About Our Pastor
On Monday, July 1st, 2024, Pastor Rev. Mary Ward officially joins us as our pastor. We all welcome her! In the following message from her, she introduces herself and provides us little tidbits about her life and how she was called into ministry.
Hi, I’m Mary! I call New Mexico home now but spent most of my life in Mississippi and a few early childhood years in Dallas, Texas. I moved to New Mexico at the end of 2021 to serve as the Fresh Expressions Pastor at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Albuquerque. During my time there, I was blessed to begin a variety of new ministries such as a recovery group, a dog park ministry, and yoga church before being appointed as the Senior Pastor in April of 2023. I earned my Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary in 2024 and hope to pursue a Doctor of Ministry in the future.
I have been serving in ministry in some capacity for most of my life, but began serving full-time in 2017. I was hired as the Director of Youth and College Ministries at Tupelo First United Methodist Church in Mississippi shortly after completing my Bachelor of Arts in Journalism: Public Relations and Nonprofit Studies at The University of Southern Mississippi in 2017. During my four years there, I began to feel a stirring toward planting a church when a small group of people began to meet for a Bible Study at an indoor cycling studio where I was teaching. In 2021, we launched the project called “Cyclesia” and in true Fresh Expressions fashion, continued to meet at the spin studio. During this time, I was also appointed to create a youth ministry network for three rural churches in Northeast Mississippi, which we were able to accomplish in just a few short months.
At the end of that busy and fruitful year of ministry, God led me to change course dramatically and move to NM. For a large part of 2021, I was discerning the call to serve in Albuquerque, but there was much work to be done before that could happen. On December 26, 2021, I moved across the country with just me and my two dogs. Since then, I have put down roots and made Albuquerque my home. I am blessed with a wonderful network of friends and a loving support system that has brought about a great deal of peace and healing amid challenging life circumstances. I enjoy hobbies such as photography, music, dance, and cycling, but I most enjoy spending time with my two dogs, Maple and June, and my cat, Charlie.
I am overjoyed to serve as the Pastor at Rio Rancho UMC. May God bless our time together and reveal his will for this season of life!
On Monday, July 1st, 2024, Pastor Rev. Mary Ward officially joins us as our pastor. We all welcome her! In the following message from her, she introduces herself and provides us little tidbits about her life and how she was called into ministry.
Hi, I’m Mary! I call New Mexico home now but spent most of my life in Mississippi and a few early childhood years in Dallas, Texas. I moved to New Mexico at the end of 2021 to serve as the Fresh Expressions Pastor at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Albuquerque. During my time there, I was blessed to begin a variety of new ministries such as a recovery group, a dog park ministry, and yoga church before being appointed as the Senior Pastor in April of 2023. I earned my Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary in 2024 and hope to pursue a Doctor of Ministry in the future.
I have been serving in ministry in some capacity for most of my life, but began serving full-time in 2017. I was hired as the Director of Youth and College Ministries at Tupelo First United Methodist Church in Mississippi shortly after completing my Bachelor of Arts in Journalism: Public Relations and Nonprofit Studies at The University of Southern Mississippi in 2017. During my four years there, I began to feel a stirring toward planting a church when a small group of people began to meet for a Bible Study at an indoor cycling studio where I was teaching. In 2021, we launched the project called “Cyclesia” and in true Fresh Expressions fashion, continued to meet at the spin studio. During this time, I was also appointed to create a youth ministry network for three rural churches in Northeast Mississippi, which we were able to accomplish in just a few short months.
At the end of that busy and fruitful year of ministry, God led me to change course dramatically and move to NM. For a large part of 2021, I was discerning the call to serve in Albuquerque, but there was much work to be done before that could happen. On December 26, 2021, I moved across the country with just me and my two dogs. Since then, I have put down roots and made Albuquerque my home. I am blessed with a wonderful network of friends and a loving support system that has brought about a great deal of peace and healing amid challenging life circumstances. I enjoy hobbies such as photography, music, dance, and cycling, but I most enjoy spending time with my two dogs, Maple and June, and my cat, Charlie.
I am overjoyed to serve as the Pastor at Rio Rancho UMC. May God bless our time together and reveal his will for this season of life!
Links To Past Sermons
See the 'Archived Sermons' link for even more services
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