POTSDAM -- First Presbyterian Church of Potsdam welcomes a new interim pastor, the Rev. Dr. Thomas Jefferson Ballard. His first Sunday in the pulpit is March 13.
Dr. Ballard, along with his wife, Mary Louise "Lou," are moving from Knoxville, Tenn., having previously served two churches in New York.
He earned degrees from Mississippi College, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and has been a professor of religion at USC-Sumter and Gardner-Webb University.
After serving as pastor or associate pastor at four churches, Dr. Ballard became a specialist in interim ministry; the Potsdam church is his 7th interim pastorate.
Ballard has organized three Habitat for Humanity affiliates, building 12 houses to date; two soup kitchens; and has led participation in Martin Luther King, Jr. services and marches in Atlanta and Knoxville.
The Ballards have three sons and three grandchildren.
