Send mail to Greg

Greg has served as pastor since January 1997. He is a graduate of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Prior to moving to Austin, he served a church in Houston, Texas for 16 years. Greg is married to Celeste. They have three children and four six SEVEN grandchildren.

Asked what he most likes about being pastor at Central, Greg said: "It is the rich history, the diverse community, and the bright future that most excites me. Being pastor of a church that has served this community since 1839 is a humbling experience. I am proud to be the pastor of a congregation that continues its long-time ministry with the poor and its renewed commitment to include all of God's children."

Send mail to Tom

In August 2002, Tom Estes became our Parish Associate for Pastoral Care. Tom moderates the Board of Deacons, helps supervise seminary interns, and assists Greg with other pastoral duties. He and his wife Sally moved to Austin in retirement in late 2001. They have 5 children and 9 grandchildren.

Send mail to Rick

Since February of 2000, Rick has been working at Central Presbyterian Church assisting Pastor McDonell. He is blessed with many wonderful experiences and pleasant memories, and feels fortunate to be back in Austin and to be working at the church.

Rick enjoys cooking, baking, reading, biking, hiking, camping and traveling. He also enjoy walking his dog Chester, and has one cat named Lance.

Send mail to Win

Although he started working in the church office in 2004, Win has been a friend of CPC since he and his wife, Susan Richter, moved to Austin in 1996. In addition to working in the church office, he can occasionally be found providing music for Sunday morning services.

Win also enjoys - yes, enjoys! - computer programming and administration.

Send mail to Lee

Lee has been custodian at Central since July 2000. He's the man to see for access, facility setup, or just about anything to do with the physical plant or supplies!

Send mail to Cindy

Cindy Couch has been the director of music at Central Presbyterian for the most part of 20 years. She has a master's degree in conducting and taught secondary choral music for 30 years. Her high school choir programs were widely acknowledged as some of the finest in the state. Cindy has received many awards, including the UIL-Southwestern Bell Teaching Excellence award in 1999. She has performed with such groups as Conspirare and the Houston Theater Under the Stars, and is the founder of the River City Pops.

Send mail to Nathan

Nathan was raised in Plainfield, NJ, where he started learning to play the piano as soon as he learned to read. After college Nathan moved back to New Jersey to pursue his career in Architecture, and played the organ as an intern for the United Presbyterian Church of Plainfield. Fortunately for us, he and his wife, Kiera, decided to relocate to Austin!

Send mail to Becky

Becky was born and raised in Austin, baptized at Faith Presbyterian Church and was even ordained as an elder there. She taught middle school and high school band in the Texas public school system from 1992-2000 - she considers herself a recovering band director with a choral habit!

Becky is also a massage therapist, emphasizing ways to eliminating the cause of problems, rather than masking the symptoms.

Send mail to Susan

Susan has been a member of CPC since shortly after moving back to Texas in 1996. After singing in the choir and playing handbells for a while, she took on the job of leading the "ding-a-lings"! She also the Church photographer.

In her other life, Susan is a database modeler for the state of Texas.

Send mail to Kathy

Kathy has been active at Central since the first day she walked in the door in 2002, it seems. She has served on various ministry committees and teams, including the Long-Range Planning Team. In 2007, she resigned her position at a downtown firm to become our Christian Educator, as well as enrolling at the Austin Seminary.

Send mail to April

April joined us in October 2007 as our Childcare Coordinator. She comes to us with a great love for children and years of service in the childcare industry. She is presently a co-director of a Kindercare Center here in Austin.

Send mail to Kathi

Kathi Thomas, PFCI, TMF, has been involved in the wedding industry for over 30 years, including the past 15 years here in Austin. She is a member of Austin Wedding and Events Coordinators (AWEC) and American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD). Kathi has extensive experience in working with bridal couples and their families to help make their wedding go smoothly. She has a degree in music and is happy to assist couples in selecting music for their wedding. "Our goal at CPC", says Kathi, "is to assist you in having a smoothly operating wedding at Central Presbyterian Church, with things happening the way you want them for your special day."