United Presbyterian Church

Staff

The session is pleased to announce that Rev Dr. Paul Burns will serve the congregation as a part-time minister during our search for a new pastor.   Paul will moderate the session, lead Sunday worship, and provide pastoral care, working primarily Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday, with on-call availability as needed for hospital visits and similar events.  His biography is below.  Please join us as we welcome Paul beginning Sunday, March 27th.
Rev. Dr. Paul Burns is an active ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and a member of Grace Presbytery. He is the Founder and Executive Director of Soul-Metrics.com. He coaches and trains ministry leaders as well as consults with churches and denominations in the area of spiritual health. He earned his Doctorate of Ministry for developing his ground-breaking spiritual health assessment, the GPS Spiritual Inventory, at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He was ordained as a minister after completing his Master of Divinity from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and served as a pastor for 15 years. He previously served as the senior pastor of Priest Lake Presbyterian Church of Nashville, TN and First Presbyterian Church of Garland, TX. Most recently he served as the interim pastor of St. Mark Presbyterian Church of Dallas, TX.
His first love is vocal music, and received his Bachelor of Music from the University of Oklahoma. Before becoming a minister, he worked as an investment consultant for Wall Street and narrowly avoided being in the Twin Towers on the morning of 9/11. He is also a published author. His books include “Prayer Encounters: Changing the World One Prayer at a Time,” “Blessing Encounters: Creating Family One Blessing at a Time,” and “The Sabbath Challenge: Learning to Rest in a World That Never Sleeps.” He lives in Sachse, TX, with Jennifer, his wife of 21 years, Nelson and Campbell, their children, and their faithful dog, Chuy. And one last thing, Paul loves to cook, especially Texas-style BBQ and Chili (No Beans!).

 

Ethan Gainer, Music Coordinator/Organist

Ethan is our music coordinator/lead musician/accompanist/organist extraordinaire! He joined the UPC staff in early 2021. Ethan Gainer, FAGO, was the first ever winner of the newly created Colleague Prize of the American Guild of Organists in 2015. In 2017 he was accepted as a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists (FAGO), winning the Fellowship Prize for the highest score in the nation on that year’s examination. In 2018 he began studying Organ Performance with Jesse Eschbach at the University of North Texas where he was recognized with the Outstanding Graduate Student in Organ award, and in 2019 was the First Prize winner in the graduate division of the 48th Hall Pipe Organ Competition in San Antonio. He is currently planning a series of recitals presenting the complete organ works Marcel Dupré. Ethan lives in Greenville with his wife, Mary, and two sons, John and James.

 

Heather Lind, Family Ministries Coordinator

Pat De Mayo, Administrative Assistant