Sandy Ridge UMC- Staff

Hi, that's me with my husband, Doug, and our two beautiful daughters. They are now in high school and middle school respectively. We had this family portrait made in the mountains of Lake Lure, NC where my wonderful in-laws now reside. I come from a long line of Methodist preachers. My husband is a United Methodist pastor in Grays Chapel (Franklinville, NC) where we live. I am also the daughter of a UM pastor as well as a daughter-in-law of one. There are four other United Methodist clergy in our families combined representing 4 annual conferences and jurisdictions in the United Methodist Church. Although we serve different churches, Doug and I are in our 20th year of serving churches together in North Carolina. We are natives of West Virginia (and both graduates of WV Wesleyan College in 1988). We moved south to attend Duke Divinity School where we both graduated with a Master's in Divinity Degree in 1992. We were ordained elders in the Western NC Conference in 1994. I have served a number of churches, both rural and suburban in Mt. Airy, Sandy Ridge (in Sandy Ridge, NC), Madison, Pine Hall, Ramseur. In 2008 I finished a DMin degree from Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, NC and began serving Sandy Ridge UMC (in High Point/Colfax) in June, 2008.

Now that you know all of that, you should also know that I believe in the Church as the hope of the world. So do the people I am privileged to serve with at Sandy Ridge. While we are a small membership church, we have a big heart especially for people who are recovering from all kinds of sins. We have ministries for people of all ages, but we are particularly called to minister to those who are battling addiction. We believe it is precisely because we are small enough to be a family, but big enough to care that has given us the ability to receive broken people into loving arms. We know this because as sinners we have been broken, too. But know this, God's love is bigger than any brokenness you might have. Jesus died for us "while we were yet sinners and this proves His love for us." (Romans 5:8).

If you would like to know more about the specific ministries God has called us to at Sandy Ridge, your best course of action is to come and worship with us on Sunday where you can join the rest of us who are recovering sinners. There you will see a very open worship service with lots of praise music, prayer, and teaching of God's Word. We guarantee that when you come, you will not leave empty! Give us a try. What are you waiting for? We'll be waiting for you!

Blessings,
Rev. Dr. Mary Rowe Miller, Pastor
Sandy Ridge United Methodist Church