Rev. Charles and Jo Ann Sheffield

I am Rev. Charles Sheffield and I am a minister of the United Church of Christ, having been ordained in 1959.  Jo Ann and I have celebrated 57 years of marriage. I served churches in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, before I retired in 1994. I was one of the founders of the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias; The Jacobsville Neighborhood Association in Evansville, Indiana; The Ark, which is a ministry to the needs of the inner city of Hamilton, Ohio; The Down Town neighborhood Association in New Albany, Indiana. Since 1995 I have served as part time pastor for All Faiths UCC in Ridge Manor. I retired from that position at the end of May in 2007.

Later in that summer Grace Presbyterian Church ask me to take on the task of Minister of Visitation, and occasional liturgist and preacher, as needed by Rev. Okopski.  Staying retired has been difficult.  However, my work at Grace Church has been a rich blessing and allows me to keep some skills sharp or at least usable.

 Jo Ann has kept busy over the years, raising our three children, two of whom live in the Midwest. Eric is a professor of Philosophy of Education at Missouri State University. Ann works with mentally challenged children at the elementary school at Scott Air Force Base in llinois. Our oldest, Denise is an Emergency Case Management Executive at Manatee Memorial Hospital and lives in St. Petersburg. We have six grandchildren and one great grandchild. Jo Ann has also worked as a Pre-School teacher, and has served as a volunteer executive in the health care industry. She has been President of the Board of Directors of the Good Samaritan Home in Evansville, Indiana, which is a United Church of Christ Agency. She served on the National Board of Directors of the UCC Health and Human Services Agency. She helped organize the Greater St. Louis Health Systems Agency, and served as Chairperson of its Board of Directors.

We share one hobby. We work together in stained glass. She is the artist and I am the “grunt!” We are currently working on a clearstory window for our great room.