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Wanda Galloway retiring as First United Methodist accompanyist
Wanda is the accompanist at the First United Methodist Church in Hayesville. She enjoys working with the choir very much and says it’s made up of wonderful people. She will retire as accompanist on December 31st. It’s sad in several ways, but she looks forward to visiting other churches, taking trips and reading. Wanda says she reads all the time. She loves historical fiction. “I don’t know what my life would be like without a book,” she explains. “I enjoy reading about the Celtic culture and I’m learning so much.” Wanda won’t be bored when she retires. She’s active in the Clay County Historical and Arts Council. She was president two times and served on several committees. Her mother, Gertrude Price, helped found the council. She wanted to save the old jail and thought there was history that needed to be preserved. Hayesville was the home of Wanda’s father, Edgar Price, who grew up on Jarrett Road. He served a variety of appointments as an ordained United Methodist minister in the western North Carolina Conference. He returned to his beloved Clay County upon completion of his last appointment in Asheville, NC. Wanda was also called to pastor churches after she retired as an English teacher at Hayesville High School. What drew her into the ministry? “It was just here,” she says and points to her heart. “It just kept staying here. I Sentinel photo talked with some people and prayed about it. That’s what I was supposed to do and I acted upon it.” She served as a pastor at two churches in Burnsville, NC. She had wonderful experiences at both appointments. Then Wanda was assigned to Hinton Rural Life Center, a mission agency of the United Methodist Church. She was a church and community worker. Part of her responsibilities included disaster response. She helped people in Los Angeles after an earthquake and worked in South Carolina after Hurricane Hugo. She made sure teams from the churches had places to stay and took them to the disaster area to assist the community. Wanda has devoted her life to the ministry. She started piano lessons at 6 and played for church when she was 10. In those days, before Sunday school, everyone gathered and sang. She played there and moved on as pianist for the worship service. She learned to play the organ in college. She attended a United Methodist college in Greensboro, NC and they had a great music program. Her senior recital was on a pipe organ. She was trained in classical music, but after college, experienced other types that she enjoyed very much. When Wanda Galloway retires as accompanist at the First United Methodist Church, we will miss her “Love Medley” and other instrumental solos that bless our souls.
Says Pastor Kirk Hatherly, “We are so thankful to have Wanda live out her calling among us. She is much more than an organist and accompanist. She is a teacher, a servant, a theologian and a friend. We will miss her music, but we will continue to enjoy our relationship with her. We wish her all the best.”
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