m i n i s try s t o r i e s
New pastor candidates
come from Union
by MIKE BAUGHMAN, Community Curator for Union
Katie Newsome and
Ashley Hamel have been
recommended by the SPRC
at UPUMC as our newest
candidates for ordained
ministry! Both Ashley
and Katie come to us as
young adults through our
ministries at Union.
When Union was created,
it was charged, in part,
with the task of calling
young people to ordained
ministry. Ashley and Katie
are the first of what will
hopefully become a long
line of ordained pastors who
develop their call to ministry
at Union.
Ashley Hamel is a recent
graduate of the University
of North Texas where she
participated in the Denton
Wesley Foundation under
Cammy Gaston’s leadership.
Since graduating a year
ago, she’s served on the
youth ministry staff at
FUMC Coppell and began
attending
worship
at Union
this past
summer.
Over the
course of
this past
year, she’s
articulated
a call to ordained ministry,
applied to Seminary and has
decided to attend Princeton
Theological Seminary in the
fall where she will pursue
a Masters of Divinity and
a Master of Arts in Youth
Ministry. She feels called to
bridge the gap between the
church and the rest of the
world, inspiring both to acts
PAGE 4
of service.
Katie Newsome is
currently enrolled at Perkins
School of Theology where
she is
pursuing
a Masters
of Divinity
and
ordination
as an
Elder. Katie
became
involved in
weekly worship at Union last
fall and has found a quick
home among the people
who worship there. Katie, a
Georgia native, first came
to Texas to attend SMU
where she joined the Wesley
Foundation and participated
in Project Transformation.
After completing her
undergraduate degree, Katie
served as a ministry intern
at the Wesley Foundation
while going through her
first year of seminary. This
summer, Katie will serve as
a Chaplain at Methodist
Hospital in Dallas. She is
considering a calling to
hospital chaplaincy.
Over the next couple
years, the Rev. Matt
Gaston and the Rev.
Mike Baughman will find
opportunities for UPUMC
members to meet Katie
and Ashley. Encourage
them, pray for them and
offer them your support for
ministry!
UNION is a coffeehouse
that raises funds for,
awareness of and
engagement in significant
causes that make a positive
difference in the world.
Dear UPUMC friends.
As most of you know, I will be
moving to a new appointment shortly,
after 8 years of serving with you here
at University Park. You’ve been a
significant and cherished part of my
journey, and in so many ways you’ve
witnessed to the grace and goodness of
the living Christ. Thank you for that good gift.
Perhaps you’ve already heard, but I’m pleased to
share with you that I’ll be joining the ministry team
at First United Methodist Church in Richardson. It’s
a wonderful congregation and staff, and it will be an
honor to serve there. And it’s the church that nurtured
me through high school, when my family moved to
Dallas, so it’s a return to some deep spiritual roots as
well. My primary responsibilities will be in the area of
Faith Development.
Again, thank you for allowing me to share the