Meet our Team
Rev. Patty Walker
Prairie Campus Minister
pattyw@fumc-cs.org, 719-471-8522, x204
Patty has midwestern roots, hailing from Indiana, and then serving churches in Cleveland for 11 years, before moving to Colorado Springs in 2007. In the Springs, she served as a Pikes Peak Hospice chaplain for 5 years, and then came on the ministerial staff at First United Methodist Church (FUMC) Downtown in 2012. In 2019, God called her to this crazy and holy adventure of planting the Prairie Campus out on the eastern plains. She is excited to be reaching new folks with the message of God’s extravagant love in Jesus Christ. Patty is married to Roger, and they have three kids, Sam, Maggie, and Luke. They decided to get a puppy (Theo) at the same time as planting this new church because what’s a little more chaos and a lot more love!
Patty was ordained in the United Church of Christ in 1996, after graduating from Yale Divinity School that same year. In 2022, she transferred her ordination credentials (a four year process!) to the United Methodist Church by becoming an elder and full member of the Mountain Sky Conference.
Justin Anderson
Director of Music
Justin played in a rock band, toured America for almost a decade, then became a worship leader for various churches, and is now working in sales & estimating, in addition to directing the music ministry at the Prairie Campus. He is married to his beautiful wife Holly, and they delight in their twin daughters Sadie & Olive and their son, Henry. His faith journey is all about realizing unity with God and others: we are not separate; we are never alone. He prays that music and worship at FUMC Prairie will be an invitation to recognize God within ourselves and each other – “a space in which we celebrate the holiness of our ordinary lives, experience the beauty of God, and wake up to our interdependence through uniting our voices in song.”
Laura Bathje
Volunteer Coordinator of Parish Life
Laura Bathje (bay-che) has called Prairie home since walking into a service three years ago. She and her husband, Dan, moved to Colorado from the Midwest in 1999 and have four children: Seth, Emily, Josiah, and Mark. By day, Laura is a licensed counselor specializing in in-home family trauma therapy. In her spare time, you’ll find her singing, dancing, gardening, remodeling, or hanging out with her pups, Reese and Skye. Laura believes building community is a great honor and is excited to serve.
Tami and Teri Todd
Directors of Fellowship Ministries: Special Event Planning
Tami and Teri Todd moved from Minnesota to Monument in 2023 and love hiking, biking, camping, and volunteering with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Tami, who grew up in The United Methodist Church, has a background in Applied Mathematics and works in IT. Teri has a degree in Accounting and serves as a Payroll Tax Manager.
Sr. Íte Marie Zaharias
Director of Children and Youth Ministries
Sr. Íte Marie Zaharias is a monastic currently serving as Co-Director of Oblate Formation in The Communion of the Mystic Rose, a contemplative religious order of the Episcopal church. She is coming to us from Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church (downtown CoSprings) where she has been an active congregant. Sr. Íte (pronounced Ee-t-ah) has served in several ministries including Stephen Ministries Leader, Children's Ministries, Confirmation Formation, Sacred Arts, and Contemplative/Meditation practices. She looks forward to bringing all her experience in spiritual formation to serve Youth and Children with love that brings wholeness and blessings; and that helps deeply unite them, with full awareness, to the Spirit of God that dwells within their own center.
Hannah Shepperd
Director of Communications
prairiecommunications@fumc-cs.org
Hannah grew up in The United Methodist Church, and though originally from Alabama, she now calls Colorado home. She has enjoyed serving nonprofits across the country through communications and outreach. You can usually find her reading, running, or hiking with her husband and two daughters. Together, they love movement and anything outside. Life is short, we’re happy to be here!
Kent Bair
Director of Technology
In high school I was active in the Methodist Youth Fellowship and the contemporary, travelling church youth choir. I’ve served on Admin board and the Foundation board at downtown FUMC. I was a part of an adult Sunday School class at FUMC and have led several small group studies at the Prairie Campus. I have a Bachelor of Science degree (Computer Science) from Utica College of Syracuse University and have worked in the high-tech industry for 40 years. I have coded millions of lines of software, and it's still my favorite high-tech activity. This role at Prairie Campus is giving me the opportunity to discover how I might be able to combine my skills with technology, my love for teaching, and the call to ministry.
Jay (volunteer) and Jill Sawyer grew up in Charlotte, NC. Though raised in different faith traditions—Jill was Southern Baptist and Jay was Presbyterian—their journeys led them to the UMC. Jay served nearly 30 years in the U.S. Army, taking them across the country and overseas. After 16 years in the Hampton Roads area, they returned to CO in 2022. Jill, formerly a pediatric physical therapist, stepped away from the field when they moved to the Springs, and became a special ed paraprofessional. Jay now works in resource integration at US Space Command. Married nearly 39 years, they are proud parents to two grown children. They look forward to helping others grow in their walk with God.
Lynn Strong
Director of Caring Ministries
Lynn was a registered nurse with experience in multiple aspects of hospital, home care and community nursing. In addition, she was the Director of Caring Ministries and Parish Nurse for FUMC Downtown for over 4 years. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Stuart, and they have three grown children and three grandchildren. She writes of her faith, “My Father God is merciful and loving. He directs my hands and feet to serve, nurture, feed, and love on all people that He places in my life.” Through Caring Ministries at the Prairie Campus, she hopes to be able to walk with all God’s people, in every aspect of life: times of crisis and pain, times of happiness and joy, giving comfort and sharing God’s unending compassion.
Theo
While Theo is not “officially“ on the Prairie Campus Staff, he is really cute. His other claims to fame are barking at nothing, eating string cheese, and occasionally coming to church when one of Pastor Patty’s kids bring him.