The West Mathews Charge of the United Methodist Church has welcomed a new pastor and St. Matthew Church to its charge.

The Rev. Kristie Askew is a licensed local pastor in the Virginia Conference of the UMC since January 2018. She grew up in Gloucester, and graduated from Gloucester High in 1994. She received her Bachelor of Science in Religion at Liberty University in 2012 and then her Master of Divinity at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University in 2019. She is currently enrolled in her second unit of Clinical Pastoral Education pursuing board certified chaplaincy.

She began serving in pastoral ministry in 2016 as a part-time lay pastor at Thousand Trails Campground in Gloucester. In 2017, she was appointed as a part-time lay pastor to Shackelfords Chapel UMC in King and Queen, while working toward her pastoral license and attending graduate school. She is also a founding member and Executive Director of G.U.E.S.T. (Gloucester United Emergency...