St. Paul United Methodist Church Staff

Pastor: Reverend Larry D. Buckland Jr. Reverend Larry D. Buckland Jr. is a West Virginia native who graduated from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 2006 and also holds an undergraduate degree from West Virginia University. He was ordained Elder in the West Virginia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church in 2009. Before coming to St. Paul in July of 2006 he held appointments in Morgantown, Ravenswood, and Huntington. In 2009 Larry received the appointment as the pastor of Genesis, which is now a ministry of St. Paul. He likens his role as pastor to that of a "friend, working side by side with other ministers. Some know that role; others are discovering it, and many more that are searching for their place in the world. God calls all of us to minister and make disciples of Jesus Christ." Larry serves in various capacities within the West Virginia Annual Conference and community. He serves on the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community and Technical College Wesley Board President, the Mon Valley District Lay Leadership Team, he is chair of the Mon Valley Clergy Pastoral Care, a member of the Fairmont Council of Churches and the Watson Elementary School Advisory Board. Associate Pastor: Major Rettig Major Rettig is a West Virginia transplant from Colorado.  He holds a Master's of Divinity with a specialization in Church Leadership (May 2010) and a Master's of Christian Education with a specialization in Youth Ministry (May 2009) from Methodist Theological School in Ohio (just north of Columbus.) He also holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Colorado School of Mines.  Major has lived in the Fairmont area for over a year with his wife Sarah who is an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church and serves as the campus minister at the Wesley House at Fairmont State and his son Parker.  Major is also working on ordination in the United Methodist Church. Besides serving part-time at St Paul's as an associate minister, Major also pastors two small United Methodist Churches outside of Morgantown.  In addition, he is involved with the Marion County Communities of Shalom as well as the Marion County Habitat for Humanity.  When not working, Major enjoys spending time with his wife, hiking, running, reading, and cooking. Office Manager: Lisa Leeper Lisa began her ministry as office manager February 2010. Lisa has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business/Accounting from Fairmont State University. She has previously worked as a substitute teacher in Marion County schools. Prior to that, Lisa was a stay-at-home mother for 18 years. During that time, she volunteered in the schools and in her church and community. Lisa is married to Bill Leeper and they have three children, Jay, Josh, and Jonathan. Pianist: Anne Schooley Anne Schooley came to St. Paul in 2006.  She has the B.S. Degree in Music Ed. and the M.M. Degree in Vocal Performance.  Advanced studies have been completed at Yale Summer School, Westminster Choir College, Carnegie Mellon Univ., Univ. of Colorado, WVU, Aspen School of Music, the Pittsburgh Opera Young Artists, Chautauqua Opera and others. She has taught in New York, North Carolina and Kentucky and concertized as vocal soloist in opera, recital, orchestral, broadway church music etc. in W.Va. and the Eastern U.S. She is the recipient of numerous music awards. Her interest in keyboard began at age 6 and continued  in high school and undergraduate school where she was choral director, organist and pianist.  She is founder and director of FSU’s  “Born to Entertain” childrens vocal group and is Director of the Fairmont State Univ. and Caperton Center’s Community Music Program.  As Music Specialist at East Park School in Fairmont, she is Director of Choral groups and classroom music.  Her husband John, Professor of Music at FSU  is a published composer and theorist.  They are the parents of two children, Jonathan J. William and Melodie Anne. Custodian: Jane Halpenny Jane is married to Rick Halpenny and has 2 sons, Jimmy and Jonathon. She has worked at St. Paul UMC since May 2009.