Meet new First Pastor: Navy lieutenant, great nephew of Johnny Cash

Navy Lt. Carey H. Cash, 39, a Memphis, Tenn. native, is pastor of the chapel at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin mountains. A Southern Baptist, Cash began his three-year tour of duty there in January.

The Evergreen Chapel serves the roughly 400 people who live and work on the remote compound, along with the first family when they flee the White House for the peace of the mountain forest.

Cash attended both The Citadel, the military college in Charleston, S.C., and the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas before being sent to Iraq as chaplain to the 1st Marine Battalion. His memoir of his Iraq experience, A Table in the Presence, came out in 2004.

At The Citadel, he was a 270-pound All-American offensive lineman as well as a shot put and discus thrower, his father, retired Navy fighter pilot Capt. Roy Cash, said Monday.

Pastor Cash’s sister, Kellye, was crowned Miss America in 1987. He and his sister are great-nephew and great-niece, respectively, of the late singer-songwriter Cash.

Cash’s father, who was chief of staff at the Naval Air Station at Millington, Tenn. when his son was at The Citadel, said he could not discuss his son’s current assignment.

But he said he and his wife, Billie, are proud of him and recommended his book as “a vivid and intense account” of his time in Iraq. A publicity blurb from the book’s publisher said Cash baptized 57 new Christian Marines and sailors during his time in Iraq.

Cash’s father said his son pastored at the Smyrna Baptist Church in Burlison, Tenn., for about two years beginning in 1999, said its current pastor, John Werner.

Time magazine’s web site reported Monday that the Obamas had decided on the Evergreen Chapel as their church after visiting or sending emissaries to a variety of Washington-based churches. A few hours later, the White House put out a statement debunking that story.

“The president and first family continue to look for a church home,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. “They have enjoyed worshipping at Camp David and several other congregations over the months, and will choose a church at the time that is best for their family.”

Obama has also attended the 19th Street Baptist Church in Washington, as well as St. John’s Episcopal Church across the street from the White House for Easter.