God Is Always On the Move

“See, I am doing a new thing!” – Isaiah 43:19a

It is a season of transitions at First United Methodist Church. We recently announced Melanie Coons as our new Director of Music Ministries, beginning a new chapter following Kristen Gossett’s retirement. And on July 1, FUMCWF will welcome its next pastor, Rev. Aaron Logan, as I transition into the role of Superintendent for the East and Mid-North Districts of the Horizon Texas Conference.

As this date draws nearer, I am reflecting more and more on my nine years here as the Senior Minister of this great church. It is hard to believe that nearly a decade has passed! Our time together has been defined not just by years, but by significant milestones that tested and proved the heart of this church.

A Legacy of Stewardship and Resilience

We began our ministry together in a season of discovery and discernment that ultimately led to a $4 million capital improvement initiative. Because of your generosity, we did not just repair roofs and replace HVAC systems; we remodeled areas of the church that helped us be more welcoming so our church can faithfully serve the next generations.

We also navigated a global pandemic together. COVID-19 changed our world, but it did not keep our church from our mission. We adapted to new ways of doing ministry and discovered how creative the Holy Spirit can be.

A Witness to Unity

In a denomination-wide season of disaffiliation and hurt, our church remained committed to being a “big tent” congregation. I am especially proud of our merger with Floral Heights UMC. When our neighbors faced a painful decision to close their doors, you held the doors open here. Our friends found more than just a place in the pews; they found a home. Seeing the church grow as a family of faith has been one of the greatest joys of my ministry.

Resurrection People

The prophet Isaiah tells us, “Forget the former things; do not dwell upon the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” While I will forever cherish the memories of our time together, Isaiah reminds us that God is always pulling us toward the horizon.

There is a line from a 90s song that says, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” For us, this is not just a catchy lyric; it defines what it means to be resurrection people. Our Easter faith teaches us that “the end” is never the end. Things change, and leaders transition, but the mission remains.

The Best is Yet to Come

FUMCWF is energized. I see it in the new families finding a home here and in the intergenerational wisdom being shared all over the building. New people are finding a home here. I am certain that the best day of this church are not in the rearview mirror, but directly ahead.

This church will always be family to me. While my role is changing, I am grateful that I will remain connected to you as your District Superintendent. I have high hopes for Rev. Aaron Logan and even higher hopes for what God will do through you.

You remain in my prayers always.

With love, and profound joy, for having served as your pastor,
John McLarty

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FUMCWF Announces New Director of Music Ministries

After a thorough search process, the Music Director Search Team and Staff-Parish Relations Committee are pleased to announce Melanie Coons as the church’s next Director of Music Ministries. Melanie has extensive choral experience having served as the lead choir director at Kirby Middle School, Rider High School, and now at Memorial High School. In addition, Melanie has been part of FUMCWF’s Chancel Choir for many years.

Melanie grew up in Lawton, OK, and studied music at Cameron University. She has spent 28 years with the WFISD, having built successful choral programs with students of diverse backgrounds. Melanie is also deeply invested in the music and creative arts community in Wichita Falls. Melanie is married to Kevin, and they have two daughters, Cassie and Krista. Melanie will officially begin her work with the church with Chancel Choir rehearsal on Wednesday, April 29, followed by worship on Sunday, May 3.

The SPRC and congregation at FUMCWF extend heartfelt gratitude to Ethan Rouse, who has served as the church’s interim choir director since January. The church will have an opportunity to express appreciation for Ethan during worship on Sunday, April 26.

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Holy Week kicks off on Palm Sunday, March 29, 2026! Join us all week long for daily lunchtime devotionals and special Holy Week services—check out all the details below! Then join us for worship on Easter Sunday, April 5, at 10:30 a.m.

Palm Sunday Procession

All children (through 5th grade) are invited to participate in the Palm Processional during worship on Sunday, March 29. Children should meet in the Narthex at 10:25 a.m. to line up. Younger children will need their parents’ help to process.

Palm Sunday Egg Hunt

All children (through 5th grade) are invited to participate in an Easter Egg Hunt after worship on Palm Sunday, March 29. Bring your own basket and meet in the Atrium!

Praying Through Holy Week

Join Georgia and Charles Harrison for Praying Through Holy Week 2026: Praying Like Jesus. This annual lunchtime devotional will take place from Monday, March 30, to Friday, April 3, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. in the Hospitality Room (110). You need to bring only yourself and your Bible! Soup and bread will be served promptly at noon, and we will finish each day no later than 1:00 p.m. However, you may linger as long as you want to continue in prayer. RSVP online. Can’t make it in person? Join Praying Through Holy Week via Zoom.

Maundy Thursday

Join FUMC for a Maundy Thursday service on April 2 at 6:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary. The church nursery will be available for children ages 3 and below (beginning at six weeks old).

Good Friday

Easter Sunday

Worship at 10:30 a.m. on Easter Sunday, April 5, in the Sanctuary and live online and on TV-KJBO.

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Rev. Aaron Logan Appointed as Senior Minister at FUMCWF Effective July 1

Dear Friends at First United Methodist Church,

On behalf of the church’s Staff-Parish Relations Committee, I am pleased to let you know that Rev. Aaron Logan has been appointed as the next Senior Minister at FUMCWF starting on July 1, 2026 as Rev. John McLarty begins his new role as a District Superintendent.

Raised in Lawton, Oklahoma, where his parents taught music at Cameron University, Aaron earned a
Bachelor’s Degree from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches and a Master’s of Divinity
from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

For the past five years, Aaron has served as the Senior Minister of the First United Methodist Church of
Henrietta. Prior to that, he held appointments at First United Methodist Church of Sherman, Aldersgate
United Methodist Church in Carrollton, and Trinity United Methodist Church in Denton. Before
answering the call to the ministry, Aaron sang professionally as an operatic tenor, transitioning from the
performance world into pastoral work.

Aaron brings a passion for people and has a heart for sharing the love of Jesus. He is committed to
welcoming people who are non-religious and nominally religious and introducing all to the love God.
Upon meeting with the SPRC, Aaron expressed his excitement to join the ministry of FUMCWF and to
serving and growing in this community for many years to come.

Aaron is married to Amy, a music teacher at West Foundation Elementary School in WFISD. They have
twin daughters, Madelynn and Abigail, who will graduate from Henrietta High School this spring.
Madelynn plans to study religious studies at Oklahoma City University and Abigail plans to study
psychology at the University of Arkansas this fall.

While Aaron’s appointment officially begins on July 1, his first Sunday will be on July 12. The
congregation will have a special time to welcome the Logan family immediately following worship that
day. I hope you will make plans to be present for that special time of worship. In the meantime, Aaron
will continue to serve his congregation in Henrietta, just as John will continue to serve our congregation.

If you have any questions about this process, please reach out to me or to Rev. John McLarty. I hope
you’ll join me in praying for the Logan family, the McLarty family, for FUMC Henrietta, and for our
congregation as we navigate this season of transition.

Sincerely,
Joel Blanco
Chair, Staff-Parish Relations Committee

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Pursuing Eagle Rank

Mason Macias, of Scout Troop 11, installed the church’s new Blessing Box just before Christmas in 2025. Located on the edge of the parking lot, on the 11th Street side in front of the Rock, the Blessing Box will function as a little free pantry, where anyone can take what they need and give what they can. The goal of this new ministry is to provide tangible blessings to unhoused, low-income, and food-insecure people.

Mason, who has participated in scouts since the 5th grade, approached church leadership with an idea to create the Blessing Box in pursuit of his Eagle Scout rank. To achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, one must be in a leadership position, have all required merit badges, and complete an act of service to the community. “My thought behind the Blessing Box came from the meal packaging we did in Cub Scouts. The hope I had was to create a central place for people to go and have something to rely on when they need it,” Mason said of his choice of Eagle Scout project.

It was a long road from conception to installation. Leadership first met with Mason and approved his project in the early spring of 2025, shortly after Scout Sunday at the church. Mason stated that the planning and design process was meticulous, thinking through every detail and how it could be improved, but the execution was the most challenging. “The time spent was demanding, and it was challenging to build. I struggled with the roofing the most because I was unsure how to do it. The original design had a flat roof, but I was recommended to change it, so I had to take the roofing off. Then I put the roofing on, and had to remove it again for paint, then the final time I put it back on right before installation at the church.”

During this time, the church staff eagerly awaited the installation of the Blessing Box. Office administrator Caitlin McNeely was so excited when she learned about Mason’s plan. “I immediately started looking up best practices for little free pantries and thinking about the best things to stock it with,” she said with a smile. “Within a few days of the Leadership Board approving Mason’s plan, I already had an Amazon wishlist of items to fill it with.”

After the Blessing Box was installed, Mason looked back on his time in the scouts, stressing how impactful scouting has been for him. It taught him how to lead, how to speak to others, and other skills that many young people don’t learn until they are in their early 20s. “I am thankful for the people I’ve met through scouting and the places I’ve been through scouting.” He maintained that he “would recommend that people have their kids join scouting because it helps them flourish.”

After graduation, Mason plans to work a summer job at Philmont in New Mexico, a high adventure camp with beautiful mountains, amazing views, and the place of his most memorable trips during his years with the scouts. He then plans to join the United States Air Force.

The church is thankful to Mason for his gift to us and our community! In the few months it has been up, it has already provided food and hygiene items to many of our neighbors in need. To help provide a steady flow of items to the Blessing Box, the church staff has set up a monthly subscription of groceries so that we can fill the box once every month. However, beyond that monthly fill, we’re relying on the generosity of church members.

Blessing Box Ministry

If you are interested in this ministry, please consider donating to the Blessing Box. Donations can be put directly into the Blessing Box, brought to the church office, or left in one of the donation bins found at the church entrances. We also have an Amazon Wishlist so you can send food items directly to the church.

When making donations, please consider the following best practices. One, remember that those using the Blessing Box may not have access to a stove, microwave, or can opener. Two, food is what’s needed most, especially cans with pull tabs like soup, Spaghetti-Os, and Vienna sausages. Three, hygiene items like deodorant, toothbrushes, and packs of wipes are also in high demand. Four, once the temperature starts to rise, avoid donating items that might melt or burst. Keeping these ideas in mind will help ensure the usefulness and longevity of the Blessing Box. 

The future of the Blessing Box depends on us. Caitlin is hopeful that the ministry will thrive and maybe even grow, explaining that her “dream for the Blessing Box is that enough church members will be passionate about stocking it that there is always something in there for people who need it. And if another Eagle Scout is looking for a project, [she’d] love to have a Little Free Library right next to it!”

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Wilderness

As hard as it may be to believe, we are already in the Christian “season” of Lent. Lent is that six-week stretch that leads us to Easter. I like to think of Lent as a journey and a time of preparation.

This year for Lent, I’m working with the image of “wilderness” as a guiding metaphor. While we might think of wilderness as a form of punishment or a means of escape, I think of wilderness as a place where God forms us.

Scripture is full of wilderness stories. Moses, Elijah, and Jesus are a few people in the Bible who spent time in the wilderness. The wilderness is where faith is stripped down to what matters most and where God shows up with surprising clarity.

Throughout the weeks of Lent leading to Easter, we will explore different aspects of wilderness found in Scripture: testing, waiting, loneliness, exile, fear, and even betrayal. Of course, these challenges are not confined to the Scriptures. We wrestle with them today. They are places many of us know well.

This Lent, I invite you to pay attention to where and how God is at work. And if you happen to feel like you are currently in some kind of wilderness, I pray that you will see this challenge not as something to rush through, but instead an opportunity for healing to happen, for courage to grow, and for faith and trust to be shaped.

I hope you will be intentional about your Lent journey this year. Maybe you will commit to worship each week, setting aside time for prayer, reflection, and meditation, engaging in a devotional practice, or simply naming the wilderness you are in right now. However you choose to practice Lent, I pray that it is a powerful time of growth and formation, one that leads you to greater joy as we celebrate the hope and good news of Jesus’ resurrection, his victory from the wilderness of death, on Easter Sunday.

Because this is the ultimate good news: God will not leave us in the wilderness. Lent always moves toward Easter. When we find ourselves in difficult places, we can trust God bring us out into new life.

Whatever wilderness you may find yourself in right now- exhaustion or elation, apprehensive or hopeful, suffering or celebrating – you are not alone. This Lent, let’s journey into the wilderness together, trusting that God will meet us there and lead us, in time, to the joy of resurrection.

With love, and joy, serving as your pastor,
John McLarty

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Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord, Jesus. Over the past few weeks, our church has
celebrated our connection as a family of faith, united by our God who is faithful from generation to
generation. And just as the story of faith is passed from one generation to the next, the baton of
leadership is also passed. So on behalf of our church’s Staff-Parish Relations Committee, I want to share
some news of an upcoming transition. It is with mixed emotions to announce that John has accepted an
invitation from Bishop Saenz to begin a new appointment as the Superintendent of the Mid-North and
East Districts of the Horizon Texas Conference, effective on July 1.

As you are probably aware, United Methodist pastors who belong to the Order of Elder are appointed
and assigned by the Bishop of the Annual Conference. Since 2017, Rev. John McLarty has been
appointed as our Senior Minister and has faithfully led our congregation. In John’s nine years of ministry
at FUMC, our church has invested several million dollars to complete significant repairs, updates,
restorations, and renovations to the church building. We have successfully navigated through seasons of
global pandemic and denominational schism. More recently, we completed a merger, which has served
as a catalyst for new growth and vitality. John’s leadership during this time has been blessing to the
church.

Transitions like this are not easy, but they are part of the rhythm of church life. As our District
Superintendent, John will continue to have a vested interest in our church, as well as an occasional
presence. He will also work to help empower and equip 80 churches and 92 pastors across the 16
counties that comprise his assigned districts. John will also contribute to the strategic work of the Bishop
and Cabinet of the Horizon Texas Conference. John will office in Wichita Falls and rack up miles in his
truck while Jennifer maintains her church membership at FUMCWF.
The Staff-Parish Relations Committee will soon begin the consultation process that will lead to the
appointment of our next Senior Minister. We will make that announcement once that work is
completed. In the meantime, our church will continue our mission of serving together, worshipping
together, and growing together. Rev. McLarty and I will have more to say about our next steps this Sunday (February 15, 2026) in worship. I hope to see you there.

Sincerely,
Joel Blanco
Chair, Staff-Parish Relations Committee

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The 2026 Crockpot Cookoff has been rescheduled for Sunday, February 1, following worship.

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Generations: God’s Faithfulness at Every Stage of Life

One of the most beautiful aspects of church life happens every Sunday morning. On any given pew in our sanctuary, you might find someone who grew up listening to the radio sitting next to someone who has never known a world without a smartphone. Throughout the congregation, there are people shaped by war, social movements, economic upheaval, and technological advances. Generations of faithful people all worshipping together.

To begin this year, our church will explore the six prevalent generations alive and active in the church right now in a sermon series called “Generations.” We will celebrate God’s faithfulness to every generation and how each generation brings unique gifts to the life of the church.

While it’s true that there is often some “sibling rivalry” among the generations, this series is not about comparisons or pitting anyone against another. Instead, we will listen, honor, and learn from each generation as we celebrate the strength, faith, and wisdom each one offers.

What I hope we will take from this series is a better understanding of how faith is shaped in different seasons of history, how God meets people in vastly different cultural moments, and how the church is at its best when generations walk together. I also hope each sermon feels encouraging as we are invited to see each other in new ways.

In the end, each sermon will point to the same truth: God’s faithfulness does not belong exclusively to any one generation. It is a gift to be shared, passed, received, and lived out together. In addition, for this series, each episode of The 11:35 Podcast will feature guests from the corresponding generation to bring further insight to the sermon.

Even though we are often divided in this world by our age and stage in life, the church has a unique opportunity to show how every voice has value and every season of life has a purpose. And whether you are young or old, new to the faith or deeply rooted, raising children or reflecting on a lifetime of experiences, there is a place for you in this story.

I hope you will join us each Sunday as we explore what it means to understand how God’s faithfulness endures from generation to generation.

With love, and joy, serving as your pastor,
John McLarty

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FUMCWF Friends,

I hope by now you have heard that Kristen Gossett, our Director of Music Ministries for over 25 years, is retiring at the end of December. We have a search team in place, and an interim choir director lined up as we prepare to navigate this transition. I am confident that we will be able to find the right person to lead our music ministry into its next chapter.

For right now, our focus is to gratefully celebrate Kristen’s faithful ministry with our church. We will do this in the following ways: 1) We have a special moment of recognition planned for Kristen in worship on Sunday, December 21, including the Chancel Choir singing Kristen’s favorite Christmas anthem; 2) Immediately following worship on December 21, there will be a reception in Kristen’s honor in the Prothro Family Atrium; 3) The church will be offering a token of our appreciation in the form of a financial gift for Kristen. Members of the church are invited to contribute to this gift by designating their gift to “Kristen.” (An alternative to this is for individuals to offer gifts to Kristen directly.)

Kristen has blessed this congregation with her faithful service, and we will miss her leadership. (Thankfully, Kristen assures me that she intends to stay connected to the church as part of the congregation.) Please keep Kristen in your prayers as she begins this new chapter. And keep the church in your prayers as we chart the course ahead of us.

As always, I am happy to visit more if you have questions. I look forward to seeing you this Sunday when we worship God together.

With joy, and gratitude, serving as your pastor-
John McLarty

A Letter of Gratitude from Kristen Gossett

Merry Christmas! As we celebrate this joyful season, my heart is filled with deep gratitude for each of you.

This Christmas marks the close of 25+ years of directing choirs at FUMC Wichita Falls—a journey that has blessed me beyond measure. Throughout these years, I have witnessed God at work through your presence, participation, and support of our music ministry. You have shared your gifts generously, week after week, season after season, and together we have offered our very best back to the Lord.

To the choirs and singers: thank you for your dedication, your beautiful voices, and your willingness to serve through music. You have inspired me, encouraged me, and continually reminded me why music is such a powerful expression of faith.

To the choir parents: thank you for your constant support, encouragement, and for helping make this ministry possible. Your partnership has been invaluable.

To the congregation: thank you for your encouragement and support. Your gifts and words of affirmation and praise for our music ministry are a gift for all of us.

As I look back over my time in ministry with all of you, I am thankful for the memories, but also the love, trust, and partnership you have shown. It has been one of the greatest joys of my life to lead you, to grow with you, and to worship alongside you.

May this Christmas season fill you with peace, joy, and God’s abundant love.

With gratitude and blessings,
Kristen Gossett

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