The Rev. Sharon K. Youngs, assistant stated clerk and communications coordinator for the Office of the General Assembly since 2002, has accepted the call to serve as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge, Tenn., effective October 1. Her last day in her current position will be September 14.
Youngs, who has served the church for over three decades – including a pastorate in W. Va. – has touched the lives of thousands of Presbyterians through her insightful writing and thoughtful leadership. She will be installed as the Tennessee congregation’s new pastor on Sunday, October 14. The Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, will preach at her installation service.
“Sharon’s ministry among us has been powerful and sensitive,” Parsons said. “She has been an invaluable asset to our staff team and will be greatly missed.”
Following Youngs’s departure, the Rev. Emily Enders Odom will assume the communication coordinator’s primary responsibilities on a part-time, interim basis effective September 24.
A teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Odom serves the Presbyterian Mission Agency as associate for Mission Communications, resourcing the offices of the Executive Director and Vocation. As she assumes her new duties for the Office of the General Assembly, she will continue in her current role.
Odom, who has over twenty years of experience as a parish pastor, hospital chaplain, and conference center administrator, also has ten years of professional experience in advertising, public relations and television production. She holds a B.A. degree in German and Spanish from Wellesley College and a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York.
A resident of Greensboro, N.C., Odom will continue to carry out her responsibilities on a deployed basis.
“While we are saddened by Sharon’s departure, we will be truly blessed with an excellent pastor-communicator in Emily,” Parsons said.