The purpose of the Cascade Church Council is to plan a program of
nurture, outreach, and witness; to implement the plan, provide an
administrative infrastructure, align the plan with the mission of
the church, evaluate the effectiveness of the plan and act as the
administrative agency of the charge conference. The Church Council
Chairperson is a partner in ministry with your pastoral leadership
and the lay leaders of your congregation. They are in concert to
oversee the nurture, outreach, witness and administrative work of
the church.
Cascade UMC Church Council
- Alfred M. Byrd - Chair, Church Council
Alfred M. Byrd is a native Georgian and a “Morehouse Man, who retired in 2001 after 30 years at the Xerox Corporation as a successful senior executive. Soon after, he started his own business, the Byrd Alliance Group.
Al’s involvement with Cascade United Methodist Church and his community is and has been extensive. He served as Chair of the Church Council from 2002 to 2004. He has served in leadership roles with the Cascade Administrative Board, the Staff Parish Relations Committee, and the Youth Prison Ministry. He is also a member of the Men’s Usher Board and the Male Chorus. Currently, Al is serving as Chair of the Church Council.
Al’s community involvement incorporates a broad spectrum of civic commitments in the arts, business and education including the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Perimeter College, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
Al and his wife, Carolyn (Finance Chair) have four children: Al, II; Lee, Heather and Rey.
- Rita Richardson
Rita H. Richardson is the proprietor of a financial services firm bearing her name and has been involved in a number of finance-related ministries at Cascade. She served as Treasurer from 2002 to 2005, and as Finance Chair of the Development Committee from 2002 to 2005.
Rita earned a BS in Business Administration at Ramapo College of New Jersey, and her MBA at Fairleigh Dickenson University. Before moving to Atlanta from her native New Jersey, Rita was a senior executive in several Fortune 100 companies, with emphasis on international markets. Her financial service firm worked for the largest independent financial planning and brokerage company in New Jersey.
Rita and her husband, Bruce, Sr., have two children, Liana and Bruce, Jr., and six grandchildren.
She reads, writes and speaks Spanish fluently and serves as co-chair and teacher of Cascade's Spanish, Level 2 class. She also sings in the Chancel Choir.