About Us

Allie Stafford (she/her) has been the pianist at Northminster Presbyterian Church since 2008, and the accompanist for Chattanooga Choral Society for the Preservation of African American Song since 2018. She has been the piano instructor at the Salvation Army School of Music and Arts since 2008. Allie holds two undergraduate degrees from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a minor in Piano Performance. Allie studied with Dr. Sin-Hsing Tsai and enjoys performing and collaborating in a variety of genres, including classical, jazz, pop, rock, sacred, and experimental. Allie has played violin and/or keyboards in several local bands over the years, including Forest Magic, Hazes, Dead Testaments, and Breznik. Her favorite things are summer, furry pets, all the arts, and grassroots social justice advocacy.

While Jay is not a traditional staff member at Northminster, many people think he is! He is an ordained minister in the PCUSA and, as is expected of PCUSA ministers not serving a church as pastor, has found a home church in NPC. Jay started attending NPC with his family when he was in third grade, and after college at Tennessee Tech, teaching in Raleigh, NC, seminary in Richmond, VA, and his first pastoral call as Associate Pastor for Youth Ministry in Clemmons, NC, he returned to Chattanooga and NPC in 2014.

Jay shares his pastoral, musical, and tall-person gifts with NPC in a variety of volunteer and part-time paid ways, when he is not covered in sawdust from his woodworking business. You may have seen Jay as an active participant in the life of Northminster as bassist/guitarist, singer, composer/arranger, handy volunteer, Music Video Editor and Liturgist for online worship during COVID, Guest Preacher, Guest Worship Leader, Guest Worship AV/Online Tech, ladder climber, and most recently the Guest Choir Director during Lonnie’s sabbatical. Jay also assists Laura, as needed, in a number of ministry tasks, including worship/seasonal planning, pastoral care, education ministries, putting up the Chrismon tree, and finding things.

Jay is rarely seen without his Cheerwine Zero and has a pair of “Sunday Chacos” worn as close to year-round as the weather allows. His favorite colors are blue & green, and he almost never wears black outside of NPC.