John is starting his 25th year appointed as a pastor in the North Georgia Annual Conference. In that time, John has served in small churches to start (Epworth/McCaysville 1997-1999, The Good Shepherd (1999-2001), a church start (Wesley Way 2001-2007), Ringgold (2007-2014), St John UMC Atlanta (2014-2017) and Simpsonwood in the years following. John’s deep loves are baseball, cooking, deep sea fishing (and hunting), the Tour De France, ministries of recovery and deepening discipleship in Jesus Christ.



John attended the Candler School of Theology and is a diehard Florida State Seminole, attending as an undergraduate. It was at the Wesley Foundation at Florida State that John first received and responded to the grace of being loved in Jesus Christ. The remaining three years at Florida State were spent on the program staff at the FSU Wesley Foundation, the last two years coordinating the staff. The grace of being loved in Christ soon took the shape of a call to pastoral ministry that John continues to answer. John follows in the footsteps of his grandfather who was a pastor himself for nearly 40 years. Currently, John is in the first year of a 3 year course through Narrow Gate Ministries, pursuing intentional development of making disciples in the local congregation.



John and Beth have been married for 25 years. They are blessed with children, Ian, 19 and Grace 17. Ian is finishing his first year majoring in Industrial Engineering at Georgia Tech while Grace prepares for her senior year at Wesleyan in pursuit of veterinary medicine. Both possess infectious laughs that make the home a haven of life and love. Ian's great love is hunting/fishing and is a seriously good shot with a bow. Grace is an avid gardener, reader and lover of all things that walk with 4 feet.



Beth’s vocational calling has been doing home health for over 25 years as a physical therapist where she loves her patients to health in the home. She has worked for Amedisys for the past 14 years and was the Southeast Therapist of the Year in 2020 for her company. Beth’s ‘other’ passion/obsession involves a serious commitment as a Tennessee Volunteer football fan. She grew up in Northeast Tennessee (Rogersville) and has been known to wear orange obnoxiously on those rare Sundays after a Saturday victory. She possesses some seriously orange shoes in preparation/training for the 2021 season and a new coach! Beth has long been involved in women’s ministries and sings in the choir.



As a family, the Purrington's enjoy trips taken to some of America’s national parks, the God given journey in ministry and the grace of sharing life together with the local church. The Purringtons are excited about the grace of serving Monroe First UMC and look forward to what God will do in the days ahead.

Joe is a native of Alabama, a former member of the South Georgia Conference, and currently an elder in the North Georgia Conference. He holds degrees from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Emory University, and Georgia State University. Joe is married to Cathy, and they have a son, Jonathan. At FUMC, Joe is responsible for developing and directing the Chancel Choir.

I was raised in Athens, Georgia and have been a United Methodist my entire life. Growing up, I was an active member of the Youth Group at Athens First United Methodist Church and served on several committees. Upon Graduation from Clarke Central High School in 2002, I attended Georgia College and State University. Majoring in Health Sciences with a concentration in Community Health, I also was a four-year Letterman on the college baseball team. In my senior season I was 2nd team All-Conference and 2nd team All-Region as a pitcher. Our team won the regular season conference championship and was one game away from the college world series.

My wife Ashley and I have 3 beautiful children and are blessed and excited to be at MFUMC. While at FUMC I obtained a Master's degree from Asbury Theological Seminary with a concentration in Christian Ministries.

I enjoy spending time with family and friends, playing golf and seeing our youth and the church grow in their relationship with God.

Laura Vosburgh is our Administrative Assistant. She worked at FUMC from November 2004 until February 2006 and later returned in June 2010. Laura is a member of the Professional Association of United Methodist Church Secretaries (PAUMCS) and in June 2014 completed the course of study and met all the requirements to become a Certified United Methodist Church Secretary.

Laura is a native Georgian and a huge Bulldog fan! She is married to Howard and they have four daughters and two granddaughters. Staying busy is at the top of Laura’s list especially with home repair projects, working out, sewing, organizing, and spending time with her “girls”. When time allows, Laura reads and watches old movies (The ‘40’s of course). Getting more involved with missions projects at her church and currently serving on a couple of committees keep her very busy too.

Lisa is a native of Monroe and has been the Director of Finance at FUMC since 2003. Lisa is responsible for maintaining contributions and financial records and for overseeing the operations of the church.

She is married to Harold "4-Barrel" Peters and has a daughter, Brittany, and 2 lovely granddaughters. In her off-time she enjoys working out, spending time with "her girls", attending car shows with her husband, and relaxing in her swimming pool. She is also the caregiver for her mother.

Randy is responsible for overseeing the audio, video, and technical needs for all Monroe FUMC services. He also helps with the stage design and construction for the 9:00 Connect Service. He has worked as a full-time software developer in Atlanta since 1992. In his spare time he loves to fish. Randy and his wife, Julie, live in Monroe and have been members of Monroe FUMC since 1997. They have three children; Kelsey, Justin, and Madison.

Jessie has worked for FUMC for over 20 years. He keeps the main church building, including the Fellowship Hall and kitchen, neat and clean. He also sets up for all functions, both church-related and private. Jessie meets every challenge with a willing attitude and a smile. Jessie is a member of the Church of God. He plays the guitar and enjoys baseball and football.

Jake is an excellent chef who retired from the Monroe Golf and Country Club. He is in charge of our Wednesday Night Suppers and always serves up a great meal! Jake also has a private catering business.

Lisa graduated from The University of Montevallo with a degree in Music Education. She retired from public school teaching as a music teacher after 30 years in the Americus City School System, DeKalb and Rockdale County Public Schools Systems.

In July of 2014 she became our Director of Children's & Youth Music. She feels that music plays a vital role in the spiritual upbringing of a child. The children of FUMC will feel God's presence and love as they grow stronger in their faith through various music.

In August of 2017 she took on a second role by also becoming the Director of Children's Ministry.

Lisa is originally from Alabama, but has lived and taught music in Georgia since 1983. She lives in Social Circle with her husband Doug and their two children, Emma and Davis.

Janet Clark studied organ and harpsichord at the doctoral level with Dr. Egbert Ennulat in the Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia. She received a Master of Music Education with a major in piano performance from Mississippi State University, and a Bachelor of Music with a major in piano performance from the University of Arkansas. Additional pedagogues were Dr. Loren Withers of Duke University, Louis Galanffy, a professor at the Royal Academy of Music in Budapest, and Despy Karlas of the University of Georgia. American Guild of Organists, Georgia Music Teachers' Association and National Piano Guild Auditions are representative professional associations.

Early formative experiences include learning at age 7 a first hymn for accompanying a small congregation, and frequently accompanying multi-generational "gather-round the piano" family songsters.

Janet enjoys both improvisation and learning new music from manuscript. She is thankful for her 17 years as organist-accompanist for Monroe First United Methodist to corporately "love God with heart, mind, soul and strength" and to affirm Jesus Christ, God's only begotten son (Y'shua, the Messiah) as personal Savior, Baptizer, Healer and Soon-coming King!

Janet and her husband Rex have 1 son, 2 daughters and 4 granddaughters.

Wayne assists Jake in the FUMC kitchen, helping to insure that all meals are properly prepared and most excellent!

Pete has called Monroe home since 1996 and has been leading worship in local churches since his teens. One of his greatest joys has been worshiping with believers around the world while helping lead short term mission trips to Europe and South America, including Brazil where he met his wife Renata in 2008. They have 2 sons, Daniel and Aaron.

Pete has been a real estate investor and licensed Realtor in Walton County since 2004. He enjoys all things sports, a good steak, and traveling with his family.

Rebeccah has been working in ministry for more than 11 years. She studied at the University of Rhode Island and has a graphic design background. She has one son who attends Young Harris College. She enjoys any kind of water activity, painting, hiking and reading.