Staff

Father Stephen Hunter

Father Stephen was born in Atlanta, Georgia October 1, 1968. He was baptized in the Methodist Church soon after his birth. His parents are both believers and taught him from the very beginning about God. He was three years old when he started asking questions and very soon after gave his heart to Jesus Christ. His family was very instrumental in his spiritual growth and he was blessed with a strong foundation in Christianity.

Stephen graduated from Georgia State University with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. After college He returned to Canton Georgia and to his local non-denominational church, Promised Land Bible Church. In 1997, he along with Father Kurt Wheeler began attending St. Michael's Seminary after becoming interested in sacramental worship. There God quickly laid on his heart a desire for sacramental, evangelical, and charismatic worship. In 1999, with the blessing of the elders of Promise Land Bible Church he left to help serve Father Kurt with the founding of Christ the Redeemer Church in Canton Georgia.

He was ordained on May 5, 2002 by the Most Reverend John Holloway, Bishop of the Mid-South Diocese, to the office of deacon. Stephen was later ordained on September 16, 2005 by Bp Holloway to the office of priest. He was installed as the Rector of Christ the Redeemer on December 11, 2008. Father Stephen serves on the Commission on Ordained Ministry for the Diocese of the Mid-South and on the Bishop's Council.

Fr. Stephen and his wife Keisha were married at Big Canoe Chapel in Big Canoe, Georgia on December 16, 2006 and now live in Ball Ground. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia and holds a Master's in Social Work. Keisha also plays an active role in the church serving in the areas of the praise team, women's ministry, and the dance team. They are the proud parents of Joshua and Daniel, ages 15 13.

Father Justin Allen

Father Justin Allen was born in St. Louis, MO and moved to Cherokee County as an adolescent. He is a graduate of Sequoyah High School, and is currently working on his undergraduate degree in Christian Counseling. Justin has been a leader in the Transformation Series, the Alpha Course (www.alphacourse.org)," the Living Waters program (www.desertstreams.org), and Elijah House Ministries (www.elijahhouse.org). He has completed the Living Waters Leadership Training Course, receiving credit as a certified instructor for the program. His passion throughout all these classes is small group ministry and counseling, where he truly exercises his gift of exhortation. In 2001, he became a Licensed Liturgical Minister in the Charismatic Episcopal Church, and was ordained as a deacon by the Most Reverend Bishop John Holloway on April 18, 2004. He was ordained as a Priest on November 20th, 2016 by the Most Reverend Bishop David Epps. He assists Father Stephen with the Catechism course, and is currently the church liturgist, responsible for the preparation of the liturgy for each service. He is enrolled at St. Michael's Seminary working on his Masters of Theology and is also working on a Christian Counseling Certification through Sarasota Academy of Christian Counseling.

Justin's hobbies include motorcycles and four-wheelers, woodworking and home improvement and volunteers with his son's Scout troop.

Justin married Luanne Hilburn, a member of the Christ the Redeemer family, in February of 2003, and they live in Woodstock. Luanne is employed by Datatrac Corporation where she is a Project Manager. She is a graduate of Georgia State University with a Bachelor's of Business Administration, and holds an MBA from Campbell University. Luanne is also an active part of the church family, serving as leader of the Children's Ministries and as the Volunteer Church Administrator. They are parents of two children, Madelyn, age 19 and Seth, age 17.

Father John Bower

Fr. John Bower OSL was born in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire England on March 6th, 1941. He was baptized at Al Saints Church of England in Cheadle Hulme in August 1941 and was later confirmed at Shepton Mallet Parish Church, Somerset England in March 1955. He studied Business Studies at Stockport College and Rubber Technology at Manchester College of Technology. Following graduation, he joined Dunlop Rubber Company, representing several companies across the UK, selling equipment to the steel, textile and papermaking industries. Later he fulfilled the dream of owning his own business by running two Hallmark Card and Gift Stores and a Canine Supply Company and Boarding Kennel and Grooming Business.

During that time, he also was a renowned international terrier judge in Dog Shows. In 1987, he found himself divorced with two grown children and grandchildren and came to America. At that time, e came back into contact with Arlene Frances Terry-Fahmie, also a dog show judge and a mother of ten, most of whom she had adopted. Arlene still had three children at home and she had raised her children in the Syrian Melkite Church, which she spoke of constantly. At that point, he was not a believer, and Arlene was a strong Christian who attended church, sang in the choir and taught Sunday School. He promised her that they would find a church to attend with the family and they began to worship together in the local Episcopal Church. He credits Fr. Ben Duffy, an ex-Navy flyer with turning his life around. John and Arlene were married on September 17, 1988 in Franklin, VA.

A few years later, he was hired by a pet food company and they relocated to Massachusetts. During those years, John became a Lay Reader, a Lay Eucharistic Minister, a Youth Leader and a Stewardship Commission leader, as well as serving on the Vestry at Church of the Atonement. Professionally, he left one pet food company and moved to Ralston Purina, moving the family to Rockaway NJ. They began to worship at St. John's Episcopal Church in Rockaway, but after some changes in policy, the Bowers struggled with staying at the church. A mother at a preschool their grandchild attended invited them to St. Peters Charismatic Episcopal Church. They started attending in November of 1996, and in May of 1997, were received by Bishop Zampino into the CEC.

While attending the Eastern and Central Province Provincial Convocation in June of 1997, John heard of the seminary program at St. Michael's Seminary. He began studying under Canon Mark Pearson in the fall of 1997. He was ordained to the Deaconate on the 12th of November 1999 by Craig Bates, then Bishop of the Northeast Diocese of the CEC. Not long after, Ralston Purina transferred the Bowers to Florida, where John served as a Deacon at the Church of the Resurrection and then at the Church of the Holy Comforter. When Ralston Purina went through a down-sizing effort, John found himself more able to focus on his service to the Church. The family relocated from Boca Raton to Stuart FL, and he served with Fr. Ed Jansen. Archbishop Dale Howard ordained him to the Sacred Order of Priests in 2003. John served as Rector of the Church of Holy Comforter until its closure.

At that time, John and Arlene moved to Cooperstown NY, serving under Bishop Greg Ortiz. Owing to the distance from any CEC Church, he provided supply to Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian Churches in the local area. He also served on the pastoral development committee of St. Thomas Parish of the Roman Catholic Church, Cherry Valley. They moved to Rome, Georgia in May 2019 and Fr. John now serves as Priest in Residence at Christ The Redeemer Church worshipping in Woodstock, GA. He serves on the Rectors Council for Christ the Redeemer and also on the Mid South Diocese Commission on Ordained Ministry. He Conducts Morning Prayer on Zoom Daily from Monday to Friday at 9:00 am.

Fr. John also mentioned, "Without the love and support of the helpmate the Lord has given me in Arlene for whom I give sincere thanks and without the guidance of the Holy Spirit I would be lost."