Northwood Presbyterian Church
We seek to know Christ and to make Him known as we grow in Faith, Hope and Love
Meet Our Pastor
Rev. Dr. Chris Deacon
Rev. Dr. Chris Deacon (he/him) is an ordained Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the PC(USA). He has spent the last 14 years living out his call by serving churches in Illinois and Maryland. Chris holds an Associates in Business Administration, a Bachelor of Science in Communications from University of Tennessee, and a Master of Divinity from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. In 2022, he received his doctorate from Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. His doctoral project was entitled, “Community in a Time of Covid,” and focused on how to maintain community when a congregation is unable to physically be together.
Chris served First Presbyterian Church of Farmington, IL from 2008-2014. He moved to Bowie, MD in 2014 and served the United Parish of Bowie until 2022. In the National Capital Presbytery, he has served as chair of the New Things team, and as a member of the Church Development Committee and Leadership Council. He currently serves as the Vice-Moderator of National Capital Presbytery.
He is fiercely committed to living out the gospel's message of transformative love and working within the congregations he serves to manifest how this love can build communities. This commitment has led him to serve as a volunteer firefighter, speak at multiple rallies, volunteer as a teen mentor, and serve on the board of the Bowie Interfaith Coalition.
He enjoys spending time with his family. His wife, Heather, works as the Director of Business Affairs for National Capital Presbytery. His daughter, Hannah, will be entering fourth grade and loves NFL football, cooking, playing the flute, and reading. Two golden retrievers, Toby and Winston, round out their family. In his spare time, Chris likes wood working, home improvement, cooking, reading, board games, and watching movies. He especially enjoys watching his beloved Tennessee Titans, showing his belief that hope springs eternal!
Music Director
Dr. Christine (Chris) J. Kim
The Leipziger Volkszeitung has hailed Christine Kim’s playing as “engaging and expressively colorful.” She began lessons at the age of five and made her first major piano debut at the age of fourteen in New York City’s Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Since then, she has garnered top prizes in numerous competitions including Second Prize at the International Shostakovich Piano Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia, First Prize at the Regional Competition of the National Society of Arts & Letters, and First Prize at the Civic & Arts Foundation Adult Competition. Her performances have spanned international venues including halls in France, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Russia.
Dr. Christine J. Kim holds a Doctor of Music degree in Piano Performance from the Peabody Institute of Music, a Master of Music degree and Performer Certificate Diploma from Northwestern University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University. During her educational studies, she was the recipient of the Se Ung and Hee Soon Kim and William Nerenberg scholarships, as well as the Dorothy L. Pound and Eckstein
Fund Awards.
With over twenty years of private teaching experience, Christine currently runs her own independent piano studio, CK Artistry LLC. She also serves as faculty member at the Bryn Mawr School for girls in Baltimore, MD and was formerly the Music Director at Magothy United Methodist Church in Pasadena, MD for five years (2014-2019). She is the current Music Director at Northwood Presbyterian Church in Silver Spring, MD. Previously, Dr. Kim has served as faculty of Peabody’s Preparatory Division from
2008-2011.
In her spare time, Dr. Kim enjoys running, reading, interior design, good food, and spending time with her husband, Justin, and her three children—Taylor, Luke, and Mackenzie.