John Peterson Pastor
John has served as pastor at Covenant since 1995. He is a graduate of the College of Wooster (1979), Dickinson School of Law of Penn State University (1982), and Union Presbyterian Seminary (1993). He is active in the presbytery and community and currently serves on the boards of the Staunton Augusta Church Relief Association, Augusta Health, and the Shenandoah Presbytery Corporation. His wife Karen is a retired elementary school librarian. They have two grown children and one granddaughter.

Martha Pierce Administrative Assistant

Jeff Ryman Minister of Music
Jeff Ryman received his Bachelor of Music Education degree at James Madison University where he studied Voice, Piano, and Choral Conducting. He is finishing his Master of Music Education degree at JMU. Jeff has been on the music staff at Covenant since 1997 and has been the Minister of Music since 1999 serving as the director of the adult choir and coordinating the music staff. Some of the highlights of his time at Covenant include directing Requiems by Rutter, Mozart, and Faure as well as commissioning several anthems from David Schwoebel. While at Covenant Jeff as served on many committees and was excited to be a part of the Ethiopian Partnership with the Bedele Church where he visited in 2003 and 2006.
Jeff is also the Choral Director at Waynesboro High School where he directs four choirs and teaches Advanced Placement Music Theory. He is passionate about acting and performs with Oak Grove Theater, SheananArts, and The Wayne Theater. Jeff lives in Staunton with his two children, Phillip, an FAA Mechanic at Dynamic Aviation, and Joanna, a senior at Waynesboro High School.

Chris Wszalek Organist

Lou Dolive Handbell Director

Kat McLean Director of Children’s Music
Kat McLean is a native of Waynesboro, Virginia, where she graduated from Waynesboro High School in 2014. She received her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Radford University in May 2019 where she studied choral conducting under Dr. Meredith Bowen and early childhood education under Dr. Jennifer McDonel. She gave voice lessons and assisted in musical theater workshops as well as choral rehearsals at the Virginia Summer Residential Governor’s School for Visual & Performing Arts and Humanities at Radford University in the summers of 2018 and 2019. She attended the Choral Music Experience at Michigan State University in the summer of 2017 to study under Dr. Sandra Snow and Dr. Lee Kesselman where she worked with and conducted the Michigan State University Children’s Choir. In the spring of 2020, she had the opportunity to conduct the Danville All-City Elementary Choir in Danville, Virginia. She began her career as the choral director at William Fleming High School in Roanoke, Virginia. She is currently in her 5th year of education as the music teacher at A.R. Ware Elementary School in Staunton, Virginia.

Mitzi White Preschool Director

Kathy Phillips Henderson Covenant Community Nurse
