Trina Rogers

My husband, John, and I have called Blacknall home since 2020, along with our three children, Liza (21), Cate (11), and James (10).

I am deeply grateful to belong to a community that loves God’s Word and seeks to live out Christ’s love everyday. Some of my most meaningful connections have been forged through Women’s Bible Study, where I co-facilitate a small group, and through the Chapel Hill small group we co-lead.

I am grateful daily for the gift of faith – the unearned saving grace of Jesus that Paul beautifully articulates in Ephesians 2:8. God has used many churches to shape my faith. I have deep roots in the Presbyterian church, where I was baptized and developed a personal relationship with Christ. I’m married to a PC(USA) pastor, and spent nine years volunteering alongside John during his time as a campus minister. I have also been richly blessed by gospel-centered churches beyond our denomination and delight in the ways Blacknall weaves different traditions together in worship.

Professionally, I am an entrepreneur. After earning my MBA, I co-founded and spent 18 years building a business with my father. Since selling the company, I have served on the board of the Center for Christian Study at the University of Virginia, coach UNC entrepreneurship students, volunteer in our children’s schools, and mentor students through the NC Study Center.

It would be a joy to serve Blacknall as an elder, humbly seeking to embody the truth and beauty of Jesus together.

Chad Weinard

I was raised and came to faith in the Presbyterian Church in Mobile, Alabama. After attending Duke University as an undergraduate, I met my wife, Ashley, studying art history in graduate school in New York City. In 2003, we adopted an old farmhouse in Durham and joined Blacknall, where we felt the presence of Christ in a community we came to love. I now work as an independent technology consultant for art museums and research institutions.

Vibrant experiences of the Spirit working in India, Rwanda, and Uganda impressed on me the value of sharing relational ministry with partners, congregations, and communities around the world. At Blacknall, I’ve served as chair of the International Ministries Team (IMT), which supports an amazing slate of individual ministry partners — many of whom are former members, all with deep connections to our congregation. I’m currently a member of the team that guides Blacknall’s “Deep Common Journey” with Congo Initiative. Our international partnerships are deeply relational: We seek to be changed as we help our beloved partners affect change, ministering to those around them.

For more than 20 years, Blacknall has been a blessing to our family, and we’ve sought to be a blessing as well. Our three children (now 20, 18, and 14) were born, baptized, and loved at Blacknall from the nursery to Sunday School to Blacknall Youth Group and beyond. Over the years, we’ve been involved in many aspects of Blacknall life — whether hosting dear small groups and annual Easter celebrations, or leading committees — each has drawn us closer to community, and to Christ. Blacknall has shown us the Word made flesh, and out of such abundance, I’m eager to serve.

Stephanie Wheatley

I began attending Blacknall in 2008. It has been a church home for Chris and me and our two daughters, Chloë and Marika, ever since. I have been blessed through friendships, our worship as a community, small groups, time on the Session, and serving alongside of friends. 

I came to faith as a child in a Christian home and am so grateful to have friendships and experiences that nurtured a deeper faith as I grew up. At the center of my faith is my trust in God’s love for us in Jesus and the practices of prayer and worship where we draw close to him. I have grown in my faith especially through challenging seasons and can see God clearly at work through His people. The community at Blacknall has been a specific blessing in my life.

It is my prayer and hope that Blacknall continues its many decades of faithful witness to Christ in Durham in the coming years, especially as we discern how to welcome people who cross our paths in this city.