A Letter from SPRC

Dear Church Family,
    
As I come to the end of my tenure as the chair of your SPRC, I want to say what a privilege it has been to serve five years on this committee. In the last two years, our church has celebrated the retirement or career changes of longtime friends (Delores Hettler, Kay Jennings, Alan Heath, Hannah Phillips, and Gail Warren) and welcomed new staff whose dedication and creativity help us fulfill our commitment to shine God’s love into every life.

As we return to doing church together in person, I encourage you to take the time to make personal connections with the staff who began serving our church during the past two years: Pat Peters (Librarian), Teresa Starrett (Director of Children’s Ministry), Josh Taylor (Director of Music and Worship), Kate Mears (Assistant to Children), Josh Roseboom (Assistant to Youth), Alicia Dowling (Director of Children’s Day Out), and most recently Brian Moshier (Director of Administration and Operations). While not a new hire, Rev. Jonathan Perry has transitioned to lead this team as our Executive Pastor, and I am thankful for his leadership.

As we entered this new decade, few of us imagined we would spend the next two years living through a global pandemic. In that time many of us mourned the loss of beloved friends and family members who passed away, and nearly all of us mourned a sense of loss of our community. But through our shared trials we formed new appreciations for our personal relationships and for the importance of our community of faith.

Even now, not everyone in our church family is able to share in the joy of in-person worship. I am thankful for the dedicated leadership of staff and laity who expanded our technical capabilities to allow everyone to worship at FUMC Denton, regardless of their ability to be with us in person.

As 2021 draws to a close, I am more hopeful for the future of our church than ever before. Our church is alive, vibrant and growing. We have learned through our experiences together these past two years that in life we will be presented with seasons of change. More importantly, we’ve learned that God’s love is always with us—through seasons of hope, of hurt, of celebration, and of uncertainty. 

The role of the SPRC is to nurture a staff who model God’s love through their ministry. As the SPRC continues to respond to the evolving needs of our church community, I encourage each of you to be in dialogue with our incoming chair, Cole Martin. His kind heart and strong leadership will only be made better by hearing your voice. 

Through everything we’ve experienced, our church has remained strong because of the ways God is at work through you, the Parish of FUMC Denton. As we journey forward together, know that your voice matters, and the SPRC members of your church family are here for you. May we continue to grow together as a family of faith. 

Grace and peace,

Carol Rogers, SPRC Chair, 2020-2021    
Cole Martin, SPRC Vice-Chair, Chair 2022

Joe Barnett, 2021                
Kent Carpenter, 2023
Happy Carrico, 2022                
Rhonda Clark, 2021
Vicki Grider, 2023                
Mary Ann Knolle, 2022
Angie Matthews, 2021          
Jimmy Renfro, 2023

Clergy Liaisons: Rev. Don Lee & Rev. Jonathan Perry