Column: Curry celebrates 25 years of ministry Special to The Gazette "By his grace" is how the Rev. Luke Curry Sr., describes and defines his 25 years of ministry on this date, Jan. 21, 2021! Curry, a native of Gastonia, is now the new senior pastor and servant leader at Young's Memorial AME Zion Church in New Market, Tennessee. Curry preached his initial sermon on Jan. 21, 1996, at Pleasant Ridge AME Zion Church in Gastonia. Under the pastoral leadership of the Rev. Dr. David Williams. It was a bitterly cold that Sunday afternoon. "The day was filled with anxious emotions," he remembers, "but God settled me down."