FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

 

Dear Fulton First UMC Family,

​

I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. My oldest sibling was Ernie
(deceased) followed by Ed, Carlos Manuel, Eli Samuel, Deborah, and I – the
baby. We grew up in a Christian household with lots of discipline, love and
prayer. I completed my high school senior year over the summer, as both
my parents desired for us to move to the states to get more opportunities.
They both got teaching jobs in New York and my sister and I moved to the
states with them. Right before moving, in 1987, the Lord called me to
ministry through the prophetic word of pastors in our prayer group. Just
like Moses and Jonah, I refuted the call for several years, considering
myself unfit for such high purpose.

After completing an Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts from Monroe
Community College, a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from SUNY
Potsdam, teaching General Music for 20 years and Band for one year, and
completing a Master’s degree in Music Education from Nazareth College,
my servant heart was awoken and I surrendered all to the Lord.
Doors were opened for ministry and my father resigned from teaching and
became a full time Local Pastor and later a United Methodist Elder. To
support his ministry my mother, my sister and I served in different settings. I remember being a Sunday school teacher, Children’s Coordinator, Choir member and Director, UMW member and leader, Youth Group member and Director, Lay Servant and Speaker; and serving in different committees like Evangelism, Communications, Trustees, Worship, Christian Education, and others. The years went by and my love for serving the Lord grew, in such a way that I had a strong conviction to enroll at the United Theological Seminary in Dayton Ohio. The program allowed me to complete courses with a combination of on line and in person sessions, a heavy load while teaching full time, yet the Lord made a way for me to graduate successfully. This was quite the leap of faith!

In 2017, I was appointed by Bishop Webb to serve at Batavia First UMC and
was there for three years. My second appointment was at Alexander UMC
during the pandemic; I served there from 2020 – 2022. I praise God for the
valuable lessons I learned in these two settings, both through good and not so good experiences, and look forward to pressing the “Reset” button to let go and let God be the one who leads and unites us to serve one another and the people in this community.