Staff Turnover

For the last several months, the Staff Parish Relations Committee and I have been fretting over upcoming staff changes. We’ve been doing the hard work of revising job descriptions and interviewing candidates, as we also consider the future direction of our church’s ministry.
I am very happy to announce that we recently completed our work, and are ready to move forward with some new faces, while saying goodbye to a familiar face.

Finance Secretary

After Pier Crenshaw left us in April, the church contracted with Rebecca Creighton to lead us through the process of moving our financial records from Shelby to QuickBooks. She did such a great job handling the transition that we have asked her to stay on as Finance Secretary, while also shifting some of Pier’s responsibilities to Yvonne Boyack, our Office Manager.

Starting last week, Rebecca will be in the office once a week to cut checks, reconcile accounts, and run financials. Yvonne’s weekly hours have been increased, as she will take over data entry, handling bills, invoices, and contributions.

All questions that you have concerning your own giving may go directly to Yvonne in the front office. She has proven to be a capable and reliable member of our staff, and she handles everything with a friendly smile!

Youth Minister

Matt and Paige Bell

Four years ago, the church hired a relatively unexperienced young couple to be the Youth Minister and Children’s Minister. Matt and Paige Bell quickly assimilated into the Kessler Park congregation, and Matt began studies at Perkins School of Theology.

After two years, Paige stepped away from her work as Children’s Minister to focus on her new teaching job in Seagoville. Matt spent his fourth and final year at Perkins as a full-time intern at the church, and we have been the beneficiaries of his creativity and energy over the last year.

Originally Matt was planning to go into public education as an extension of his call to Christian ministry, but he got a surprise call from Rev. Mike Baughman, church planter and founder of Union Coffee Shop in Dallas. Mike invited Matt to join the Union staff as a Church Planter Resident, which means that Matt will be learning from Mike and others the skills and abilities needed to start new churches and ministries.

Personally, I’m very happy for Matt, as I think this position fits his unique skill set. But I’m also grieving that he is leaving our church community. Matt has served us well, and built great relationships with people of all ages.

We will wish Matt and Paige a fond farewell this coming Sunday, June 25, with a reception after the service, in which Matt will preach his last sermon for us.

Eva Englert-Jessen, new youth minister

The good news is that a new Youth Minister will start with us on the following Sunday, July 2. Our new staff member is Eva Englert-Jessen, who graduated from seminary last month herself. Eva earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociocultural Environmental Studies, with a Minor in Religious Studies at Hendrix College in Arkansas, and a Master of Divinity from Boston University School of Theology. She has just moved back to Dallas, her hometown, with her husband, whom she met in seminary.

Eva is a candidate for ministry in the United Methodist Church, and is hoping to be commissioned as a deacon in the North Texas Conference next summer. When she is ordained, she will become the first third-generation female clergy person in the state of Texas — both her grandmother and mother were ordained in North Texas. Her mother, Rev. Valerie Englert, currently serves as the senior pastor of First United Methodist Church, Garland.

And if you haven’t figured out the connection yet, Eva is also the niece of our very own Office Manager. Yep, Yvonne is Eva’s aunt!

We are all very eager to learn more about Eva and her interests and passions, and that will be forthcoming. But for now, we will say goodbye to Matt and Paige, and celebrate the good work they have done among us!

Graduating Words

As I look forward to Matt Bell’s graduation from Perkins School of Theology this weekend and Mallory's high school graduation next week, I am reminded of my own graduation ceremonies, and have begun to wonder about the efficacy of those commencement speakers, some of whom manage to stir up a great bit of controversy.

Just this week, Senator John Cornyn was dis-invited from speaking at the Texas Southern University graduation because of the fear of protests. That was a likely possibility given the reaction that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos received when she addressed the graduates of Bethune-Cookman University. A large number of students booed and turned their backs as she spoke.

My own commencement ceremony at SMU was memorable for a controversial, but apolitical reason, too. Perkins grads have to attend two different commencements. The first one is the proper SMU ceremony, which takes place in Moody Coliseum at 9 am in the morning. The second one recognizes only seminary grads, and takes place in the sanctuary at Highland Park United Methodist Church at 2 pm.

The event at Moody Coliseum was an utter disaster. The celebrated graduation speaker, whose name I have forgotten, spoke so long that the restless grads finally broke into spontaneous applause to force him off the stage! Unfortunately, I don’t remember a thing he said, except that I wished he was finished saying it.

My high school commencement speaker was Dallas Cowboys assistant coach Gene Stallings, which I remember being sort of exciting at the time. Again, I don’t remember a thing he said; it does not strike me as being particularly motivating or inspiring. Incidentally, Coach Stallings was about to embark on his own “graduation” of sorts. The year after he spoke to my Allen High School class of 1985, he took over his first and only head coaching job with the St. Louis Cardinals. In four seasons, he never managed a winning season. So much for inspiring pep talks!

I have never been asked to be a commencement speaker myself, but I have preached one baccalaureate sermon. In my first year as the pastor of Valley View United Methodist Church, I was invited by the pastor of the local Baptist Church to preach, since a good number of the graduating seniors were members of my church.

I actually do remember that sermon quite well. I used the story of Jacob wrestling the angel, and told the students that they would likely encounter a great deal of “wrestling” with God in college, but to keep hanging on, like Jacob did.

I also have a vivid memory of the Baptist preacher showing some discomfort. He must not have been happy with the end of the sermon, because he came up afterward and added an extended — and impromptu — altar call! I guess he wanted to make sure the Methodist kids were all saved before they went off to college and wrestled with God …

I’ve sat through enough commencements now to realize that they’re a lot like weddings — nobody cares about what is said during the ceremony; the only thing that matters is the status of the participants at the end of the ceremony.

But of course, I have my own graduating high school senior this year. And so I have been pondering what I might say if I were asked to address her group of peers, or any other group about to “commence” a new phase of life.

It might go something like this:

“May God give you the grace never to sell yourself short;
grace to risk something big for something good;
grace to remember that the world is now too dangerous for anything but truth
and too small for anything but love.
So may God take your mind and think through it;
may God take your voice and sing through it;
and may God take your heart and set it on fire!”