Two Kosciusko United Methodist churches have recently welcomed new leadership.
Rev. Anjohnette Walker Gibbs
Kosciusko native Reverend Anjohnette Yvonne Walker Gibbs has joined Wesley United Methodist as its new pastor. The daughter of the late Leslie Walker and Bobra Y. Knox, she was educated in Kosciusko schools and said her childhood was grounded in God and family.
Gibbs grew up and was nurtured in the church she now leads, nurturing others and looking forward to her ministry in her home town.
“It’s great to be home! Everybody has been so welcoming; it’s just been amazing,” she said, adding that returning to the church where she grew up has brought back many good memories of those who influenced her.
Although she felt called to the ministry at age 7, Gibbs said she fulfilled many other roles in the church until age 19 when her pastor, Rev. Joe May, asked her, “When are you going to stop running?”
Gibbs said she was also encouraged by Rev. Harper, Mrs. Presley, Mrs. Lowery, Mrs. Ruby Stevens, Mr. Charles Hull and Mr. Lloyd, although she admitted that there are really too many to mention them all.
Her Wesley church family started nurturing her in Sunday School and continued all the way up through adulthood.
Gibbs said, “They really made me understand God’s word: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,’” she said, noting that they supported her with both prayers and financial support.
Gibbs holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Alcorn State University and a Master of Divinity Degree from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Chicago. A retired elder in the United Methodist Church and an educator, Gibbs is an advocate for children who has provided consultant leadership and motivational messages for Head Start, as well as community, university and religious functions. She has also trained and mentored Pre-K staff for local school districts. For 21 years, Gibbs supervised 148 employees each year at W.C.O.I. Head Start and was part of the team that wrote the Mississippi kindergarten benchmarks and helped write the Mississippi Department of Education early learning guidelines for preschoolers.
In addition to her various roles in early childhood education, Gibbs has served at Hartzell United Methodist Church in Chicago and Neighborhood United Methodist Church in Maywood, Illinois. She has also served as pastor of Revels Memorial United Methodist Church in Greenville, and for the past 32 years, she has served as pastor of the Evans Chapel and the Hales Chapel United Methodist churches in Belzoni and Inverness.
Gibbs is a widow and has one son, Calvin, and two granddaughters.
She said she gives God the praise for allowing her to render over 40 years of service to God and mankind.
“To help young and old as I walk with God, so that my living shall not be in vain,” she said is her goal. “To give back for all he has done for me is my daily prayer.”
Rev. Gary Glazier
Reverend Gary Glazier is the new pastor at First United Methodist Church in Kosciusko.
Glazier moved here from Morton, where he served the Morton and Lena churches, and has previously served at Booneville Grace and Thrasher churches, as well as five small churches in Tishomingo County.
Glazier’s path to the pulpit was a long one.
He went to college for a while, then joined the Navy, where he served in the first Gulf War as a hospital corpsman in the ophthalmology department. After leaving the Navy, he continued to work in optometry for about 13 years.
Following marriage to his wife, Cindy, the couple became active in church in Greenville and found a church to be active in following a move to Guntown.
Although he continued to work in optometry, Glazier felt God was calling him to pastor. Finally, he asked God to give him peace if the ministry was what he was to do.
“Immediately, I felt a sense of peace wash over me,” he said, causing him to begin serving the churches in Tishomingo County shortly thereafter.
Glazier took the Pastor’s Course of Study at Emory University and became an associate member of the Annual Conference.
Glazier has since moved to several different churches.
“We trust how the process works in the United Methodist Church, and know that God places us where he needs us,” he said of the repeated relocations.
That trust in the process has made the move to Kosciusko a good one for the Glazier family. Cindy is enjoying serving the Goodman and Shrock churches, and their daughter, Abigail, is in the eighth grade.
“Moving to a school district with such a good reputation has certainly made the move easier,” Glazier said. Abigail, who is a member of the Kosciusko Junior High School band, is also excited about the Big Red band tradition.
The Glaziers also have a son, Austin, who lives in Guntown with his wife, Laura, and their twin 10-month-old girls. The family is glad the move to Kosciusko brings them all closer together than when they lived in Morton.
Although Glazier said there are almost too many influences in his life to name, he did say three pastors he has known stand out. Paul Metcalf was a childhood hero of his, and Glazier was also greatly influenced by Rev. David Ray of Greenville. Through Rev. Robert McCoy of Baldwyn, Glazier says that he “…developed a heart for mission through his teachings.”
The pastor said he has much to look forward to in his new post.
“Well, it took me about three weeks to learn to spell it,” he said with a laugh before adding, “There are lots of opportunities to serve Christ in the community, and seldom does it involve carrying a Bible with you.”
