Meet the Team

  • Lead Pastor

    Brett has over 30 years of pastoral experience. He holds an MDiv from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, GA and a PhD in Theological Studies from the Graduate Theological Foundation with his residency at Christ Church College, Oxford University, UK.

    He has served churches in the Oregon-Idaho Conferences: Lake Oswego UMC; Parkrose UMC (Portland); Newman UMC (Grants Pass); and Christ UMC (Portland).

    He and his wife Melinda have two grown sons. They are both excited to back in Southern Oregon.

  • Minister of Outreach and Spiritual Formation

    Dorita was born & raised in Brazil, as the daughter of Methodist missionaries, She moved to Oregon in 1989 with her husband Bruce and has served in three churches in the Rogue Valley.  

    Dorita has a B.A. and a Master's Degree in Christian Education and is an ordained Deacon in the United Methodist Church. Dorita’s passion is to create spaces where people can form meaningful relationships, with one another and with God, while growing in their faith journey and serving the world through actions of justice and mercy.

    Dorita and Bruce have raised two wonderful children, both now young adults, and together they also created a third beloved “offspring” – a fuzzy, free-spirited puppet named Sherman. A lifelong athlete, Dorita enjoys cycling, running and volunteering as a volleyball coach at the YMCA and Ashland High School.

  • Director of Music

    Sacred music has been a part of Adam’s life from the very beginning. He attended his first church choir rehearsal in-utero. This was followed up by yearly treks to Wisconsin for family reunions that culminated in a day-long Welsh hymn sing - a Gymanfa Ganu. Since then, he has sung, played and prayed with Presbyterians, Disciples of Christ, United Church of Christ, Methodist, Episcopal, Reformed and Conservative Jewish, Catholic, and Non-Denominational congregations in Ohio, Minnesota, Oregon and beyond. He is excited to live out what he understands as God's calling in his life: to help people worship God through music. 

    • Locally, he has performed with Camelot Theater (piano), sung with the Southern Oregon Repertory Singers (tenor) and joined Jefferson Baroque Orchestra as Tenor soloist, in addition to other work with local congregations and choirs. Currently, he is the General Music Specialist at Hoover Elementary in Medford, molding musical minds from Kinder to 5th grade. His wife, Christina is a Clinical Chaplain with Providence Hospice. Together they parent two teenagers attending Ashland High School. 

  • Office Manager

    Hi!

    Many of you will remember me when I worked here previously as Office Manager from 2011-2016.

    One of the things that has been a constant in my life is my love for this church and the congregation.

    My background has encompassed administration, customer service, and public relations.

    My husband David and I got married in this church in 2016 which was an incredible and joyful event.

    We are both Real Estate Agents in the other half of our lives.

    Personal interests include home design, gardening, entertaining and spending time with our Labradoodle Mabel who has boundless energy even when we don’t!

    One of the things you should know about me is that I am approachable, friendly, and articulate.

    It is my feeling that our church should be a welcoming place for all.

    I am very happy to be here and look forward to meeting you all!

  • Questioner par Excellence

    You might say that I am Dorita's "Right Hand Man", and frequently help out with the Children’s Message.

    When everyone else is confused, I lead the way in setting the record straight.

    Occasionally, I get it all wrong and Dorita has to gently explain where my logic has failed me.

    But that doesn't happen too often. Wait ... why is everyone groaning now?