News & Stories

Noah Kinard

Noah cares about his friends, family, and community. He finds joy in seeing people happy. God is teaching Noah to love others. He chose to join FPC Dallas because of the community and how welcoming everyone is.

Robert Haney

Robert cares about his family, his YaYa—she’s not doing very well. He finds joy in hanging out with his friends. He likes to play trombone in his school band and learn new music. He finds joy in family time—especially board games. He also finds joy in camping and going to meetings with his Boy Scout troop. God is teaching Robert that it’s okay to not have everything perfect. There’s going to be a mistake in every part of his life. He just needs to remember that when things aren’t as perfect as he wants them to be. Robert chose to join FPC Dallas because he was born into FPC. He really likes how everyone cares about everyone else. It’s like a big family. Like how there are different services and classes. The church is really fun and everyone is kind.

Cassidy Desler

Cassidy cares about many things, but the things closest to her heart include her family, without which she would not be here. She cares for her friends, who keep me destressed and having fun, her education, which she values and is indescribably grateful for, and her faith, which is ever changing and accommodating to her as she grows.  

Cassidy finds joy in life, on a large scale. She is filled with joy every time she wakes up and remembers she has another day to spend time with people she loves. She finds joy in living in her healthy body, and exploring this world that God has given us. Alongside that, it's the little things. Dogs at the park, good tacos, hot yoga, an A on a hard assignment, it's all so joyful!!

God is teaching Cassidy trust, how to believe in his plan and trust that she is right where she needs to be at all times. To trust that God has her back and will make sure it all turns out just right, even if it's not right in the way she thought it would be!

She chose to join FPC Dallas because it feels like a second home to her. She grew up at this church, has friends for days at this church, and has never failed to feel loved, accepted, and cared for at this church. She couldn't imagine having her faith journey anywhere else!!

Daniel and Erika Estrada

Daniel cares deeply about his family, who he has around him, and how he presents himself. He finds joy in growth, as well as seeing his children grow in their experiences in this world. These things bring him absolute joy! God is teaching Daniel how to better understand everything: people, life, growth, experiences. He chose to join FPC Dallas because after a very long search for the right church, it finally felt right. Being at FPC Dallas feels like a whole new book, a change in the life of his family. Erica and him have let the kids help in guiding their decision on if this is the right spot and the kids are the tipping factor!

Erika cares about the advancement of young people who are the first in their family to attend college and advocating for the needs of the Latinx community.

She enjoys slow-paced meaningful time with her children.

Relying on God for her strength, Erika feels seen and accepted in the Wood Street worship, finding the welcoming community creates a safe place to grow in her faith. She enjoys the convenient location, the childcare facility for her little family, and the consistency. She looks forward to their time at FPC.

ABRAHAM DISASA

Abraham cares about his family, being successful in school, having a good relationship with his friends, sports and what it means to be on a team, and supporting his teammates. He finds joy in spending quality time with the people he loves, as well as playing and winning in sports. God is teaching him not to take things or people for granted and to cherish every moment that he has with the people he loves. Sometimes stuff happens and then they’re not there. Those moments that you cherish will not always be there, so you need to cherish them. Abraham chose to join FPC Dallas because it makes him feel more a part of the community. He wanted to take another step in his faith and getting confirmed was like associating himself with FPC Dallas.

Emily Miranda 

Emily cares about everything: people, animals, food, community. She cares about becoming her own person, building, preserving, supporting community. She cares a lot. She also finds joy in everything: good food, ice cream, culture in general, museums, music, movies, spending time with people she cares about, spending time talking about the things she cares about. The little things really matter. God has been teaching Emily the gift of patience and she has had a very hard time grasping it. It has been a difficult time of learning to be content with what is happening now. Breathing and resting is difficult. Additionally, she is working on unlearning that she always has to be doing something. Emily has chosen to join FPC Dallas right now because when she moved to Dallas she needed a new church home. She grew up going to the same church for 20 years. Being able to choose her own church home has been really exciting. She found this church because it was important for her to find an inclusive community of faith. She found this church on gaychurch.org. There was also a choir she could get involved in even though she had never sung in a choir before. There is also a young adult presence! It has felt good and still feels good.

Matt and Sarah Kindard

Matt and Sarah care about doing our best to live lives of faith, gratitude and generosity. They find joy in traveling as a family, cooking and hosting a good meal for a big crowd, skiing just a little too fast to keep up with the kids, and learning from others. God teaching is teaching them right now that our lives are at their best when they keep their gratitude higher than their expectations. Seeking the uncomfortable provides opportunities for growth. Sarah and Matt are lifelong Presbyterians with generational history with the church. Decent and in order is the right place for them so they know their denomination! They chose to join FPC because they believe community is more than where you live, go to school, and where you work. They love that FPC is a destination church, bringing God’s children from all over the area to be in community, share, and help one another grow. The diversity inherent in a downtown and destination church brings a richness to the community that aligns with how they seek and serve God.

Abigail griffin

Abigail cares about friends, family, and neighbors. She finds joy in succeeding, trying her best in her schoolwork, as well as in sports. She excels on the soccer team and also long-distance running. God is teaching her many things, but most importantly God is showing her how to have patience and that trusting in God will lead to everything working out in the end. She is joining FPC Dallas because her parents go here and also she likes that it is an open and welcoming church for ALL. She especially likes the fact that woman are in prominent leadership roles at the church. This means a great deal to her.

Zach Light-Wells

Zach cares for his wife and pets. He cares about good food, pickleball, social justice, and our relationship with the earth and animals and what that means for today. Zach finds joy in hiking, rafting, being in creation, really good food, a really good bassline in a song, playing the bass, and gardening. God is teaching Zach about what it means to exist in the world in which we live. It has been a humbling process and ongoing lessons he is learning are: Less is more; The pervasiveness of consumerism in our culture. Zach has chosen to join FPC Dallas right now because FPC Dallas is a community for him beyond him as a staff member. He wanted to work at this church because he believed in the vision and mission of the church. In addition to this, the love the community of the church extends to Zach (and Jessie) is beyond him as an employee of the church.

Rhett Desler

Rhett cares about his family, his community, and his friends. He finds joy in traveling, in meeting new people, in food, and hanging out with friends and family. God is teaching Rhett many things. Most importantly, God is teaching him the importance of trust and love. God loves him unconditionally, and Rhett trusts God with his path and his life. Rhett chose to join FPC Dallas because he has built a community here. He also loves the way FPC Dallas teaches things, and the people of FPC Dallas.

Ryan Jones

Ryan cares about finding and experiencing joy in all spaces of life. He finds joy in being seen, heard, loved, being transparent, being him. God is teaching Ryan about vulnerability. Vulnerability is popping up in so many components of his life, from his new job, to time with his family, to the church. Being vulnerable is bringing him joy whereas in the past he had been taught that vulnerability was negative thing. Ryan chose to join FPC Dallas because we are doing the work of social justice and sharing love. FPC Dallas is not just making noise, we are making movement. The way in which the church worships, and how it holds silence invites him into profound moments of vulnerability before God. It brings him to tears.

Baldwin Brown

Baldwin cares about Birds! He is interested in the way birds innately have the ability to fly. He is envious. His favorite kind of flying bird is the Duck. He finds joy in spending time with loved ones. God is teaching Baldwin how to care of others in need. He chose to join FPC Dallas because he needed a break from the toxicity that was felt in his prior church.

Kayla Boyer

Kayla is a middle school assistant principal in downtown Dallas who is extremely passionate about life. She cares immensely about supporting teachers, serving students, mental health, and social justice. “How we care for others is how we change the world.”

When asked what brings her joy, Kayla replied, “traveling, being outdoors, walking, running, mountains, beaches, driving, road trips, time with friends, time with family (even though they all live far away in Chattanooga, TN), concerts, trivia nights, board games, puzzles, cooking, church, and my very cute chiweenie dog, Leo.”

God has been teaching her to practice being in the present moment - to have mindfulness. Constantly managing stress, anxiety, and life is helping her focus on the present. God is peace and always there breathing peace into all of the different moments.

Kayla feels that FPC is doing the work a church is supposed to be doing – it is community centered, serving not just the community inside the church but the community it is in, bringing about the kingdom of heaven in a nondiscriminatory way. It is working for social justice - connecting and providing resources for people in need, like at the Stewpot. Kayla wants to be a part of this work. “I feel there is a lot of power in living, working, and going to church in my community.”

Jane and Daniel Driver

Daniel is motivated in his life to be helpful and useful, Daniel cherishes authentic, deep relationships with others and loves spending time with others and seeing them happy. He likes to get out into nature. Music and coffee are also on his list of joys. Daniel has come to grips with the difficult concept that God is present everywhere and in everything, including both suffering and joy.

Jane cares about people in her life and relishes being the one you call when you want to cry or vent or celebrate something. She is active and creative and finds joy in hiking, lifting, word play, pickleball, laughing, even revamping all the baseboards in their house. At the end of the day, she likes to be tired, looking back at all she has accomplished.

In Daniel and Jane’s theodicy they have found it necessary to have peace with the unknown and not have all the answers. They believe that Christianity is not meant to be a solo practice. It is hard to be a Christian alone. They have found at FPC action comes first, followed by theology and talking. They enjoy attending a church with diversity, where people can be new and not necessarily a part of a culturally homogenous tradition. They appreciate the diversity of Wood Street.

Allen and Holly Griffin

Allen and Holly care about growing in their faith as well as getting to know other church members. They find joy in spending time with their three grown children and their families, including two adorable grandchildren. Holly enjoys cooking and Allen enjoys eating. Allen is an obsessive college sports fan (Sic ‘em, Bears!!) and Holly is an avid reader. They enjoy celebrating BOTH of their birthdays on St. Patrick’s Day. Other important parts of their life are time spent in art museums, traveling and time shared with friends. God is teaching them both to be open-minded and to discern God’s will for their lives. They have decided to join FPC Dallas because it was important for us to join a church that is open and affirming to all of God’s children.

Calleigh Simpson

Calleigh cares about family, church, friends, sports, deforestation, gun control, education, and helping others. She finds joy in her family, her grandparents Shell and Mickey, her Uncle Billy, Aunt Liz and Sam, Aunt Sally Jane, her cats, basketball, soccer, Camp Gilmont, traveling, and friends. God is teaching Calleigh how to pray, how to be forgiving, accepting, helpful and generous. God is teaching her to love others. She chose to join FPC Dallas because she wanted to follow her parents. She chose to be a member of FPC Dallas because this is her church and it is her family.