Those Who Led Us
Rev. Clinton Cherry (pictured, 1928-1932) was the first fully ordained minister to serve Covenant. Through its 100-year history, Covenant has had 17 senior pastors, 30 associate pastors, and 9 assistants who helped with visitation and ministries to families, youth and children. See the complete list below.
Ministers of Covenant United Methodist Church of Springfield
Bold = Senior Pastors
| Harry P. Gentry | 1922 – 1928 |
| Herbert R. Howells | 1928 |
| Clinton M. Cherry | 1928 – 1932 |
| John N. Althouse | 1932 – 1937 |
| Herbert A. McKain | 1937 – 1941 |
| John A. McElroy | 1941 – 1947 |
| Harry Barnes | 1947 – 1953 |
| Edward G. Hunter | 1951 – 1952 |
| John G. Shoemaker | 1952 – 1953 |
| Wallace F. Stettler | 1953 – 1967 |
| Lawrence J. Seyler | 1953 – 1955 |
| John D. O’Neill | 1955 – 1958 |
| Richard W. Hess | 1958 – 1959 |
| Richard B. Wells | 1959 – 1961 |
| Robert H. Wright | 1959 – 1964 |
| Richard L. Cookson | 1963 – 1966 |
| John S. Reese | 1964 – 1965 |
| Walter A. Swank | 1965 – 1966 |
| Kenneth Fansler | 1965 – 1972 |
| Leo C. Farley | 1966 – 1969 |
| Robert E. Norman | 1966 – 1970 |
| Harvey W. Marsland | 1967 – 1971 |
| Richard A. Vance | 1970 – 1972 |
| W. Edgar Cathers, Jr. | 1971 – 1974 |
| William H. Garrett | 1972 – 1977 |
| C. Michael Roney | 1972 – 1977 |
| Dale E. Owens | 1974 – 1979 |
| Merrill A. Hassinger | 1977 – 1980 |
| Susan W. Hassinger | 1977 – 1980 |
| Bruce C. Hazelwood | 1979 – 1988 |
| Stephen M. Heilakka | 1980 – 1983 |
| Patricia A. Woolever | 1983 – 1989 |
| Robert A. Mongold | 1988 – 2004 |
| Richard A. Sutton | 1989 – 1991 |
| Oscar R. Allen | 1991 – 1995 |
| John D. Rich, Jr. | 1995 – 1998 |
| Maridel A. Whitmore | 1998 – 2001 |
| Janet L. Brown | 2001 – 2003 |
| Christine A. Croxall | 2003 – 2004 |
| Sharon L. Vandegrift | 2004 – 2009 |
| Wendy Hudson-Jacoby | 2004 – 2006 |
| Amy Emmett-Rardin | 2007 – 2010 |
| R. Mark Young | 2009 – 2012 |
| James D. Anderman | 2012 – 2019 |
| Kevin M. Rutledge | 2016 – |
| Janet K. Hess | 2018 – 2019 |
| Mark Terry | 2019 – |
Part-time Assistant Pastors
| Charles Yrigoyen (Minister of Visitation) | 1980 – 1984 |
| Benjamin O. Gould (Minister of Visitation) | 1984 – 1986 |
| Charlotte DeGregoris (Church Visitor) | 1987 – 1988 |
| Oscar R. Allen (Minister of Visitation) | 1988 – 1991 |
| Robert E. Ziegler (Minister of Visitation) | 1995 – 2000 |
| Dale E. Owens (Visitation Pastor) | 2000 – 2005 |
| Lawrence R. Bergstresser (Pastor of Visitation) | 2006 – 2012 |
| Rob Mannix (Dir. of Children & Family Ministries) | 2010 – 2016 |
