Dr. John Elford has served as the Senior Pastor at St. John’s UMC in Corpus Christi, John Wesley UMC in Victoria and as Associate Pastor and Director of Music at First UMC in San Angelo. He has also served as a classroom teacher in San Angelo and McAllen, Texas. He was born April 11, 1956 in Toronto, Canada. He is married to Rev. Linda Seaman Elford, who currently serves as the Pastor at Crestview UMC in Austin and attended UUMC years ago. The Elfords have two children - Chris and Lauren.

Over the past 30 years, Susan has served in a variety of pastoral positions with a highly fruitful ministry and brings a wealth of experience to UUMC. From 1989-1995, she was the Director of the Wesley Foundation at UT, and most recently she was Associate Pastor at Trinity UMC in Austin. As Associate Pastor at UUMC, Susan’s responsibilities include adult education and teaching, social justice committees, worship leadership, occasional preaching, and pastoral care. Susan holds an MA in Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY and a BA in Math from Vanderbilt University. Susan has been married to Donald Tietjen for 29 years.

“Our students comprise one of the most diverse and vital Christian groups on campus. I enjoy watching them take ownership of their group – to the point where our numbers have grown incrementally each year. It is also a joy to be surrounded each day by people who are convinced they can change the world.”

Bill has been a United Methodist pastor since 1987 and has been at University UMC since 2002. He holds a Master of Divinity from Perkins School of Theology at SMU and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Texas. He describes UUMC as having a distinct and historical emphasis on social justice and hands-on mission work. “We are also situated in one of the most prime plots of real estate in the country: literally in the very heart of the nation’s largest public university.”

“People think of UUMC as being unique. They think we’re all UT professors, students, lawyers and politicians. We’re not. We have a variety of people, experiences and professions. It’s a diverse community of faith.”

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown and Perkins Seminary at SMU in Dallas, Bernie was a District Superintendant in the Southwest Texas Conference from 1999 to 2006. We coaxed him out of retirement to work part-time at UUMC ministering to the elderly members of the congregation. Bernie has a message for elderly people and those with disabilities: “Don’t be scared off by the parking situation. We do have places to park at the church and other parking lots quite close by that are convenient.”

Geoff has been a United Methodist Minister since 2004 and has served churches in Madison, Rome and Atlanta, GA. A native of the Greater Atlanta area, he holds a Master of Divinity and Master of Theology from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. He is currently a Ph.D. student at UT, Austin, studying Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East. At UUMC, Geoff’s primary responsibilities are leadership and teaching for the young adult and college student ministries. He also preaches in The Well chapel service and teaches adult education courses.