Sunday Services: 8:39am & 11:05am
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Contact Bear Creek UMC office via email or by phone - 281.463.2330
To email staff members, please click on their name. To speak with staff members please call 281-463-2330 and if an extension is necessary it is listed in green.
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Rev. Marlene Martin was raised in Longview, Texas. She answered the call to ministry at age 16 and began practicing ministry at age 19 when she was hired to be the Youth Pastor at Central UMC in Waco. Marlene received her Bachelor’s Degree in vocal performance at Baylor University; she has used her music skills to garner several years experience leading praise worship services. Marlene received her Master of Divinity degree from Duke University. Her first appointment in the Texas Conference was Associate Pastorate at Lindale, Texas, where she was in charge of evangelism, youth ministry, and adult Christian education. Shortly after Marlene became an Elder, she answered the call to become an international missionary. Her time in the mission field included ten months in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and three years in Beijing, China. Upon returning to America, Marlene served Friendswood UMC as Associate Pastor for three years. During her tenure at Friendswood, Marlene built up and oversaw all ministries relating to discipleship, including visitation and pastoral care. During the past year, she served as Senior Pastor at Golden Acres UMC in Pasadena. Marlene’s hobbies include sailing, golf, and tennis.ext 102
Gaylynn has been a member of Bear Creek United Methodist Church for over 20 years and has been working at Bear Creek UMC for almost 15 years.
Faye has been a member of Bear Creek United Methodist Church since 1985 and on the staff since July, 1988. She has the responsibility for all the weddings performed at the Church. She is married to Bucky Brown and between the two of them, they have 8 children, 19 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. She loves her position and the wonderful opportunity she has to be of service to the wedding party as a representative of our church.
Charla has been a member of Bear Creek United Methodist Church for almost 30 years and has served on the Church Staff for more than 16 years. She and Larry, her husband of 36 years, raised their 3 children in the children’s and youth ministries here at Bear Creek UMC. She enjoys the many connections she has made throughout the years and the sense of family that BCUMC offers. As Administrative Assistant, she has come to know several different pastors and their families and continues to stay in touch with them. Change is the only constant in Life and to this she simply says, “This is the day the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!” Psalm 118:24ext 106
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Karen has been employed at Bear Creek United Methodist Church since January 2004. She joined the church in 1998 with her husband Howard and son Peyton. She has been married for 25 years and their son is attending University of Houston. She is a member of Genesis Sunday School Class. She also has a two step-children, Katie and Myers, with four grandsons and one granddaughter, she cherishes time with them all. She really enjoys her work with all the programs and all of her involvement with Bear Creek UMC.ext 110
Will Knuckols is joining the Bear Creek staff as a Ministry Intern from Perkins School of Theology at SMU. Will is married to Janis; they have two children, Jay and Olivia; and the family are members at First UMC Rosenberg. Since it is best for candidates for the ministry to do their educational internship in a location other than their home church, we are blessed to be the setting for Will’s Ministry Internship through Perkins. Will’s work with us for the next twelve months will be on a part-time basis, and his tasks will be defined primarily by the model for Internship that Perkins provides to us. We are Will’s teaching congregation! The Lay Teaching Committee that will lead Will through the next year is comprised of Bob Clapp, Laura Mann, Karen Hill, Jim Peyton, Bob and Joyce Evans, and Jim Miltenberger. We are blessed to have received a substantial gift from the Perkins School of Theology Foundation to fund this internship.ext 103
Lauren has been a member of Bear Creek United Methodist Church since her confirmation, almost 20 years ago. She returned to Bear Creek UMC after college at Southwestern University, graduate school at the University of South Carolina, and marrying Rick here at Bear Creek UMC. She came to work at Bear Creek UMC in November 2004. Lauren and Rick have two daughters, Clara and Elise.ext 109
Laurie graduated from Texas Christian University and taught kindergarten in her “life before children”. Laurie and Wade have been married for over thirty years and enjoy spending time with their three daughters, two sons-in-law and five grandchildren. Over the years Laurie has taught and directed in preschool and Mother’s Day Out programs. In addition to being an active volunteer in her church and her daughters' schools, Laurie served many years as the founding Director of Children’s Ministries at a local church in Houston. Serving as director of the Bear Creek UMC School has brought her full circle back into the world of early childhood education and it brings her great joy to partner in ministry with the life of Bear Creek United Methodist Church.ext 125
Janet's career in music ministry and music education spans over 40 years. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music from Sam Houston State University, where she met her husband, John. She retired in 2001 from a 22-year tenure as music teacher and arts administrator at St. John’s School. Janet enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading and traveling.
John has served for over 40 years in church music ministry. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music and Education from Sam Houston State University. He retired in 1997 from a 30-year career as a choral director and music administrator for Cy-Fair ISD. John and his wife Janet have two children, Jason and Jennifer, and four grandchildren. He enjoys barbecuing, welding, hunting and fishing.ext 103The Staff-Parish Relations Committee has regretfully received a “re-retirement” notice from John and Janet Scarcella. John and Janet have been a blessing to the choir and congregation as John has led us faithfully in the position of Director of Music Ministry and Janet has been John’s able assistant and our Organist/Pianist. John and Janet are feeling the need to be more available as grandparents and more supportive to Janet’s parents. Though the Scarcella’s will conclude their formal relationship on staff in July 2009, they are planning to continue worshipping with us as they are able. We thank God for all that they have done and are doing, and we look forward to their joining as their schedule allows in the BCUMC family. The SPRC is working with the church calendar and choir to identify a Sunday in August to celebrate the Scarcella’s ministry. We have also established a search committee to begin the work of filling the position of Part-time Director of Choirs and Part-time Organist/Accompanist.
James and his wife Jill have been married for 14 years and have two adorable children, Jaxon and Jaden. He and his family recently returned to Bear Creek UMC after living in East Texas and Calgary, Canada and he joined the staff in January 2008. James is a member of the Seekers Sunday School Class at BCUMC. He enjoys spending time with his family, digital photography and working on his Camaro.ext 118
Chris has been a member at Bear Creek United Methodist Church since moving to Houston with her husband and daughter in 1993. She has been on staff since 2002 when the Family Life Center opened and she became the FLC Director. Chris and Pat have been married for 30 exciting years and their greatest accomplishment together has been raising Laura and watching her grow into the beautiful woman she is today. Her interests in which Pat shares with her include mission and outreach projects, woodworking and fishing.ext 117
As our Staff-Parish Relations Committee and its search committee review the position of Director of Ministries for Families with Children and begin to receive both input from the congregation and resumes from interested persons, we are blessed to announce that Kathy Tyler, BCUMC member, has stepped forward to be the Interim Director. The Tyler family has been a faithful part of BCUMC; and we are confident that Kathy’s experience on the Children’s Council, as a parent of a child in our program, and in service to other areas of the church will enable our Children’s ministry to continue to be a vibrant and quality experience for our children and families at BCUMC.
Frank grew up in St. Louis, MO and upon graduation from the University of Missouri moved to Houston in 1972. He and his wife of thirty years, Andrea, have two children, Ryan and Emily, and they have lived in the Bear Creek area since 1977. Prior to joining the BCUMC staff in February 2001, he worked for over twenty years in the structural design of chemical plants and fossil/nuclear fueled power plants. He is an avid soccer fan. Frank loves being a member of the BCUMC family!ext 115