ABOUT US

William G. Cockrill, Interim Pastor.

Bill is a native of Nashville, Tennessee, and a graduate of Davidson College. He also holds a law degree from the University of Tennessee and practiced law in Knoxville for 13 years before entering Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. There he earned his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees. His pastoral experience includes 10 years as pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Fairhope, Alabama, and 9 years as pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Huntsville, Alabama. In 2007, Bill began to focus on intentional interim ministry and served as interim pastor for the Davidson College Presbyterian Church. Since then he has been the interim pastor at Hudson Memorial Presbyterian Church and then White Memorial Presbyterian Church, both in Raleigh, before coming to First Presbyterian of Hickory in 2010. Bill has been active in the presbyteries of which he has been a member, having served on numerous committees and commissions and as moderator of South Alabama Presbytery. He has chaired both the Preparation for Ministry Committee and the Committee on Ministry, was a commissioner to the 2006 General Assembly and for several years served as a reader/grader of the denomination’s standard ordination examinations. Bill and his wife, Kathy, live in Davidson and have two daughters.

Deborah McEachran, Associate Pastor.

Deborah grew up in Arlington, Virginia. She graduated with a BA in Latin American Studies from the College of William and Mary in 1981. She served as a youth director in San Antonio, Texas before attending Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia. Deborah was ordained in 1987 at the Jacksonville Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville, New Jersey. While serving for ten years as pastor of a small church, she was the Coordinator of Hispanic Ministry. She has served as Associate Pastor at First Presbyterian Church since August 2002.

Heather Wood, Associate Pastor for Youth Ministries.

Heather grew up in North and South Carolina and was confirmed and baptized here at First Presbyterian Church! She was active in both the Jr. and Sr. High youth programs as a teen. She attended Appalachian State University and graduated with BA in Philosophy & Religion in 2002. She served as the Youth Director for Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church for several years before attending Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. She graduated with a Masters of Divinity in May 2008 and was ordained in 2009. She has been at First Presbyterian since August 2008.