First United Methodist welcomes Mark McFadden as new minister

Published 3:19 pm Thursday, July 31, 2025

Mack McFadden is the new minister at Elizabethton First United Methodist Church. He began his ministry at the church in July.

The Rev. McFadden was born and reared in Lebanon, Va. After high school, he served in the U.S. Army for four years, where he was a chaplain’s assistant and a graduate of the Defense Language Institute (Spanish).

Later, he studied theology at Lee College. He continued his studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree.

His first appointment as a Methodist minister was at the Rich Valley and Washington Chapel United Methodist churches near Abingdon, Va. He has also served at Chilhowie UMC, Chilhowie, Va.; Norwood UMC in Knoxville, Tenn.; First UMC in White Pine, Tenn.; Shady Grove UMC in Abingdon; Camp Ahistadi in Tennessee; and First UMC in Galax, Va.

Rev. McFadden’s hobbies include reading history and theology/religion, watching foreign-subtitled movies and traveling up and down the backroads of Appalachia.

He is married to Glenna Blevins McFadden of Abingdon, who is an educator. Her career has taken her from the classrooms of Washington County, Va., and Hamblen County, Tenn., to a significant role as an on-the-road educational consultant for Houghton Mifflin Publishing Co. in the Southeast Region.

Mrs. McFadden enjoys flowers and exploring new destinations in her free time.

The public is invited to attend services at First United Methodist Sunday at 10 a.m.; Sunday school at 11:20 a.m. Services are also held online Sunday at 10 a.m.

First United Methodist is located at 325 East E Street in downtown Elizabethton.