A Message from Pastor Brown

I want to express my appreciation for your visit to the First United Methodist Church website. It is our goal to be as helpful as possible to those seeking information about the life and events of First Church. You will find areas that are more general in nature and then go to one of our links to gather information in more detail. You may email any of the the staff individually by going to "Contact the First Church Staff."

We welcome all of your comments and suggestions. We are constantly trying to improve our information services and your input is valuable to that end. If you have not yet attended one of the weekend worship services, by all means, let me extend to you a very special invitation to do so. Our worship services are on Saturdays at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 8:30 and 11:00 a.m.

The First Church staff is in place to serve you. Please let us know how we may do so.

The Rev. Marvin R. Brown
Senior Minister
 

Rev. Brown is an ordained member of the East Ohio Conference, The United Methodist Church.  He is a graduate of the University of Akron and Methodist Theological School in  Ohio.  Presently, Rev. Brown is enrolled in Doctoral of Ministry studies at Ashland Seminary.  Prior to his arrival at First Church, Rev. Brown served five parishes.  mbrown@firstchurchcf.com

The Rev. Susan Lausch
Associate Minister
Membership, Outreach and Missions

My name is Susan L. Lausch.  I am one of three daughters - one is my twin - who grew up in Brunswick, Ohio and in the Brunswick United Methodist Church.  Graduating from Brunswick High School in 1973, I majored in Religion and English at Kentucky Wesleyan College, graduating in 1977.  I then earned my Master of Divinity at  Vanderbilt Divinity School.  Since my graduation in 1980, I have been serving in the ordained ministry in the following churches: Wooster UMC, Lakeview UMC in Conneaut, Ohio, Minerva UMC, and now here at First UMC in Cuyahoga Falls. 

My greatest joys in ministry come as words, music, visuals and people come together in worship and preaching, and in seeing God's work in and through the lives of the people around me.  I have been active in the Walk to Emmaus renewal movement since 1982, where I first met members from First UMC.  My hobbies are reading and counted cross stitch.  I live with my dog, Stassi, and my sci-fi/fantasy collection, in the parsonage on 27th Street.  slausch@firstchurchcf.com

The Rev. Katherine L. Osier

My name is Katie Osier. Eric and I have been married since 1997 and have a wonderful 3 year old son, Ryan. I was born and raised in North Canton, Ohio. Following graduation from Otterbein College in Elementary Education and Music Performance on Bassoon and getting married, God strengthened His call in my life to ordained ministry. After serving 4 years as the youth minister of Rocky River UMC, God called our family to Durham, NC, where I received a Masters of Divinity from Duke University in 2007. We returned to Ohio, and served two years at the Mt Zion and Pleasant Grove charge in Minerva, Ohio. During that time, God further defined my call with specific regard to youth ministry, which has led me to First United Methodist Church.

Here, at First UMC, I serve as the Associate Minister of Student Ministries. This includes Sunday School, Sunday evening fellowship, worship, small groups, retreats, mission trips, local and long distance mission opportunities, choir tours, adult leader formation, and hanging out with teenagers and young adults. The greatest part of my role is witnessing and helping to witness to the ways in which Christ is working in our lives. What a celebration to participate in the life of Christ together! I hope I get the opportunity to share in this joy with you!
 

H. Dean Wagner
Director of Music Ministries

Dean Wagner holds a Master of Music degree in organ performance from the University of Akron and a Bachelor of Music education degree from Cedarville University. . His organ teachers include Barbara MacGregor and Karl Stahl. Besides being awarded the John E. Kohl Music Scholarship and Trophy while attending Cedarville. Mr. Wagner also won two statewide competitions in 1987: The Frentz Organ Scholarship for organ performance and the Marguerite Imhoff Church Musician Scholarship for Church Music Studies, both awarded by the Tuesday Musical Club of Akron. His master class studies include performances for organ virtuosi such as Simon Preston, Peter Hurford and Gillian Weir from England, Gottfried Preller from Germany, and Robert Delcamp, and Bruce Neswick from the U.S.
Mr. Wagner is the full-time Director of Music and Organist for the First United Methodist Church of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, where directs the adult Chancel Choir, the Epworth Youth Choir, which makes annual tours each year. In addition to directing the upper-Elementary age children and touring with them each year, he also gives leadership to the fully graded children's choir program ranging from preschool to sixth grade, and a fully graded handbell program of six choirs. As an active organ recitalist, he is currently presenting a series of recitals at First Methodist of the complete organ works of Bach, and his concert engagements have ncluded the National Cathedral in Washington. Mr. Wagner has recorded a solo organ recording entitled Four Centuries of Organ Music.
In the realm of handbells, Mr. Wagner is known nationally for his work as a handbell composer, arranger, and clinician. He has served as a regular clinician for Handbell Exploration International and the AGEHR, many mass festivals, and has done two European tours with his own choirs from church. . He is the founder and artistic director of the professional community handbell ensemble in Northeast Ohio, the Renaissance Ringers.
Dean and Megan reside in Stow, OH with their two children, Faith and Chad.
 

Karol Lewis
Director of Christian Education