Staff & Leadership

Kevin Whitfield | Pastor

Kevin and his wife, Katie, have four children: Samuel, Charlie, Evangeline, and Lucy. Originally from Haughton, Louisiana, he spent nearly ten years in the Cajun country of Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA. He graduated from Louisiana State University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary before making a cross-country move to Massachusetts. There he attended Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Prior to becoming pastor at Lamb, Kevin served as one of the pastors at CrossPoint Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, LA, and as Pastoral Resident at our mother church, Church of the Incarnation, in Harrisonburg. He enjoys being with family, being outside, good coffee, good books, and great meals with friends and family.

Email Kevin@churchofthelamb.org

Ask Kevin about . . .
—the way of Jesus & theology
—what it means to be a priest in the Anglican church
—why we worship the way we do

Fabien Pering | Associate Pastor

Fabien is husband to Charity and father to Malachi, Ruth, and a little one who is due in March 2025. Spiritual, emotional, and physical health are core values for Fabien, which means that he pays attention to his and his family’s needs as a foundational part of his ministry. He likes spending time on a trail in the mountains or catching crawfish in a creek with his wife and kids.

Fabien earned his undergraduate degree from Columbia International University in pastoral theology and his Master of Divinity degree from Nashotah House Theological Seminary. He was a hospital chaplain for a year after spending three years as a Rector in the desert of California. These values, experiences, and degrees have culminated in this: the heart of his pastoral ministry is to provide the presence of Christ in times of profound grief or joy and to aid in the healing of brokenness in life.

Email Fabien@churchofthelamb.org

Ask Fabien about . . .
—pastoral care
—how to connect with others at the church
—Anglican liturgy

Daniel Zimmerman | Director of Rockingham Abbey

Daniel and his wife Kara moved from Tennessee to Virginia in 2013 for him to pursue a graduate degree in English literature. He just finished his Ph.D. in English at the University of Virginia, where he wrote on images of the Eucharist in medieval and early modern drama. Between his degrees, he taught middle and high school English for four years. Now, Daniel directs the Abbey for Church of the Lamb—he oversees the property development and beautification, the facilities, and the establishment of business ventures to support the church. Daniel and Kara have four children — Abel, Lucy, Isaac, and Ivy.

Email Daniel@churchofthelamb.org

Ask Daniel about . . .
-Rockingham Abbey and the church property
-volunteering to set up, make coffee, be in the nursery, or participate in other ways on Sunday mornings
-hospitality and upcoming events

Kelly Ostergren | Director of Operations

Kelly moved from Annapolis, Maryland to the Shenandoah Valley to attend James Madison University. She graduated with a B.A. in English in 2013 and received a graduate certificate in international nonprofit management in 2016. Before returning to the Valley in 2019 to work at Church of the Lamb, she interned in the nonprofit sector and worked on a couple farms in Tennessee, Massachusetts, and Maryland. Kelly enjoys reading, baking bread, running on JMU’s campus, gardening, and sharing delicious food and laughter with her dearest people.

Email Kelly@churchofthelamb.org

Ask Kelly about . . .
-administration & operations
-the Rector’s Discretionary Fund
-serving wine & reading Scripture on Sundays

Renee Velker | Director of Youth and Children’s Ministry

Renee was raised in Miami where she discovered a love for Christian Education in her home church. She served as an educational intern, youth director, and earned a degree in Elementary and Special Education from the University of South Florida. She took her degree overseas working with Africa Inland Mission in Kenya. She has continued in the pathways of education while raising and schooling her seven children, serving on the board of a classical Christian school, initiating and directing a Home School Academic cooperative, and tutoring. Renee also runs several businesses which include rental property management and Amazon product development. She has a clear love for the outdoors. Her desire for a contemplative pathway in her daily rule of life led her into her service to children’s ministries at Church of the Lamb. 

Email Renee@churchofthelamb.org

Ask Renee about . . .
—Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (our approach to children’s ministry)
—what it means to have “atria” at Lamb
—how you can participate in children’s ministry through presence or prayer

Zoe Hansen | Director of Spiritual Formation

Zoe lives with her husband Scott and three of her four adult kids in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Church of the Lamb began as a parish group that met in her previous home in Elkton.

Zoe graduated from Taylor University in 1993. She recently received spiritual director training through Selah, Leadership Transformations, Inc., a 2-year cohort-oriented program in Christian spiritual direction with a biblical foundation. Leadership Transformations also partners with Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary where Zoe earned a Certificate in Spiritual Formation.

Email Zoe@churchofthelamb.org

Ask Zoe about . . .
—parish groups and other ways to grow as a disciple of Jesus at Church of the Lamb
—spiritual direction

Taylor Fletcher | Director of Musical Worship

Taylor spent most of his life in Midlothian, Virginia with a brief stint in Harrisonburg while attending James Madison University and receiving his Bachelors of Music in Music Education. After graduation, Taylor and his wife, Rachel, married and moved back to Midlothian where he taught secondary school orchestra and guitar for six years. He spent most of those years as the part-time Worship Director at Spring Run Presbyterian Church. In spring 2023, Rachel and Taylor followed the Lord’s lead back to Harrisonburg where they quickly fell into community with Church of the Lamb. Taylor daylights as a project manager on a cyber security team for Ally Bank. Taylor and Rachel have three children: Addie, Abel, and Theo. 

They enjoy spending time together, making and eating good food, working on DIY projects, and playing some of the dozens of instruments littering their home.

Email Taylor@churchofthelamb.org

Ask Taylor about . . .
—the part music plays in our worship of God
—all the instruments he plays!

Travis Dorman | Deacon

Travis and his wife, Andrea, have four children: Stella, Jay, Jeremiah, and Ezra. The Dormans were one of the families who helped plant Church of the Lamb in 2014 and Travis served on the Parish Council as Rector's Warden for the first six years of the church's existence. Travis is from Elkton and graduated from JMU with a BS in Interdisciplinary Social Science and Secondary Education in 2001 and again with an MBA in Executive Leadership in 2021. Travis was ordained to the diaconate in July of 2021 and currently serves on the Diocesean Council of the Angilican Diocese of Christ our Hope. Travis works for a manufacturer in the stormwater industry, managing their efforts at reducing water pollution across the eastern half of the United States. In his spare time, Travis enjoys all things outdoors with his family and friends including cycling, skiing, hiking, golf, hunting, and fishing.

Ask Travis about . . .
—the liturgy we use at Church of the Lamb
—the role of deacons in an Anglican church