REV. DAVID DRYSDALE II
The Rev. David Drysdale was called as Pastor to Zion in March 2018. Born in Maine’s Aroostook County, he graduated the Maritime College of the State University of New York in 1986 with a B.S. in Meteorology & Oceanography and a U.S. Coast Guard license for Third Mate Oceans/Unlimited Tonnage. After 22 years in metropolitan New York working in industries ranging from maritime shipping and admiralty law to computer retail sales, information technology, and financial industry research, he entered Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary of Columbia, SC, in 2008. Graduated with a Master of Divinity degree in May 2012, he began serving the Church in the North Carolina Synod in August of that year. Pastor David and his wife, the Rev. Judy Lewis Drysdale, are residents of Hickory. When not enjoying time with family and friends, or settling into their new home, David might be found waist-deep in one of our state’s mountain streams fly-fishing for trout. Son Joshua Copeland is in the Synod’s candidacy process for ordination to the Ministry of Word & Sacrament; he attends the Gettysburg campus of United Lutheran Seminary.
Director of Music, Spence Robertson joined the Zion team in 2015. A lover of sacred choral music, Spence enjoys composing, playing organ and piano, a round of golf, and being with family. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Pfeiffer University and a Master of Music in Church Music from Samford University. Spence is a member of the American Choral Director Association (ACDA) and Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM). He directs the Catawba Valley Community Chorus in Conover, NC, and has taught at Lenoir-Rhyne University in the Music Department, directing the Handbell Ensemble, teaching Hymnody and Aural Skills, playing in the Wind Ensemble, and singing in the A Cappella Choir. Currently, Spence is a first-year seminarian at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, and a Minister of Word and Sacrament candidate in the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
A native of Vale, North Carolina, Sandra Parker has served as Zion’s church administrator for 26+ years. She is a graduate of Fred T. Foard High School in Newton, NC and, prior to coming to Zion, served as a Deputy Register of Deeds for Catawba County for 16 years. Sandra has four adult children and three grandchildren. She enjoys reading, hiking, and spending time with her family.