David Donathan

I grew up in St. Clairsville, OH and am Presbyterian by upbringing.  However, my first church job was as an organist in a United Methodist Church and I have been a United Methodist ever since.  I graduated from St. Clairsville HS in 1981, received a Bachelor of Music in 1985 from the University of Akron, Akron, OH.  Karen, my high school sweetheart, and I got married in June of 1985 and I started graduate school in the fall of 1985.  I graduated from Scarritt Graduate School, Nashville, TN, in 1987 with a Masters of Church Music in Organ Performance and Choral Conducting.  From Nashville, Karen and I moved to Dalton, GA where I was in ministry at First United Methodist Church for 5 years as the Director of Music/Organist.  Both our daughters, Kayla and Emily, were born in Georgia.  In 1992, I accepted the position as Director of Music/Organist for Christ Church.  In 2010 after answering a call to seek ordained ministry as a Deacon, I enrolled in United Theological Seminary, Dayton, OH, to take the necessary Basic Graduate Theological Studies required by the United Methodist Discipline.  When I was commissioned for the ministry of a Deacon in 2011, my title was changed and I became the Minister of Music/Organist for Christ Church.