"Vision" Newsletter

Weekly Bulletin

Youth Page

Children

Rev. Stewart Lewis is the senior pastor of the Velda Rose UMC and was appointed here in July, 2004. After graduating from Iliff School of Theology in 1983, he was appointed to Patagonia Community UMC. In 1989, he was appointed to the Willcox UMC. In 1994, he accepted a mid-year appointment to the White Mountain UMC in Show Low, AZ. In 1999, he was appointed to the Sierra Vista UMC.

Stewart graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1971 from the College of Pharmacy. He was a practicing pharmacist until he entered seminary in 1980.

Stewart is married to Linda, who is a professional crafter and gifted story-teller.

They have two grown children and three grandchildren.

Rev. Stewart Lewis

Cliff has been blessed to have had the opportunity to serve the church in a wide variety of ministry settings. Having grown up in the Los Angeles area he served four years at St Matthews UMC in Hacienda Heights before being called to start a new church in North Scottsdale. In 1977 Cliff was appointed to a vacant five acre corner property on Scottsdale Road with a handful of enthusiastic Methodists who together launched the North Scottsdale UMC.

In 1983 Cliff was appointed to First UMC in Phoenix as Associate Minister; in 1992 he served as pastor of White Mountain UMC in Show Low. Then an opportunity to fulfill a long time dream came in 1993 when the Rocky Mountain Conference offered him the position of Director of Communications.

In 1996 Cliff was appointed Associate Minister to Willowbrook UMC in Sun City; 1998 pastor of Spirit of Hope UMC in Peoria; and in 2005 senior pastor of First UMC in Sun City where he assisted in helping that congregation form a three church partnership with Youngtown and Lakeview UMCs in a “never been done before” cooperative parish.

In addition to completing 35 years of pastoral ministry, Cliff’s passion has continued in the area of media and communications. In 1982 he pioneered the use of video at Annual Conference for the former Pacific and Southwest Annual Conference – and has been instrumental in developing and expanding the use of video and media ever since. He was among the earliest to apply the use of computers in a church setting in 1980 with the Radio Shack TRS 80 Model I.

Cliff is divorced but continues to help parent Amber (20) and Adam (17) in close partnership with his former spouse, Judi. He is a graduate of UCLA in Broadcasting and a seminary graduate of Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Co. His hobbies include music and playing guitar and being creative on the computer.

Rev. Cliff Asay

Cindy is now our Director of Family Life Ministries which includes all ages from the youngest to the oldest! She will direct all children, youth and adult ministries including education, nurture and spiritual growth. She has boundless energy as she works with all ages in bring the Good News of Jesus Christ into the world.

Dr. J. Edmund Hughes

Dr. J. Edmund Hughes is our Director of Music. He has an extensive background in teaching choir, music theory and conducting at the college level. At present, he is on the Music Faculty of Chandler-Gilbert Community College. He has had several pieces of music published and has been involved with choir festivals and honor choirs throughout the southwest. He received his Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate degrees from the University of Arizona with additional doctoral studies at the USC. He has been with Velda Rose since 1990.

Marv is our Chief Operating Officer, having responsibility for our campus and for financial activity. Marv works with the Trustees in keeping our campus up-to-date and ready for the many groups that use our facility. In addition, he oversees the daily financial activities. As an active church member, Marv is in charge of our Membership Growth, connecting with visitors and new members.

Melody is our Executive Assistant, organizing much of our daily office activities. Melody is the editor of our monthly newsletter, "The Vision" and oversees a variety of other activities.

Joyce is our Secretary and develops many of our resources, including the bulletin. She works with our office volunteers and helps keep our membership records up to date.