The Rev. Ray Thomas Gooch is a native of Granville County, NC. He graduated from Methodist College in 1972 and Duke Divinity School in 1975.
Rev. Gooch was ordained as a Deacon in the United Methodist Church in 1974 and as an Elder in 1976. He served the Albemarle Charge in Washington County for seven years and the Pittsboro Circuit in Chatham County for 40 years before retiring in 2022.
After six months of retirement he became the interim, and then the pastor, of Wesley Memorial UMC in 2023.
Rev. Gooch is the son of Lena and William Gooch of the Wilton community. He has one sister, Darnelle Averre.
He has served on the conference registration team at Annual Conference and has been a staff member for multiple conference youth events, both for more than 50 years.
Also, Rev. Gooch has served on the conference Board of Ordained Ministry for 18 years and for many years on the District Committee on Ministry in the Sanford and Fairway Districts.
Since coming to Wesley Memorial, Rev. Gooch has shared his many talents beyond the pulpit, including singing, playing the piano, the bounty of his garden and kitchen talents (most especially chicken salad, sesame cookies, and homemade pickles), and quietly leads as an example of someone with a servant’s heart.
It’s not uncommon for us to hear a community member ask, “Isn’t Pastor Ray your minister? Well, guess what he did…” only for us to learn the latest story of him showing up with a pickup truck full of gleaned sweet potatoes, or produce from his garden, or other act of service, just as Jesus asks of us all.
Rev. Gooch is a man of many talents and enjoys spending time gleaning with the Society of St. Andrew, quilting, knitting, lace making, researching history and family genealogy, beekeeping, gardening, cooking, canning and freezing produce, playing the piano and singing, and interacting with people of all ages.
Growing up in Stantonsburg, NC, where he attended the Methodist church, Chet Hunt made his musical debut at the age of 5 when he announced to a church assembly that he would not recite his assigned Bible school verse, but instead would sing Jesus Loves Me. With the support of his paternal grandmother Edna Hunt Whitley, he began piano lessons at the age of 8.
Early sight-singing skills were acquired by playing hymns and singing the various parts as written. By age 9, Chet was singing alto in the Stantonsburg Methodist Junior Choir. At age 12, he became the accompanist for the Stantonsburg Elementary School Seventh and Eighth Grade Chorus.
At Saratoga Central High School, Chet sang in the mixed chorus and the 16-voice choral ensemble under the direction of his much-loved director, Ann Pitts Cobb. During this time, Chet sang in three All-State Choruses under renowned choral conductors and attended In-School Choral Clinics at UNC-Chapel Hill under the direction of Dr. Lara G. Hoggard and at East Carolina University under Norman Luboff. During the summer of 1972, Chet was a choral arts student at N.C’s Governor’s School, where he sang in both the Governors' School Chorus and the Chamber Singers.
Chet’s dream of one day singing in UNC's Carolina Choir was realized his freshman year. He sang in the Carolina Choir for four years under both Dr. Hoggard and Robert Porco, as well as in several summer school choirs. Though not a music major, Chet studied voice and took courses in music theory and music history. During his time in Chapel Hill, Chet sang in the church choirs of University Methodist, University Presbyterian and The Chapel of the Cross.
During his long association with church music, Chet has served as organist and choir director at Stantonsburg UMC and Winstead UMC in Wilson, as a substitute organist for churches in Chapel Hill and Wilson and as a member of the Wilson Civic Chorus.
In addition to his many musical endeavors, Chet was a floral designer for over 30 years, opening his own florist, Studio Flowers, in Charlotte, NC. He relocated to Warrenton in 2009 and was appointed Organist/Choir Director of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in 2011.