Rev. Dr. Vicki Miller Brendler

Grace and Peace be with you in the name of our Risen Savior!

     I was surprised and delighted(?) to be approached a few weeks ago by Reverend Dr. Eunice Vega-Perez, our District Superintendent, that the bishop would like me to serve in a half-time appointment.

   “Let me at least tell you where it is.”  “OK.” I assented,

    “It’s Newton.” she said.  I was quiet for a moment before I replied, “Oh! That’s different, then. Did you know that as a young pastor, I had always wanted to serve the church in Newton? I still can’t do half-time, but if you could you put together a team approach, I would be glad to coordinate it; that way I could still do some traveling and still help do the work at Newton.”  She liked the idea too!  And so, she presented that possibility to Bishop Schol and he suggested that Monica Mafarachisi, a bright third-year student at Drew Seminary who had been accepted into the annual conference’s Mosaic program for helping develop talented young pastors, would be a great one to work with me and this congregation. Additionally, as needed, our work will be supplemented by a Lay Servant or Lay Servants.  We met together with the Staff-Parish Committee and we were all excited about how God might use us to help the church heal from some past hurts, do a good assessment of where we are, and do some dreaming about where God is calling us to go into the future. 

So, let me take an opportunity to introduce myself as the Elder half of your new pastoral team as of July 2024. During my 40 years of active ministry, I faithfully served local churches in rural, urban, and suburban settings and was also the Raritan/Raritan Valley District Superintendent (1996-2004).  The last 13 years prior to my retirement in 2018, I served Bridgewater UMC. I did my Master of Divinity at Drew Seminary and my Doctor of Ministry at Wesley Seminary (with my good friend Rev. Nancy Belsky). I also have taught UM doctrine and polity at Palmer Seminary in Philadelphia and church administration at Drew Seminary as an adjunct professor, as well as the Advanced Lay Speaker’s classes a number of times.

     I am a trained Stephen Ministry Leader, have taught many levels of Disciple Bible Study (both the full length and short-term courses), and am also a trained Intentional Interim pastor, which I think will be helpful for our work together in the coming year. I love music and worship; I love to sing (both traditional and contemporary music) and ring handbells (4-in-hand in my younger years!). I love to be with people and have a passion for sharing God’s love with people. I also am committed to earth care, justice ministries, and the completeness of God’s love for and the church’s inclusion of all people regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. I love children, especially babies, and take our work with children and youth and young families very seriously.

   On a personal front, I have been married to Larry Brendler for almost 52 years.  We have four grown daughters (Sarah, Rebecca and Rachel [who are twins], and Jessica) and 7 grandchildren.  In retirement I enjoy organic gardening (and canning and freezing what we grow), traveling, reading, playing games on my iPad, cooking/being a foodie, and spending time with family and friends.

   I look forward to working together with you in the coming year to help this congregation find its way into the abundant future that God is dreaming for you!

Pastor Monica Mafarachisi

My name is Monica Kudakwashe Mafarachisi . I was born and raised in Zimbabwe. I grew up at Mutambara Mission, a United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe. I was born in a family of three kids, two boys and one girl. My father was a Reverend in the United Methodist Church before he passed away in the year 2000. 

I did my high school at Hartzell High School and l did my Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting at Rhodes University. I have worked in the Accounting field for over 5 years. Currently l am a Master of Divinity student at Drew University in my third year. My vocation is the United Methodist Ministry.

My call to ministry started in 2020 during the pandemic. The isolation and time alone allowed me to reflect on my purpose in life. My main calling that l discovered during that time was pastoral care. I believe that isolation and disconnecting can allow us to grow closer to God.

Office Administrator: Kathleen Meredith

Kathleen Meredith has been a member of First United Methodist Church of Newton since 2000 and joined the staff as office administrator in 2021. She is a Certified Lay Servant and fills the pulpit as she is needed.

Prior to working at Newton FUMC, she worked in anatomic pathology data management at Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals in Lafayette, NJ, which later became part of Merck Pharmaceuticals in Summit, NJ.

She resides in Hackettstown NJ with her beloved calico, Kiki, and is mother of two grown children and grandmother of four.

Kathleen Meredith