Emmanuel United Methodist Church, Beltsville, MD

Pastor Daniel Mejia came to Emmanuel UMC, Beltsville, MD in July 2006 from Arlington, VA.

In 1995 the young Daniel Mejia answered the call to come as a missionary to serve in Valdosta, GA, working at Bemiss United Methodist Church telling the Good News to the Hispanic migrant workers.  God continued to call Daniel, first to attend Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. in 1997 and then to serve the Hispanic congregation at Arlington United Methodist Church in the Virginia Conference. That congregation grew from 15 to 75 members in attendance, and, most significantly, developed many far reaching and effective ministries for feeding the hungry and meeting the practical needs of the community.  Then came the unexpected call to come over to the Baltimore-Washington Conference and serve Emmanuel United Methodist Church.

Born in Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico, Daniel is the oldest of three sons of Ciro and Leticia Mejia.  He attended The Universidad Ibero-

americana where he earned his Law degree in 1994.  However, his plans to be a lawyer were interrupted by God's call to full time service.  Daniel graduated from Wesley Theological Seminary in 2001 and was ordained an Elder of The United Methodist Church in 2004.  He was selected to be among the first group of Lewis Fellows, a two-year program recognizing and encouraging young effective pastors across the country.  He is the vice president of GRACE Ministries in Arlington, VA., Board member of Just Neighbors, and is now an adjunct Professor for the Practice in Ministry and Mission Program at Wesley Theological Seminary.

Daniel enjoys soccer, football (the Redskins and Steelers), baseball (the Nationals and Orioles), basketball (the Wizards), going to the movies, and books.  And he became an American citizen on February 2, 2010.

Emmanuel United

Methodist Church

Together We Make A Difference

Pastor Daniel Mejia

Michelle Thorne

Youth Leader

The World is my Church -, Michelle Thorne

Those are the words that hold my dreams, my passions, my hopes for the future, spoke Michelle

Thorne one recent day as we sat down to discuss a short article for the Lamplighter. Fine, I replied,

thinking those dreams likely form the basis of Sunday messages to come, lots of them.

How could this modest, unassuming young woman have come to dream so large? She who has

come from Wesley Theological Seminary to Emmanuel to be Ministerial Assistant to Pastor Daniel

Mejia? A few highlights of her active young life may shed some light. From the beginning, there was the

Christian setting provided by her United Methodist familyprofessional achievers all. Father Alan

Thorne is pastor at Wesley United Methodist Church in Colonial Heights, Virginia. Al as he answers to,

has notched over 30 years as a UMC pastor. Mother Cathy, a Ph.D. in psychology, counsels the depressed and hurting. Meanwhile, only sibling Bryan pursues both a M.D. degree and a Ph.D. in bioengineering at the University of Virginia.

How fares Michelle within this high achieving family? Take a breath: Completed high school in

Roanoke; graduated from William and Mary University with a combined history-Spanish language major;

plays piano, guitar, and a little saxophone; dances ballet (ask Michelle about executing the pirouette);

took a semester of Spanish language study at the University of Seville, Spain; completed an intern

year of youth counseling at a UM church near Dayton, Ohio; in 2008 began a Master of Divinity program

at Wesley Theological Seminary--on track to graduate in 2011; in 2009 began internship-

Ministerial Assistant appointment at Emmanuel; recently completed a short internship on the U.S.-

Mexico border near Douglas, Arizona, and Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico.

Asked how she came to choose Emmanuel, Michelle said she enjoys the transitional nature at Emmanuel.  Its ministries challenge her passion to work across cultures, she said, to reach out to all. She had not failed to note Emmanuels active English as a Second Language programs, nor the opportunity to work with Emmanuels Spanish speaking, immigrant pastor. One day she may live and work in a Spanish-speaking country, she said,

Regarding her Emmanuel duties, Michelle said she would sit down with Pastor Dan and StaffParish

Chair Andy Onukwubiri soon to scope out a final plan. That is good news for Emmanuel, and especially

for its youth. Not yet ready to reveal too much about her plans, Michelle did suggest that Sunday nights

are about to become a lot more interesting for church youth.  Count on it!