Finley Memorial
Presbyterian Church
ABOUT US
Welcome to Finley Memorial Presbyterian Church!
If you are new to the area or in search of a church home, we hope you’ll stop by. Our church began as an outpost Sunday school class in the 1890s and we have continued to worship, serve, and grow ever since.
While we gather each week, we know that Christ’s call extends far beyond these walls out into our community and throughout the world. Each person who gathers here is a minister of the good news of Jesus Christ and is called to share that good news, to shine that bright light of hope, in every aspect of their lives. We are called to live together as a community, supporting each other and being supported, loving God and loving our neighbors, serving those in need, and growing as disciples and as a church.
Wherever you are in your journey, you are welcome here at Finley and we look forward to worshiping, serving, and growing together.
About our Pastor
Rev. Thomas "Tommy" J. Carrico, Jr. grew up in Lynchburg, VA and graduated from Christopher Newport University in 2006 with a major in Philosophy and minor in Leadership Studies. He and his wife Abbey were married shortly after and moved to Decatur, GA where Tommy worked as a houseman at a local golf club while completing his Master of Divinity at Columbia Theological Seminary and Abbey began her PhD in French Literature at Emory University. After seminary, they moved to Paris, France where Tommy earned a Master of Arts in Middle East and Islamic Studies at the American University of Paris. After Paris, Tommy and Abbey returned to Atlanta before moving to Tallahassee where Tommy pursued a PhD in Religion, Ethics, and Philosophy at Florida State University and Abbey completed her PhD. They welcomed their first daughter, Vivian, while living in Tallahassee.
Tommy, Abbey and eight-month-old Vivian moved to the Shenandoah Valley in 2013 as Abbey had accepted a position as a French professor at Virginia Military Institute. Since then, Tommy has served as a supply preacher at several area churches including Lexington Presbyterian, Amherst Presbyterian, New Providence Presbyterian, Bethel Presbyterian, and Mt. Carmel Presbyterian. During this time, Tommy also completed his comprehensive exams and taught an online course for several years called “Multicultural Dimensions of Film and 20th Century
Culture”. Tommy and Abbey welcomed their second daughter, Quinn, in 2016.
Tommy has been serving as pastor of Finley Memorial Presbyterian Church since March 2018, where he was ordained and installed in April 2018. He serves on the Committee for Educational Resources of the Shenandoah Presbytery, is a member of the North American Association for the Study of Religion, and continues to work on his PhD, focusing his dissertation on the moral dilemmas of England’s nineteenth century matchstick manufacture. He has a growing presence in academic venues, including a forthcoming chapter in Key Categories in the Study of Religion published by Equinox Press, as well as a commitment to serving as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian church. The ministers at Finley – her members – welcomed the Carricos with open arms and we continue to support each other, seeking new ways to join the amazing work that God is doing in Stuarts Draft and to share Christ’s light with everyone in our lives.
