused on the particular ministry to youth and young adults in the province.
Based on the information we have gathered from listening sessions, congregational consultations and the work of youth ministry throughout the province in the FL/GA district and in NC we decided to create two part time positions to work with congregations in regional areas and to accompany congregations and youth in building up groups for discipleship, service and ministry. In the next two years the Youth Ministry Specialists will work to consult with local congregations, collaborate with local teams to put on provincial events, and share resources for youth and young adult ministry throughout the province. They will prepare a report to 2026 Synod with their findings and recommendations.
Ethan is currently a seminary student at Moravian Theological Seminary, and is living in Oak Island, North Carolina. He grew up at King Moravian, and has spent time working with different youth groups and churches throughout the province. He is greatly looking forward to this opportunity to connect with churches and youth groups, and offer support from the CCD whenever possible.
To find out more about the full CCD team and what we do, click here.