Reverend J. Beth Goss, Pastor
Beth has been pastor of Church of the Covenant since August of 2008.  Before that she served churches in Vienna and Winchester Virginia.  Beth has a B.A. from Wellesley College (1975) and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Beth and husband Rollie met in the high school youth group at The Village Church in Northbrook, Illinois, where Beth's dad was a pastor.  In her first career, Beth was a C.P.A. and worked for a "Big 8" public accounting firm and then with private clients. Beth and Rollie lived for nearly 20 years in Miami, Florida, where their three sons--Carl, Blake, and Emery-- were born.  Volunteering with survivors of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 put Beth on a path to ordained ministry after Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div. 2000).  She is still active in the disaster response communities from Northern Virginia and serves on the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance National Response Team.
Rollie is an attorney and practices in the District of Columbia.  They enjoy baseball (yea, Nat's!), opera, and traveling around the county to visit their spread out family.  Whenever possible, Beth still pretends to be a farmer by puttering around in the garden and digging in the dirt.

Laura Bachmann, Director of Christian Formation
Laura M Bachmann, our church’s part-time Director for Christian Spiritual Formation has a passion for spiritual nurture of all ages. In addition to teaching Godly Play for our children, she leads adult bible study groups both within and outside our church community, assists with planning and leading worship, and directs the family Vacation Bible School. Laura is thrilled to be embarking on her first mission trip with a group from Covenant that will journey to Iowa this summer. A cradle Episcopalian, Laura continues to work with the Episcopal Diocese of Washington on spiritual formation issues, most recently teaching a workshop on Christian formation as part of the annual stewardship conference. Laura graduated from Brown University in 1990 and completed a certificate in Education for Ministry, though the University of the South, School of Theology in 2002. She has just completed another specialty in the Art of Spiritual Companionship, at the Cathedral College of Washington National Cathedral. Laura has a wide variety of interests, including choral music which she shares with husband Chip. Together they are embarking on the hair-raising adventure of life in a household of three rambunctious sons.

Barbara Anderson, Organist and Choir Director
Barbara A. Anderson, Organist and Choir Director, has directed the senior and junior choirs at Church of the Covenant since 1985. Over the years, she has directed performances of many of the choral masterpieces, including Handel’s Messiah, Schubert’s Mass in G; Saint-Saens’s Christmas Oratorio; Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, Faure’s Requiem, and Rutter’s Requiem and excerpts from his Magnificat. In addition to the classical choral repertoire, Mrs. Anderson incorporates a variety of musical genres into the typical church service, including contemporary sacred music, spirituals, popular music, and show tunes. Mrs. Anderson happily works with singers at every level of experience and ability. Indeed, she has a particular knack for recruiting the musical neophyte, working with them to develop their singing voice and ultimately generating wonderful singing tone and ability. With a degree in piano performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Mrs. Anderson is an accomplished organist and pianist who performs with unparalleled depth, precision, and musicality. Finally, Mrs. Anderson works with the children’s choir at Church of the Covenant, skillfully training these very young children (some as young as three years of age) to: use proper vocal technique, sing in an ensemble; and develop an appreciation for music and music performance. Prior to coming to Church of the Covenant, Mrs. Anderson directed large adult choirs in Africa (Lusaka, Zambia) and Central America (Tegucigalpa, Honduras). Before moving overseas with her husband, Mrs. Anderson was music director at Redeemer Lutheran Church in McLean, VA; District Heights Presbyterian Church in District Heights, MD; and First Christian Church in Alexandria, VA. In addition to her responsibilities at Church of the Covenant, Mrs. Anderson privately teaches piano, organ, and voice.

Ferricia M. Diggs Office Administrator

Ferriicia M. Diggs joined the Church of the Covenant staff as office administrator on March 16, 2009 after spending the last 30 plus years in the legal field as a legal secretary. Ferricia is a native of Charlottesville, Virginia. After graduating from high school she went on to attend St. Paul’s College in Lawrenceville, Virginia. Ferricia presently lives in Arlington, Virginia. She is a member of Oakland Baptist Church located in Alexandria, Virginia. Her affiliations include the Order of Eastern Stars, where she holds the position of Financial Secretary; Daughters of Isis, where she holds the position of Recordress; and the Northern Virginia Alumni Chapter of Saint Paul’s College, where she holds the position of Secretary and Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee. She is also chairman of the Ways & Means Committee for the National Alumni Association of Saint Paul’s College.   Ferricia is very family oriented and a lover of flowers and plants.  She often brightens up the Church office with her flower arrangements and plants.