Rachel Cornwell
Lead Pastor
Rev. Rachel Cornwell has been Woodside's pastor since July 2006. Rev. Rachel has a deep love of Christ and for all God’s people. She is passionate about the Gospel, the church, and our Christian commitment to social justice in the community, and has a particular interest in interfaith work. Rev. Rachel is excited by the great things happening at Woodside including our tremendous diversity, the growing programs for children and young adults, and our partnership with Action In Montgomery (AIM). She believes that God has great possibilities for the future of Woodside as "THE downtown church of Silver Spring."
Originally from Arkansas, Rev. Rachel was a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries in Okinawa, Japan and in Washington, DC from 1996-1999. Prior to coming to Woodside she served as the Associate Pastor at Bethesda United Methodist Church for four years. She is a graduate of Hendrix College in Arkansas and has her Masters of Divinity from Candler School of Theology, Emory University in Atlanta. She currently serves on the Baltimore-Washington Conference Board of Ordained Ministry and is Co-Convener of the conference Methodist Federation for Social Action chapter. Rev. Rachel, her husband Marcus Meeks, their daughter Nora (age 4) and son Graham (age 1) enjoy living in the church parsonage in the Woodside neighborhood and going for long walks on the Sligo Creek Trail.
