Caleb Wagner

I came to Blacknall in September 2022, three months before I married Julie Leyva. Wen Reagan was the worship leader at my previous church for several years, so I immediately began playing cello with the Blacknall worship team, where you see me about once a month. I also have been a member of the men's ministry steering committee since last fall. I am a licensed CPA and work in tax for a firm in Raleigh. When I am not computing taxes (don’t ask me to compute yours), I love to run, play cello, watch Carolina basketball, and cook something in our Instant Pot (send recipes!).

I love building deep relationships with and serving fellow believers, and serving as a deacon will give me opportunities to hear more of your stories and be an active part of the work the Lord is doing in our midst. I am so grateful for the way this congregation has embraced me the past year and a half, and I want to repay your generosity and kindness as best I can. God bless you all!

George Olaru

I am joyful and grateful to come in front of you and stand for election as a deacon. Growing up under a communist regime in Romania, my relationship with Jesus Christ was silent and personal. The body of the church was the inner family circle, yet my parents sowed the seeds of faith in me from a young age.

I rediscovered the beauty of community in 2017 at the corner of Perry and Iredell when Jenny invited me to attend her childhood church. The sound of Sunday morning hymns and the teaching from the pulpit led me to becoming a member. I had the privilege of participating in several programs such as the Alpha marriage course and men’s mentoring. Blacknall was where Jenny and I were married in September 2018 and the place where we baptized our daughter, Olivia, in August 2022. I continued to give back to the community by leading the marriage class and serving in the nursery.

My professional background is in business and technology, and I am currently a Vice President of Solution Engineering for an enterprise software company. I pray that given the opportunity to serve as deacon, I can apply some of the management and people skills I gathered to programs and events that will enrich our Blacknall life together.

Rachel Stine

My connection to Blacknall began in 2020, when I was invited to join a women’s small group. Though I was not yet attending the church, this weekly gathering became a huge gift to me and greatly encouraged my faith. Two years later, and as the needs of my family changed, it became clear that Blacknall was a church where we could both serve and grow in our faith.

My husband, Nat, our two young adult sons, Caleb and Levi, and I have been attending Blacknall since July of 2022. I continue to participate with my small group, have assisted with summer Sunday School, and this past year joined the wonderful teaching team for the Bugs class. I love teaching these brilliant four- and five-year-olds and experiencing the truths of our faith along with them.

I look forward to serving Blacknall as a deacon. I am eager to help visitors and new members find places of connection in our church body and support members during times of struggle and difficulty. I find great joy in being the hands and feet of Jesus and believe that how we take care of each other as a congregation reflects His heart to our city and our world.

Will Brewbaker

My name is Will Brewbaker. My wife, Sara, and I have been members of Blacknall for two years, and our daughter, Lucy, has been a regular attender for two months. (She's only four months old!) I’m currently a Ph.D. student at Duke, where I study poetry & Christian theology.

More than 30 years ago, my parents spent an impactful season at Blacknall before moving to Alabama, where I was born. In many ways, then, Blacknall was a part of me before I was a part of it. Since moving to Durham, Sara and I have been warmly welcomed into the Blacknall community. With Lucy’s birth, we’ve been overwhelmed by the care and love that we’ve received from our Blacknall family.

I first got involved at Blacknall by co-leading a Sunday School class, Literature & the Christian Life. In many ways, this title tells my own story as a Christian. Over the years, poems — whether the Psalms, the Magnificat, or the poetry of T.S. Eliot — have supplied me with words for my own questions, doubts, worries, and wonderings. But they’ve also supplied me with a way to understand God’s goodness. “Christ plays,” writes Hopkins, “in ten thousand places.” Indeed, He does. As a deacon, I would hope to serve our community with the same joy and generosity of spirit with which Sara, Lucy, and I have been served thus far — which is, of course, the same joy in which Christ continues to live.

Sara Patten

Shortly after we moved to Durham in 2007, we found Blacknall. The people were welcoming, and it was such a vibrant place. We were expecting Emma who is now 15! These past 15 years have been filled with educating our 5 children and raising a family with Aaron, my husband. Both of us were raised in families of faith. I became a Christian when I was 5 years old, so I believe even the youngest of our congregation can be major contributors and show us things we sometimes forget as adults. In 2010 we moved to East Durham. The neighborhood was rough, but God has shaped us through this experience more than any other. It's not really that all of our reactions were good, but that God used us even when we didn't measure up. God is continuing to shape me.