Our 2025 Guest Speakers​
Lt. Col. Jon Pynduss
May 25, 2025
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Pastor Dan Lewis
June 22, 2025
Dan has served as Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, North Carolina since August 2017. A graduate of Davidson College (B.A.), Union Presbyterian Seminary (M.Div.), and Columbia Theological Seminary (D.Min.), Dan has been an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament since August 2006. Prior to coming to Wilmington, he served as Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Statesboro, Georgia. Dan’s wife, Susan, is also an ordained minister, as well as a psychotherapist. They are the proud parents of daughter Elizabeth and son Jeffrey.
Rev. Paul Johansson
July 20, 2025
Paul is a retired Lutheran Pastor and the son-in-law of the late Van Weatherspoon and Kay Weatherspoon, long-time homeowners on the island. Paul and his wife Martha are blessed with two sons, two daughter-in-laws and three grandchildren with another one on the way. Paul grew up in East Africa as part of a missionary family and has served as a Pastor in Charlotte, Hartford, CT, St. Cloud, MN and Elk River, MN.
Rev. Milton C. Williams
August 17, 2025
The Very Rev. Milton C. Williams, Jr. is the rector of St. Francis Episcopal Church, Greensboro, NC. A native of Suffolk, Virginia, Father Williams earned a B.S. degree from Virginia State University in 1983, and his M.Div. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1987 and a Diploma in Anglican Studies from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1996. He has served as a missionary in South Brazil and Fairbanks, Alaska. From 1988 to 1990 he taught at the University of South East Asia and Pui Ching Middle School in Macau, South East Asia.
​
Father Williams served as Associate Rector at the Historic Pohick Episcopal Church, one of the parishes of President George Washington, in Fairfax County, Virginia, from 1996 to 1999, and as Priest Associate for Pastoral Care and Outreach Ministries at Trinity Church, Wall Street, NY, from 1999 until 2006. From Trinity he headed south and served two parishes in Washington, D.C., St. Timothy's from 2006 to 2008 and as Rector of St. Monica and St. James, Capitol Hill, from 2008 to 2012. Following Washington, D.C., he served as Interim Rector at Church of the Ascension, Chicago and was later appointed by the Bishop of Chicago as the Interim Dean at St. James Cathedral, Chicago, from 2014 to 2015.
​
Currently, he serves on the board of directors of Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro, Canterbury School, Greensboro, Bel Canto Company-Choral Society, Greensboro, and as a mentor for African-American boys at Page High School, Greensboro. Father Williams is the Dean of the Convocation of Episcopal churches in Greensboro and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Diocese of North Carolina. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Father Williams enjoys travel, the beach, hiking and music.
Rev. Canon Stephanie Allen
June 8, 2025
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Rev. Sid Batts
June 29, 2025
Sid recently retired as the pastor/head of staff for First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro. He attended High Point University and has advanced degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary and McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. He is the author of The Protestant Wedding Sourcebook.
Batts grew up in eastern North Carolina and lived in Charlotte as a teenager. Prior to arriving in Greensboro in 2001, Batts led congregations in Atlanta, Georgia; Mobile, Alabama; and Lowell, North Carolina. He currently resides outside of Southport, NC.
He and his wife, Cathy, have two grown daughters and one grandson.
Rev. Christopher Edmonston
August 3, 2025
Christopher began ministry at White Memorial Presbyterian Church in September of 2011. His primary responsibilities are preaching, teaching, pastoral care, membership development, staff development, and long term planning. Christopher has moderated Presbytery Committees, serves on the Montreat Retreat Association Board, and has served as the President of the Board of the Presbyterian Outlook. He is a contributor to Feasting on the Gospels and is a former member of the national strategy team and current member of the national advisory team for NEXT Church, a renewal movement within the Presbyterian Church (USA). He was recognized as a William Friday Fellow (2011-13). Christopher is a graduate of Davidson College, Union Presbyterian Seminary (Master of Divinity), and Columbia Theological Seminary (Doctor of Ministry). A semi-frequent contributor to blogs and publications such as the Presbyterian Outlook and Duke Divinity School’s Faith and Leadership Blog, he has preached and taught all over the southeast, frequently leading church retreats and lending his voice to conferences.
Rev. Mike Queen
June 15, 2025
A native of West Virginia, Rev. Mike Queen, has served churches in North Carolina for the last 46 years. Recently retired after 25 years as pastor at First Baptist Church in Wilmington, NC, Mike, along with his colleague Jayne Davis, authored a book, Hopeful Imagination, designed to help traditional churches dedicated to finding God’s way in a changing world. Mike and Bobbie, his wife of 55 years, live in Wilmington and they have continued their ministry by serving as interim pastor in four other NC churches. Mike also recently retired after thirteen years as the co-coordinator of the Center for Healthy Churches-Carolinas region, a national church consulting group serving largely Baptist and Presbyterian congregations.
Rev. Bob Haywood
July 13, 2025
Bob is a retired Presbyterian minister who has served Figure 8 Island Church since 1996. He has spent his career as Campus Minister at universities in Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania. Most recently, he served as Campus Minister twenty-eight years at UNCW Wilmington. A lifelong sailor, he and wife Deborah love to travel. They have lived in Wilmington since 1980 and are blessed to have two of their four children, and two grandchildren living nearby.​
Dr. Bob Bardin
August 10, 2025
Bob is married to Sally, a retired Counselor (LPC), and they share 4 children and 2 grandchildren. He is graduate of N.C State University and Union Theological Seminary, Richmond,Va. In more than 40 years of previous ministry he has served five churches: two in North Carolina, one in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, one in Troon, Scotland, and one in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
After retiring from First Presbyterian Church in Goldsboro in 2020, Bob served as an Interim Pastor at Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church and at Mount Olive Presbyterian Church before retiring, again, in May of this year. With family roots in Greene and Edgecombe counties, Bob is a confirmed lover of Eastern North Carolina. “I have often poured peanuts in my Pepsi, enjoyed the whine of a porch swing, and washed tobacco gum from my hands with Lava Soap.” He says that each church he has served has been the best church he has served.
Dr. Tom Milam
August 31, 2025
Dr. Tom Milam manages our team of clinicians and guides them in telemedicine and industry best practices. He received his undergraduate degree from WVU in Anthropology, graduating summa cum laude, and received his M.D. from the University of Virginia. His residency training in psychiatry took place at Duke and UVA. Dr. Milam has served in a leadership role throughout his psychiatric career and spearheaded the telepsychiatry initiative at his previous hospital. Dr. Milam is also an ordained Episcopalian priest and got his Master of Divinity Degree from Yale. He is a fan of various sports and traveling with his wife and four children. In his free time, he enjoys DIY projects, “honey-do” lists, and driving his convertible sports car.