Let me introduce myself … I am Pastor Jim McWhinnie, minister of congregational care at Grace United Methodist Church of Venice, Florida.  My work is focused on pastoral care and spiritual direction.  I do this through writing, visiting, conducting personal and group sessions, and through confidential counsel.

I have served as a Pastor for 41 years.  In that time, I have served rural, urban, suburban congregations, both traditional and progressive.  For many years I served as Chaplain at the University of Florida while at the University United Methodist Church and Student Center.  I have worked as a minister to young families and a minister of discipleship.

My education includes a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, a Master of Divinity with emphasis on pastoral counseling from Asbury Theological Seminary, Master of Education in Counseling from University of Kentucky, a Doctorate in Higher Education from the University of Florida, along with graduate studies in Church History at Notre Dame and Yale.  While in seminary I served as student chaplain at University of Kentucky Medical Center and at Eastern State Mental Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.

I am married to my wife Debbie, a teacher of the hearing impaired in the Sarasota County school system.  We have two grown sons, Shawn a pharmacist at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, and Scott, an animator at Blue Sky Studios in Connecticut.  My avocations are watercolorist,  photographer and poet.  I am also a Protestant Brother in the Benedictine Community, where I am known as Brother Anthony of the Cross.

But foremost, I am a follower of Christ of the reverent and contemplative kind, serving with every fiber of Being.  I serve Christ who is my Lord and Savior, my Guide and Sustainer, my Hope and my Peace.

I will be writing a daily devotional titled SoulCare beginning on January 1, 2020.  If you would like be added to the e-mail list, send me an e-mail at greyfriarsabbey@gmail.com. or read them on my new Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/gracesoulcareministries/.

Pastor Jim

DSFM@graceontheisland.com

I was born in St. Pete and raised in Lake Wales Florida, a true Florida native! My husband, Troy and I have been married for 25 years and we have four children !, Paul,  Riley, Sara, and Hazel. We have lived here in Venice since 1997, coming back after finishing in Navy,  my family had vacationed here while growing up over in Lake Wales! 

I have taught at the Grace United Methodist Preschool since June of 2004, and came on fulltime as Children's Director June of 2014.In January 2017 I took on the role as Student and Family Ministry Director.  I became a member of Grace United Methodist Church in 2013. I love Florida nature and enjoy camping and going to the beach with my family. I love working with children and teaching them.

 "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

churchadmin@graceontheisland.com

I have over twenty-five years experience in the United Methodist Church as a secretary/administrator.  I attended Emory University in Atlanta and attained certification as a United Methodist Church Business Administrator.

Life is a journey and we must continue to adapt and change with the seasons.  I have found that Ecclesiastes 3:1 helps keep me grounded and more accepting of the challenges of everyday life.

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” (KJV)

I am truly fortunate and blessed to have become a part of this extremely loving and caring Christian community of believers and have the opportunity to work with such a dedicated staff.  

praise@graceontheisland.com

Faithe@gracemethodistpreschool.org

Hello, my name is Faithe Johnson, Director of Grace United Methodist Preschool here in Venice, FL.  I first started my journey with the Grace family in 2015 as an Assistant Director and moved into the role of Director in 2016.  Grace Preschool is truly a special place.

I hold a BA degree from Mankato State University in Elementary Education, an Advanced Level Florida Director’s Credential, have over 20 years of Early Childhood experience and 15 years of experience directing private, corporate and non-profit centers.  My true passion is non-profit; working with our community, families and teachers in order to provide the best early learning experience for all young learners.  I believe all children should have access to a high quality early learning program to enable them to enter kindergarten fully prepared and ready to learn! I hope to increase our scholarships available to struggling families to decrease this barrier. I am a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children(NAEYC), (FLAEYC)-FL Chapter of NAEYC, United Methodist Association of Preschools (UMAP) as well as Southern Early Childhood Association (SECA). Partnering with these organizations and others in our community helps us achieve the goal of offering a high quality program. As an accredited, non-profit, Christian preschool, families can feel confident that their children are in a great school.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my husband, two children and kitties, going to the beach, reading and tending to my koi, plants and flowers outdoors. I welcome all families to visit our preschool to learn more about our programs and to meet our wonderful teachers and staff!

– I can’t wait to meet you!

Mrs. Faithe

traditonalmusic@graceontheisland.com

Suzanne Berndt has worked as a choir director and organist for churches in Oklahoma, Texas, California, North Dakota and Alaska since graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in piano, organ and voice from sweet Briar College in Virginia. She Studied organ with Don Dulmer, the principal organist at St. Patrick's in NYC, piano with Iren Marik, a protege of Bartok and writing harmony and counterpoint with Carl Bricken, a Pulitzer Prize winning composer. She completed 55 hours of graduate work in music education and performance at the University of North Texas and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Also she earned the Kodaly certificate in preschool music education from the University of Mary Hardin Baylor in Texas. She studied voice at the college level for 12 years with several artists, notably Eugene Connally, Virginia La Croix and Suzanne Summerfield. She studied arranging and organ with John Carpenter and graduate level choral conducting and theory with Morton Manus at UNT. 

She taught Choral music in public schools for 11 years, mostly in Texas and voice and piano as an assistant professor at the University of Alaska for two years. Before moving to Venice five years ago, Suzanne and her husband Mike lived in Killeen, Texas where they were active in the music programs at First Methodist Church, Killeen, where served as organist for 15 years. Suzanne's main passions are her 3 children and 3 grandchildren, her faith in God and Church music.

Suzanne is especially thankful and happy to serve as organist / music director here at Grace UMC, because of the opportunity to work closely with her sister Mary Jeanne Moorman, our pianist and choir accompanist. 

Mary Jeanne Moorman learned to play piano from her mother, Mary Frank Fancher, who is listed in the National Guild of Piano Teachers' Hall of Fame. Mary Jeanne majored in piano performance at two Methodist universities, Southern Methodist University, where she studied choral music with Lloyd Pfautsch, and Oklahoma City University, where she served as staff accompanist for all OCU choirs. She was a soloist with the Oklahoma City Symphony. Mary Jeanne transferred to University of North Texas, Denton, and studied accompanying with Harold Heiberg and piano performance with artist-in-residence Stefan Bardas. Mary Jeanne accompanied Metropolitan Opera leading tenor, Eugene Conley, whose wife, Halvah, watched the Moorman's baby son, John, during rehearsals at the Conley home. John now lives in Venice, as does his younger sister, Sarah. 

Steve and Mary Jeanne Moorman felt at home on their first visit to Grace UMC in the summer of 2007, and transferred their memberships from Asbury UMC in Denton, TX, where Mary Jeanne served as pianist. In 2009, when Gene Hodges accepted the position of Director of Traditional Music, Mary Jeanne was invited to serve as Chancel Choir accompanist. Mary Jeanne loves being a member of our dear church family, led by our beloved pastor, and is thankful that she can invite friends to Grace with the confidence that they will be lovingly welcomed and encouraged to worship in Spirit and in Truth.

officeassistant@graceontheisland.com

I’m the office assistant at Grace United Methodist Church. I’m a Venice native and have spent most of my life here. I Graduated from Venice High School in 1998 and also attended the State College of Florida.

I have 8 year old twins Grant and Lila and they are in the third grade. I enjoy spending time with my children and family going to the beach and being outdoors.