Meet Our Ministry Team
We’d love for you to get to know the dedicated people who lead our church and support us in ministry. They are passionate about serving residents of the local community, surrounding areas and beyond for the glory of God. They welcome hearing from you, should you want to learn more about the specific area of ministry they lead.
Thomas Stubbs
Pastor
The Reverend Thomas Stubbs was appointed to Yorktown UMC in July of 2024 after serving as Associate Pastor at Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church in Ridgefield, Connecticut for three years. Before that, he lived in Durham, North Carolina, where he earned his Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School. He believes that when we follow Christ, we discover more about who we are and who we are meant to become as beloved children of God, and his chief joy as a pastor lies in creating opportunities for folks to do just that.
Thomas is a Knoxville, Tennessee native—Go Vols!—and in his free time, he enjoys any opportunity to engage with the world of theatre and choral music—as an audience member or an enthusiastic (amateur) participant! At any given moment, he can be found spending quality time with friends, reading, writing, and doing so-so impressions of long-dead television personalities.
As a United Methodist Minister, Thomas is appointed not only to Yorktown UMC but to the Northern Westchester Cooperative Parish, a collection of regional, integrated United Methodist congregations in our area. In that capacity, he swaps pulpits once a month with Certified Lay Minister Marie Bell, preaching and administering the sacrament of Holy Communion at Grace UMC, Putnam Valley.
Karen Longwell
Director of Music Ministry
With 40 years in the performing arts and 13 years working in liturgical music, she is excited to take the helm of YUMC’s music endeavors. Karen’s Bachelor’s degree in theater and music has prepared her to meet the challenges of this diverse worshipping community at YUMC.
She has performed on Broadway, Carnegie Hall, Radio City, and concert halls across this country, in operas, Broadway shows, and concerts; always gaining insight into what captures a listener’s heart and mind. Clearly good quality music is paramount, but also a relevant message. After a lifetime of piano-playing Karen learned the organ, studying with Lana Kollath, and now is the Secretary for the American Guild of Organists (Westchester).
Karen’s teaching background has prepared her to address the formative needs of children: She has taught voice and piano ever since she substituted for her own voice teacher; her 8 years working in summer camps taught Karen how to write plays based on the children’s suggestions. She spent 8 years as Music Director of St. Columbanus and doubled their music program while also embracing Gregorian chant in Latin. During her tenure with Panas High School, she worked with the drama club doing almost 20 Broadway-style shows. Karen shares, “music is a transformative experience for isolated or marginalized teens, giving them self-expression at a time when they need it most.”
With 8 months of exciting music under Karen’s belt here, according to her, “I’m ready to shape the future of this spirited group called YUMC!” We are thrilled to have Karen lead the music ministry at YUMC.
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