Staff

Pastor Larry French

[email protected]

Pastor Larry joined Battle Creek First United Methodist Church as Local Licensed Pastor (LLP) on July 1, 2021.  His start in ministry was as Director of Youth Ministry at Chapel Hill UMC in Portage, and as Director of Emerging Ministries at Milwood UMC in Kalamazoo, MI.   His most recent appointments before coming to Battle Creek 1st was as Pastor at Cedar Springs and Kent City United Methodist Churches.  Larry and his wife Sharon have been married for 24 years and have three daughters, Amy, Morgan, and Haley.  Larry and Sharon enjoy Christian camping, and have led summer camps for both Middle School and High School youth at Wesley Woods and Lake Louise camps respectively.  Larry is passionate about fighting food insecurity and mission work in the local community as well as across the country and abroad.  Please feel free to text/call Pastor Larry at 616.551.9280 or email [email protected].

Jean Harvey-Clark

Church Administrator and Administrative Assistant [email protected]

Jean Harvey-Clark has been at First Church since 2011. Prior to that she had a career in floral design and worked at the Battle Creek Area Chamber of Commerce and the Calhoun County Visitor and Convention Bureau. She was raised in Battle Creek and graduated from Lakeview High School. She is also a graduate of the Michigan State University Commercial Floriculture program. Jean is married and has two sons. Her hobbies include photography, scrapbooking, rubber stamps/paper crafting, gardening, raising Monarch butterflies and Detroit Red Wings hockey.

Anita Blueford

Director of Music [email protected]

Anita Blueford has been at First Church since 2016. Prior to that she has been active in music directing, accompanying and performing in many music settings, both in churches and in the public arena. She grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, and traveled the world with her husband Micheal through his Air Force career. They have two children, Micah and Shani. Her hobbies are quilting, knitting, gardening, hula hooping and Japanese Taiko drumming.

Kay Ensfield, Organist

Kay Ensfield has been at First Church since 2011. Prior to that she worked in music programs at various churches in the area and is a retired social worker with the Red Cross. She is currently secretary of the American Guild of Organists. She was raised in Detroit and has lived mostly in Kalamazoo since college days. She is married with three children and six grandchildren.

Naghielly Walker, Keyboards, Accompanist and Vocalist

Naghielly Walker (pron. na-jelly) has been at First Church since 2010. Prior to that she has been a choir accompanist in local churches and is currently a medical office manager. She has been in Battle Creek since ninth grade. She has three children, a son at Western, a daughter in Oregon and her youngest daughter is at KCC.