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"Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
— Hebrews 13:1-2
Welcome to the Sun Prairie United Methodist Church. We hope you will take a few moments to browse our website and explore the ministries and opportunities we offer at SPUMC. We are a congregation that is staying United Methodist in the midst of a time when some churches are choosing to leave our denomination. As a Reconciling congregation, we offer a wide welcome to all God’s people as we worship together, grow in our faith, care for others and as we serve God in our communities. One of our deepest desires is to make God’s love real for all people.
Whether you are new to the journey of church visiting or have made many church visits, we know that visiting a new church can feel awkward. Finding a faith community that ‘fits’ is a process and a journey. We would be honored to journey with you in that process at SPUMC.
Our life together at SPUMC is guided by:
- Our Vision to be a welcoming home where we share God’s love.
- Our Mission to invite and welcome people to be committed and compassionate followers of Jesus Christ, through worship, spiritual growth, fellowship, and service to others.
- Our Reconciling Statement says in part that our welcome knows no boundaries and that we answer Jesus’ call to ‘love your neighbor’ by embracing every person as a full participant in our church family, including people of all ages, nations, races, abilities, sexual orientations, and gender identities.
We have many ministries for all ages at SPUMC that you will find information about throughout our website and Facebook page. We hope you find worship in person or online and our other ministries to be encouraging and life-giving on your journey of life and faith.
Blessings,
Pastor Jenny Arneson
Our Staff
Our vision remains our church vision of being a welcoming home where we share God's love.
Clergy Staff
Jenny Arneson, Lead Pastor
Claire Douglass, Pastor of Youth and Young Adult Ministries
Program Staff
Support Staff
Nursery Staff
Music Staff
Accountable Leadership Board
In 2016, SPUMC moved to the Accountable Leadership Board model, in which the former Church Council became the Leadership Board of approximately 12 persons. This is a streamlined model of ministry that allows the Leadership Board, along with the pastor and program staff to give oversight, direction and purpose to the programs and ministries of the church.
The Leadership Board coordinates the functions of several of our committees with the intention of reducing the number of meetings needed to conduct the administrative business of the church. The hands-on ministry is done by “teams” whose responsibilities are to do ministry, such as the Staff Parish Relations Team, Stewardship Team, Outreach Team, Trustees Team, Children’s Ministry Team, Reconciling Team, Safe Sanctuaries Team, and Scholarship Team. This leadership model holds the mission of the church as primary and puts larger numbers of people in ministry.
Members of the Leadership Board are to be intentionally growing in faith, as well as setting an example for the congregation. There is time allotted at each Leadership Board meeting for spiritual formation before getting into the business of the Board.
In addition to all our faithful volunteers serving in ministry at SPUMC, the members of the Leadership Board include:
Chair: Jack Malone
Secretary: Cheri Hiller
Committee Chairpersons
Finance/Stewardship: Sarah Bolen
Trustees: Co-Chairs Mike Bandli, Janine Punzel
Staff Parish Relations Committee: Pat Flaherty
Outreach: Patricia Harrington
Scholarship: Terry Twedell
At Large Members
Cheri Hiller, Dee Heller, Frank Flynn, Marcia Flaherty, Gavin Denning (Youth)
Staff
Lead Pastor: Jenny Arneson
Pastor of Youth & Young Adults: Claire Douglass
Director of Children’s Ministries: Christy Tubbs
Director of Caring Ministries: Brad Mather
Director of Connecting Ministries: Deb Mulhern
Director of Technology & Online Communications: Amanda Hinthorn
Administrative Assistant: Chris Hale
Financial Secretary: Sarah Bolen
Treasurer: Lisa Wink