Staff

Phil Hardy, Pastor

Phil Hardy has been an ordained minister in the Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ for close to thirty years. He has served as a local church pastor, a church planter, as well as being a member of Southern Conference staff as an Associate Conference Minister.

He has a passion for justice ministries and the building of ecumenical and inter-faith partnerships. His work and that of his congregations has been recognized by the NAACP and the Eastern Association of the Southern Conference for their commitment to justice and human rights. Along with fellow pioneers he started the first Open and Affirming Church in Alamance County of North Carolina.

Phil is originally from Georgia where he completed his undergraduate work at Georgia College before receiving his Master of Divinity at Southeastern Seminary. He has extensive training in Clinical Pastoral Education, is trained as a Pastoral Counselor and has received certification from the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy.

Along with his current ministry at Congregational Church of Pinehurst, Phil serves as the Executive Director of John’s River Valley Camp. The Camp is an Outdoor Ministry of the Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ and specializes in Mission/Work Camps which emphasize works that address environmental and poverty issues in the southern Appalachian Mountains.

He is the husband of Stephanie and father of four children and one grandchild.

Phil’s interests include golf, reading and he has published a children’s book; Jordan Rules: Making My Way.