Pastor Ellen and her dog Barney came to Hope Mills UMC in June 2019. Prior to coming to Hope Mills, Pastor Ellen was the senior pastor at Burgaw UMC, Davis Street UMC, Wendell UMC, and the associate pastor at Seaside UMC in Sunset Beach, NC. Prior to entering full time ministry, Pastor Ellen was employed by IBM in research, development, and marketing. Ellen graduated from Va. Tech with a bachelors and masters in Computer Science, and from Asbury Seminary with her Master of Divinity. She often jokes that only God can master divinity. Pastor Ellen is currently pursuing her doctorate degree while leading us in ministry.

 

Pastor Ellen is originally from Maryland where her family still lives. Her niece Bonnie and Bonnie's husband Lem are also United Methodist Ministers in the Baltimore Washington Conference.

 

Pastor Ellen’s passion is for helping people trust Jesus with their lives, and receiving the peace, presence, and power that comes with being a Christian. She also loves to flatwater kayak, connect with people worldwide on her ham radios, spoil her dog, and read books. She still proudly proclaims that she did not stop being a “technology geek” when she got ordained, so you never know what kind of technology will pop up in the office when she is around.