Stem–Bullocks Charge 

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Stem United Methodist Church has had 36 student pastors since the Divinity School at Duke University first opened its doors in 1926.  The Divinity School brought student pastors from across North Carolina and as far away as Oklahoma (J.A. Gist, 1928-31); West Virginia (C.H. Kelly, 1931-32) and Alabama (J.A. Lindsey, 1941-42). 

The newest student pastor, Jason Thornton, hails from an even further far off land known as California (now pronounced Kal-E-Four-nyah by its illustrious governor Arnold Schwarzenegger). 

Jason was born and raised in California and graduated from California State University at Sacramento in 1996 with a BS in Biology.  He worked over 11 years as an associate research scientist in the field of molecular biology at companies such as Calgene (Monsanto), LSBC, and the University of California at Davis.  In 2007, Jason felt a “higher calling” and applied to Duke Divinity School to pursue a Master’s of Divinity. 

In June of 2007, Jason, his wife Tammy and their three sons (and two dogs) moved from the small California town of Woodland (pop. 53,690) to the small North Carolina town of Stem (pop. 229) where he is now the pastor of both Stem and Bullocks United Methodist Church.  At Stem and Bullocks, Jason and his family have found a wonderful community of good Christian folks who have welcomed them in Christ’s love and grace (even in spite of Jason’s funny accent and strange wardrobe).  Just as they have welcomed Jason and his family, the good folks of Stem and Bullocks invite y’all to come and share a pew with them on Sunday morning.