Meet The Pastor
Reverend Joel Tolbert and Caitlan Gartland
Rev. Joel was born in Georgia and then went to High School in Florida. He graduated from Mercer University in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering. At Mercer, he met Jill Patterson Tolbert. They married and have three grown sons, Adam, Daniel, and Michael. Joel spent 12 years in Engineering, Marketing, and Sales positions. In 2002, he and his family dropped everything and went to seminary.
Joel and Jill graduated with Masters of Divinity degrees from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. Since graduation in 2005, Joel has served two Presbyterian churches, in Decatur, GA, and Watkinsville, GA, before coming to us. Joel joined the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown in late January 2020.
For sports, Joel is into soccer, golf, and tennis. As a fan, Joel roots for Atlanta United (MLS) and Manchester United (EPL). Joel plays a little guitar, even less mandolin, and sings the bassline. In music, his playlist stretches from Miles Davis to Frank Sinatra to Rush to the Indigo Girls. He goes to concerts, plays, musicals, and movies for fun. You won’t find him on social media very often, but you might find him on Xbox. Read Joel's blog at https://www.joeltolbert.com.
Rev. Caitlan joined PCC in May 2012 as the Director of Youth Ministry. In June 2014, following her graduation from seminary, PCC expanded her role to Pastoral Assistant for Youth and Young Adult Ministry. In November 2015, Caitlan was ordained and installed as the Associate Pastor of PCC (the first A.P. at PCC!).
Caitlan grew up on her family’s farm in Warwick, MD. After high school, she attended the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, earning a BA in Religious Studies and playing field hockey. She received her Master of Divinity from Palmer Theological Seminary in May 2014. Caitlan is married to her husband, Danny, and supports the family farm as the Administrative Assistant.
Most of Caitlan’s free time is spent with a field hockey stick in hand. She is a field hockey coach for both a high school and club team based in Cecil County, MD, and she continues to play in adult field hockey leagues year-round. Read Caitlan's blog at https://letgotrustandfollow.wordpress.com/category/blog.