Staff
Clergy
Rev. Myungha Baek (Lead pastor), pastorbaek@stpaulumc-lusby.org
Rev. Myungha Baek was born and raised in South Korea. He and his wife (Rev. EunJoung Joo) came to the States to study. Pastor Baek is the proud father of his daughter, Abigail(Abby). The Baek family has a great companion, Lily(dog).
Pastor Baek was not a Christian when he was young. His father was an atheist, and his mother was a non-practicing Catholic; however, they became Christians later. One of his friends invited him to his church(youth service) when he was in middle school. Since then, he has lived as a Christian. Pastor Baek had tried to be a school teacher when he was in university. However, God called him into ministry. He studied at the Korean Methodist Seminary(B.A. and Th.M -Spirituality and Psychology) in Seoul, Korea, and Wesley Theological Seminary(M.Div) in D.C. Pastor Baek had served as a Children and Korean youth pastor (National Korean UMC in Rockville, MD), a local pastor (Galesville UMC in Galesville, MD and South Damascus Charge in Damascus, MD) and a pastor at Monrovia charge.
God became a human being; the Word became flesh. (John 1:14) so that human beings could experience God’s care tangibly. Pastor Baek focuses on helping people to experience God’s love and truth in their lives, and therefore, they also can be God’s vessel of love and truth to their neighbors. God’s followers can become ‘the Word becomes flesh’ to people in their family, community, and beyond.
Lay Staff
Sherry Mervine (Children & Youth Leader), cyleader@stpaulumc-lusby.org
Sherry have been attending St. Paul’s UMC for over 18 years and am the current music minister/pianist and choir director for the 9AM worship service. She was a previous SPUMC VBS director for five years and will be celebrating her 29th year as a vocal teacher as we enter the new 2023-24 school year.
In the past, she served as a PTA officer for both Appeal Elementary (before it became PAC) and Southern Middle School in the roles of President/Vice President or Treasurer. She also served as the Calvert Countywide PTA Treasurer and President for a total of 5 years in addition to being an active scouting leader in Calvert County for over 12 years.
She has dedicated her life to serving the needs of children and young adults in her classroom and in her community. She strives to help them grow in moral character, build self-esteem and confidence, increase local/global society awareness and demonstrate courage as they explore their interests and talents to start on their path for life goals.
Nerissa Curtin (Office Manager), ncurtin@stpaulumc-lusby.org
Nerissa Curtin joined the staff as our Office Manager in April 2024.
She has been married to her husband, Chris, since 2003 and is the mother of two kids and two cats. She was a military spouse until recently, allowing her to live in seven states and two countries before moving to Calvert County in 2015. Over the last two decades, she served as a volunteer with various military, community, and religious organizations. By taking this position on our support staff, Nerissa has chosen to use her gifts of administration, compassion and helping to bless all who visit our offices.
In her free time, she enjoys playing games with her family, crafting, and kayaking in the summer. Her favorite way to spend any day is with good food, friends and family.
Cindy Shippert (Finance Manager), financemanager@stpaulumc-lusby.org
Cindy Shippert joined the staff as our Finance Manager in April 2024.
She will be married to Paul for 40 years in August 2024 and has lived in Calvert County
36 years. She has been a member of St. Paul UMC for many years. Paul and Cindy have 3 adult
daughters and 2 grandsons.
For fun, she enjoys bowling, reads a variety of books, watches forensic/mystery
programs like CSI, Chicago series and the NCIS series. Love having time to enjoy my
grandsons.
Missy Garber (Custodian)
Missy Garber(right in the picture) has served St. Paul UMC as our custodian for a long time.
She is married to Phil.