Pastor Kim was called to Abiding Presence in February 2020 after serving five years as a redevelopment pastor in Elizabeth City, NC, and four years in Kendall Park, NJ. She comes to ministry as a second career pastor. Her first calling was to science and engineering as an Assistant Research Professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University. She holds a Master of Divinity from the Duke Divinity School, a Doctor of Philosophy in Bioengineering from the University of Washington, and a Bachelor of Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan. Pastor Kim is married to Joe Casteel, a pastor in the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. She enjoys spending time with her four adult stepchildren and adores being “Mimsy” to seven beloved grandchildren.
Pastor Emily Graff, a native of Peoria, Illinois, graduated from Northern Illinois University where she studied Psychology and Art. She was commissioned in the US Army following college and has served over 21 years as a Health Services Plans, Operations, Intelligence Security and Training Officer.
She holds a Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and was called as Abiding Presence’s second pastor in August 2024 with a focus on Youth and Children’s Ministry.
Pastor Emily lives in Angier with her wife, Allie, and two of her four children, Zachary and Micah where most of their time is spent tending to their small hobby farm.
Gaylene Henry
(she/her/hers)
Accompanist
Valerie Jones
(she/her/hers)
APPLE Seeds Preschool Director
email: director@appleseedspreschool.org
website: https://www.appleseedspreschool.org/