George has served as senior pastor and spiritual leader to the Haddonfield United Methodist Church congregation since 2001. His long history leading people in faith includes years of service at St. Mark UMC in Hamilton Square, NJ as well as other congregations in New Jersey and Kentucky. George is very active in the Haddonfield community, serving as a member of Rotary International and the Haddonfield Council of Churches. His theological philosophy of worshipping God by serving the community is a core value of the Haddonfield United Methodist Church family. George is married to the Rev. Kathy Morris, deacon of the church, and has four grown children and four grandchildren (and another on the way.)
In order to get to know George a bit better, we asked him a few questions…
What do you like to do when you’re not at church?
I enjoy time at the gym, trail hiking, urban walks, and politics.
What are your particular spiritual or Biblical interests?
I am keenly interested in the role of ancient Christian traditions, social justice, spiritual practices, and emotive worship in enabling people to realize a meaningful way of life.
Do you have a favorite passage of scripture?
Matthew 11:29-30 (words of Jesus as translated by Eugene Peterson in The Message)
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learned the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
What book(s) are you currently reading?
Tom Friedman’s, Hot, Flat, and Crowded
Nathaniel Philbrick’s, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War
Diana Butler Bass, Christianity for the Rest of Us
Bishop Reuben Job, Three Simple Rules
Is there anything, in particular, that brought you to HUMC or ministry that you would like to share?
My appointment to serve as Senior Pastor of HUMC came as a surprise to me and it has been a wonderfully surprising experience of ministry for more than seven years.
Rev. Jessica Brendler, Associate Pastor
A recent graduate of Drew Theological School, Jessica joins our staff as Associate Pastor in July of 2010. Jessica began her path to ordained ministry as the youth director at Washington UMC and as Associate Pastor at Trinity UMC and Monroe Community Church in Spotswood and Monroe Township, NJ. Prior to answering her call to ordained ministry, she followed her love for science through undergraduate and graduate degrees in biology and science education at Rutgers University and taught Environmental Science at Westfield High School. Even today, she finds joy and awe in trying to understand the complex workings of God's amazing creation!
In order to get to know Jessica a bit better,
we asked her a few questions…
What do you like to do when you’re not
at church?
I love to read and spend time with family.(I am the youngest of four siblings – all girls!)
What are your particular spiritual or
Biblical interests?
I am interested in holistic spirituality; incorporating our faith into every
aspect of life, so that church is not just something we do on Sundays, but
something we live everyday of the week.I am fascinated and challenged by the teachings of Jesus about loving
our enemies and overturning systems of oppression.
Do you have a favorite passage of
scripture?
Isaiah 40:28-31 (especially verse 31) “Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends
of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is
unsearchable. 29He
gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. 30Even youths will faint and be
weary, and the young will fall exhausted; 31but those who wait for the Lord
shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they
shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
What book(s) are you currently
reading?
Jason Brian Santos, A Community Called Taize: A Story of Prayer, Worship,
and Reconciliation
Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger, SimpleChurch: Returning
to God’s Process for Making Disciples
Lisa Genova, Still Alice
Is there anything, in particular, that brought
you to HUMC or ministry that you would like to share?
As a former teacher, I love to learn and to teach.I am convinced that pastoral ministry is a
big teaching adventure; whether from the pulpit, in a counseling conversation,
a bible study class, or an evening meeting, pastors are 24/7 teachers.Most of the fun of teaching comes from
learning together, asking questions, and seeking out new understandings.I love questions!As Carter G. Heyward said, “we search so hard for answers when
sometimes there is as much grace in a good question as in an answer.”
Karen Becker, Director of Communications & Outreach
A member of the Haddonfield United Methodist Church congregation since 2001, Karen joined the staff as Director of Communications and Outreach in July of 2010. Karen has been an active HUMC volunteer since coming to the church, chairing the Igniting Ministries committee and helping to facilitate the church’s pre-marriage course among other activities. A graduate of Temple University’s School of Communications and Theater, Karen has spent her career in healthcare public and media relations and fundraising. Most recently, she served as the national communications director for the American Cancer Society Relay For Life.
In order to get to know Karen a bit better, we asked her a few questions…
What do you like to do when you’re not at church?
I love to spend time with my family and friends, especially my husband and our two young sons. I like to read, try out new recipes (I have a long reputation as a mediocre cook and am trying to change that!) and create digital scrapbooks. I’m also a voracious consumer of news and almost always have CNN or NPR playing near me.
What are your particular spiritual or Biblical interests?
I have a strong interest in sharing my faith with others in a way that feels authentic to both them and me. I really believe that we experience Christ through our relationships, so creating a community of faith that is comfortable and welcoming to people who are seeking spiritual answers is important to me. I am also very interested in the various ways that people interpret the Bible as a basis for their own faith journey.
Do you have a favorite passage of scripture?
I actually have two.
1 Samuel 1:27 (The Message)
I prayed for this child, and God gave me what I asked for.
Colossians 2:6-7 (The Message)
My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.
What book(s) are you currently reading?
Donald McCullough, If Grace Is So Amazing, Why Don’t We Like It?
Eugenia Kim, The Calligrapher’s Daughter
Chris Anderson, The Long Tail
Is there anything, in particular, that brought you to HUMC or ministry that you would like to share?
Before coming to church, my husband and I would discuss how hard it was to adequately express the gratitude we felt for all of the blessings in our life. Since we come from fairly mixed religious backgrounds it took us a while to figure out exactly where we belonged. Finding a community of faith in which to raise children was critical to us. HUMC was the first place we visited almost 10 years ago and we’ve been coming ever since. I really want to help others who aren’t sure of what it means to be a part of a church to feel comfortable and included at HUMC. I remember how nervous I was when I walked in the door for the first time, and I want to help others find a home here, too.
Wayne Richmond, Director of Music
Wayne is a native Californian with degrees from Westminster Choir College and the University of Southern California. He and his wife Harriet have served in several major churches including the Cathedral of the Rockies in Boise, Idaho, and the 5,000 member Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston. Together they direct and accompany the Chancel Choir and supervise all other musical activities. Wayne is the Director of the New Jersey Master Chorale. The Richmond's also direct a summer music program in New Mexico.
In order to get to know Wayne a bit better, we asked him a few questions…
What do you like to do when you’re not at church?
I love to read.
What are you particular spiritual/Biblical interests?
I am most interested in studying why some churches are appealing to adults in their 20s and 30s.
Do you have a favorite passage of scripture?
My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.
My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love! I John 4:7-12
What book(s) are you currently reading?
I’m currently reading Why Men Hate Going to Church by David Murrow and The Ripening Sun by Patricia Atkinson.
Leslie Robinson, Coordinator of Children's Ministries
A graduate of Slippery Rock State College with a degree in Elementary and Special Education, Leslie has been Coordinator of Children's Ministries for 18 years. “Mrs. Robinson” started the church’s "Mother's Morning Out" program for pre-school children 20 years ago. The program started as a once-a-week break for mothers in the community and has grown to five days a week with lunch served each day. Leslie is an active member of United Methodist Women and can always been seen at various church activities. She is married to Fred and has three twentys-something children who grew up at HUMC.
In order to get to know Leslie a bit better, we asked her a few questions…
What do you like to do when you’re not at church?
I love to scrapbook, read, go out to lunch and spend time with my children.
What originally brought you to Haddonfield United Methodist Church?
We started attending HUMC because we needed a choir big enough for my husband Fred’s voice. We fell in love with everything the church has to offer.
What do you like best about HUMC?
I love coming to work EVERY DAY (well, I don’t come every single day, but I love my job!) I love the people I work with and feel blessed to have such a wonderful place to spend my time.
Rev. Kathy Bohren Morris, Deacon
Kathy is the wife of Senior Pastor George Morris and is an ordained Deacon in the United Methodist Church. She is also a member of the greater New Jersey Annual Conference. Kathy serves God and our community as the Director of Patient and Family Services at the American Cancer Society in addition to her duties as a member of the HUMC staff. An expert is grief counseling, Kathy won the "Spiritual Coordinator of the Year" award while serving as chaplain at Memorial Hospital of Salem County and authored a book entitled Grief: A Journey To Wholeness. She leads grief support groups for children and adults, Bible studies, and other small groups experiences at our church and for the Haddonfield community. Kathy offers a "Longest Night Service" every year on Dec. 21 for those who have experienced loss. In addition to her church life, Kathy enjoys hiking, travel, crafts and spending time with her husband and their four children.
Michael D'Italia, Director of YOUth Ministries
Michael has served the Haddonfield United Methodist YOUth Fellowship in various capacities since 2001. He is a graduate of Eastern University, where he earned a B.A. in Youth Ministry in 2005. In his free time, Mike enjoys reading about and discussing anthropology, politics, philosophy, sociology, and religion (among other topics), riding his bike, watching bad horror movies, his "brand new" Play Station 2, playing his best friend's guitar, growing the occasional beard, and smothering his cat "Baby Pig" with ridiculous amounts of affection.
Harriet Richmond, Associate Director of Music
Harriet is an alumnus of Westminster Choir College and works with her husband Wayne in administering the extensive HUMC music ministry. Harriet directs the Harriet Stewart Choir of 3rd to 6th graders and accompanies the Chancel Choir and the New Jersey Master Chorale. Harriet also coordinates the children's choir program.
Carole Mercer, Director of Lay Ministries & Facilities
Carole grew up in Barrington and has attended this church almost her whole life. She has two boys – Robert, who is 21 and attends The College of New Jersey, and Patrick, who is 18 and attends Haddon Heights High School. During her free time, Carole likes to spend time with her family, enjoys Philadelphia, tend to her freshwater fish tank, work out and watch a few reality shows like Big Brother and Survivor. Carole earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Tampa and a Masters in Elementary Education from Holy Family University. A few of the bricks on her career path have included working as an environmental specialist, a teacher at Mother’s Morning Out, and an evening custodian at HUMC. Two of the passages that have special meaning to Carole are:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
Carole feels blessed to have met so many awesome friends and co-workers at HUMC and is looking forward to continuing to grow her faith and contribute positive things to HUMC.
