Our Pastor, Fr. Mike Ingram, is a native of Augusta,      Georgia.  He graduated from St. Mary on-the-Hill Elementary School and Aquinas Catholic High School.  He earned a B.S. Degree in Public Administration from Georgia Southern College in 1976. After a six year stint of local government administration in Bulloch, Jenkins, and Richmond Counties in Georgia, he filled in as a History/Economics teacher and coach at his alma mater, Aquinas, for eighteen months.  His next fourteen years were spent as the General Manager of Johannsen Sporting Goods in Augusta, which were very enjoyable and successful.  He was accepted by Bishop J. Kevin Boland to the Diocese of Savannah Seminarian Program in 1998 and was sent to Pope John XXIII National Seminary in Boston, MA for his education and formation.  Bishop Boland ordained Fr. Mike Ingram a priest for the Diocese of Savannah on June 29, 2002 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah.  Fr. Ingram’s assignments have been:

• Parochial Vicar, St. Anne Catholic Church, Columbus, GA  (2002-2005)
• Pastor, Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Macon, GA  (2005-2011)
• Pastor, St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church, Grovetown, GA  (2011-Present)
• Assistant Vocations Director, Diocese of Savannah  (2005-2008)
• Vicar Forane, Macon Deanery  (2006-2011)
• Vocations Director, Diocese of Savannah  (2008-2011)
• Priest Personnel Committee, Diocese of Savannah  (2014-Present)

Fr. Godfred was born in Ghana on July 17, 1960 to a nuclear Catholic family but which is extendedly Protestant.  He did his philosophical Studies at St. Paul Catholic Seminary in Accra and Theological Studies at St. Peter Regional Seminary, Cape Coast, in Ghana.  Fr. Godfred was ordained a priest on July, 29, 1995 at St. Thomas Cathedral Obuasi by Most Rev. Thomas K. Mensah for the Diocese of Obuasi,
Ghana. After ordination, he worked as an Associate at St. Thomas Cathedral Parish, the Chaplain to the Diocesan Youth and the Director of Vocations for the diocese.  Fr. Godfred also taught Biblical Studies for 9 years at the St. Paul Catholic Seminary, Accra and St. Gregory the Great Major Seminary in Kumasi, Ghana.  Fr. Godfred worked in the following Parishes in the U.S:

• St. Aloysius Gonzaga Church, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Our Lord Christ the King Church, Cincinnati, Ohio
• St. Benedict the Moore, Dayton, Ohio
• St. Joseph Church, Macon, Georgia

Fr. Godfred has a Master's Degrees in Biblical Studies and Theology from the Athenaeum
of Ohio, and a Licentiate in Sacred Studies (MAB, MAT, STL).  He is currently
pursuing a PHD/STD degree from the International Marian Research Institute at the University of Dayton and is on loan to the Diocese of Savannah.
 

Deacon Kerry Diver is a lifelong Augusta resident, born at St. Joseph Hospital in 1953.  He graduated from Richmond Academy in 1971 and Augusta College in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology.
 
Deacon Diver married Verna Black in 1977 at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity. He says it is a true blessing from God that forever changed his life. They have one son, Steven, who is a deputy with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department.  Deacon Diver graduated from the Medical College of Georgia in 1980 and completed his residency in Internal Medicine in 1983. After approximately 25 years in private practice, he now works at the Aiken VA Medical Center Outpatient clinic.
 
In 2008, he was ordained a Permanent Deacon after five years of formation through St. Leo University.  Deacon Diver says that aside from his marriage and birth of his son, his ordination was the most meaningful event of his life. 
 

Deacon George H. Foster was ordained as a Permanent Deacon on June 3, 1979 by then Bishop Raymond Lessard of the Diocese of Savannah.  He served twenty years in the U. S. Army retiring in January, 1982 as a Medical Service Corps Officer.
He and his wife Georgia have been married for 64 years and raised 6 children, four girls and two boys and have 13 grandchildren and five great grand children.  Deacon Foster was appointed the Director of the Permanent Diaconate Program for the Diocese of Savannah by Bishop Lessard and held that position for 38 years.   He holds an undergraduate degree from Incarnate Word University and a graduate Degree from Boston University. 

After Deacon Foster's military career he was appointed Director of Marketing and Public Relations for the Medical College of Georgia retiring from there in 1996.  He is the Chairman of the Board and President of Coordinated Health Services, a not for profit charitable organization,  which oversees St. Vincent De Paul Health Clinic and Good Samaritan Respite Center.  These non-profits provide health and respite care to the homeless and uninsured at no cost to their patients. 
 

Deacon Bob Kepshire and his family are originally from Northwest Indiana, just outside of Chicago, and have lived in Evans since 1998.  He and his wife Cathy have two grown children; Erik who is married with three children and lives in Newnan, GA and Amanda who lives in Jacksonville, FL.  Deacon Bob was ordained for the Catholic Diocese of Savannah on May 31, 2008 by Bishop J. Kevin Boland.  He is responsible for coordinating and teaching Baptism Preparation Classes at St. Teresa's. 
Deacon Bob is a Benedictine Oblate of St. Meinrad Archabbey, a 3^rd degree member of the Knights of Columbus and is a contributor to the book, Answering the Call…How God Transformed the Lives of Nineteen Catholic Deacons. 

He is currently the Administrator & Chief Nursing Officer at University Hospital McDuffie in Thompson.  He has over 36 years of experience in in a variety of healthcare roles: firefighter/paramedic, ER nurse, trauma clinical nurse specialist, flight nurse, nurse manager, nursing director, nursing executive and hospital administrator.  Deacon Bob has earned the following degrees from Purdue University: Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture, Associate in Applied Science in Nursing, Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing.  He also earned a certificate in Healthcare Ethics Leadership from the Emory University Center for Ethics/Healthcare Ethics Consortium of Georgia and is nationally certified in executive nursing practice.  Deacon Bob also earned a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (Theology) from St. Leo University as part of the requirements for diaconal ordination.  Deacon Bob has a special interest in monastic spirituality, liturgy, and Catholic bioethics.  In his spare time he enjoys reading, cooking, fishing, hiking in the mountains, and cheering on his favorite sport teams: the Georgia Southern Eagles, the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Blackhawks. 
 

Deacon Joe Soparas has been a member of Saint Teresa of Avila Parish since 1976.  He and his wife Mary have two grown children; Becky who is married with two children and Christie who is also married with two children.  Deacon Joe is a Physician Assistant and is Licensed and Certified for the Charlie Norwood Veterans Administration Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia.  He holds a
Masters of Art Degree in Pastoral Studies from Saint Leo University, Florida and graduated in December 2007.  Deacon Joe was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Catholic Diocese of Savannah in May, 2008 and was assigned to Saint Teresa of Avila Parish.  Deacon Joe says that since his ordination he has done his best to provide parishioners with the tenets of the Diaconate Ministry which is service in three areas: the Word, Liturgy and Charity and that it has been a pleasure to assist the priests and parishioners of our parish.