Rev. Daryl Allen - Senior Pastor

Daryl is a Florida native, and lifelong United Methodist.

He received his Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, and his Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando.

He was Ordained as an Elder in 2012 and has served churches in Ocala and Fruitland Park. He is part of a clergy couple, as his wife Debbie is also an Elder serving as the District Superintendent for the South West District.

Daryl has served within the Florida Conference connection in many capacities. He has chaired the Conference Shade and Freshwater ministry, serves as a member of the Wesley Foundation Board of Directors for the University of Florida, served as Registrar for the North Central District Committee on Ordained Ministry, served with the New Church Development Committee in the North Central District, and served as the District Leader for the Residency in Ministry program for the North Central District.

Daryl and Debbie have three boys; Parker, Wesley, and Davis. This family of five loves to spend time outdoors, with their extended family, and seeking out new adventures.

Daryl’s passion in ministry is to help folks connect with God and feel God’s love in their lives.

Sarah is a Florida native with an ecumenical background. 

She received her Bachelor of Arts in History, Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration and Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. She received her Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary also in Orlando. 

Sarah is a provisional elder in the Florida Conference and has served churches as a licensed pastor and lay leader in Central Florida. She is part of a clergy couple, as her husband Kris is a certified candidate currently attending seminary on the path towards ordination as a deacon. 

Kris and Sarah served on staff at Emmaus Ministries, a non-profit which equips people with tools to engage the Bible, for five years prior to their call to ordained ministry. They also served for five years at the Central Florida Wesley Foundation as associate directors prior to their time at Emmaus Ministries. 

Kris and Sarah have two children; their seven-year-old son Lincoln and four year old daughter Amelie. In the fall Lincoln will attend Pine View as a 2nd grader and Amelie will attend Grace preschool for their VPK program. 

Sarah is a certified yoga instructor, collector of books, and outdoor enthusiast . She and her family love reading, traveling, watching films and being in nature. Sarah is passionate about cultivating spaces where people can connect with God, each other and their communities. 

I moved here from Ohio in 1993 to be with my mom, Glenn, and my twin sister Sharon. When I lived in Ohio, I worked at a restaurant in Weirton West Virginia called the Dinor for 20 years. In Florida I worked at PGT for 15 years. While I was working at PGT I met my husband Tim and we were married in 1996. God has truly blessed me with an awesome family. I have the two best children any mother could ask for. Clint (son) and Bobbi Jo (daughter). They are both married and between the two of them, I have three of the most precious grandsons and a beautiful granddaughter. My son-in-law and daughter-in-law are awesome.

I started working in housekeeping with my beautiful mom at Grace in 2009. I love my job and I love cleaning the house of the Lord. I love being surrounded by such a great group of Christians. I also work special events such as weddings, funerals, concerts, etc. My twin sister Sharon was the first to work here in housekeeping in 1993 and then my mom started and I followed.

Suzanne Berndt- Director of Traditional Music/Organist

Suzanne has worked as a choir director and organist for churches in Oklahoma, Texas, California, North Dakota and Alaska since graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in piano, organ and voice from sweet Briar College in Virginia. She Studied organ with Don Dulmer, the principal organist at St. Patrick's in NYC, piano with Iren Marik, a protege of Bartok and writing harmony and counterpoint with Carl Bricken, a Pulitzer Prize winning composer. She completed 55 hours of graduate work in music education and performance at the University of North Texas and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Also she earned the Kodaly certificate in preschool music education from the University of Mary Hardin Baylor in Texas. She studied voice at the college level for 12 years with several artists, notably Eugene Connally, Virginia La Croix and Suzanne Summerfield. She studied arranging and organ with John Carpenter and graduate level choral conducting and theory with Morton Manus at UNT. 

She taught Choral music in public schools for 11 years, mostly in Texas and voice and piano as an assistant professor at the University of Alaska for two years. Before moving to Venice five years ago, Suzanne and her husband Mike lived in Killeen, Texas where they were active in the music programs at First Methodist Church, Killeen, where served as organist for 15 years. Suzanne's main passions are her 3 children and 3 grandchildren, her faith in God and Church music.

Suzanne is especially thankful and happy to serve as organist / music director here at Grace UMC, because of the opportunity to work closely with her sister Mary Jeanne Moorman, our pianist and choir accompanist. 

Tia Fishburn - Office Assistant

Tia is the office assistant at Grace United Methodist Church. She is a Venice native and has spent most of her life here. She graduated from Venice High School in 1998 and also attended the State College of Florida.

She has 11 year old twins Grant and Lila. She enjoys spending time with her children and family, and going to the beach and being outdoors. 

Rich Hager- Praise Team Leader

Vicki Mackey - Student and Family Ministry Director

I was born in St. Pete and raised in Lake Wales Florida, a true Florida native! My husband, Troy and I have been married for over 25 years and we have four children, Paul,  Riley, Sara, and Hazel. We have lived here in Venice since 1997, coming back after finishing in Navy.  My family had vacationed here while growing up over in Lake Wales! 

I have taught at the Grace United Methodist Preschool since June of 2004, and came on fulltime as Children's Director June of 2014.In January 2017 I took on the role as Student and Family Ministry Director.  I became a member of Grace United Methodist Church in 2013. I love Florida nature and enjoy camping and going to the beach with my family. I love working with children and teaching them.

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

Beverly McFarland - Church Administrator

Beverly has over twenty-five years experience in the United Methodist Church as a secretary/administrator.  She attended Emory University in Atlanta and attained certification as a United Methodist Church Business Administrator.

She feels life is a journey and we must continue to adapt and change with the seasons. She has found that Ecclesiastes 3:1 helps keep her grounded and more accepting of the challenges of everyday life.

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” (KJV)

She feels truly fortunate and blessed to have become a part of this extremely loving and caring Christian community of believers and have the opportunity to work with such a dedicated staff.  

Mary Jeanne Moorman learned to play piano from her mother, Mary Frank Fancher, who is listed in the National Guild of Piano Teachers' Hall of Fame. Mary Jeanne majored in piano performance at two Methodist universities, Southern Methodist University, where she studied choral music with Lloyd Pfautsch, and Oklahoma City University, where she served as staff accompanist for all OCU choirs. She was a soloist with the Oklahoma City Symphony. Mary Jeanne transferred to University of North Texas, Denton, and studied accompanying with Harold Heiberg and piano performance with artist-in-residence Stefan Bardas. Mary Jeanne accompanied Metropolitan Opera leading tenor, Eugene Conley, whose wife, Halvah, watched the Moorman's baby son, John, during rehearsals at the Conley home. John now lives in Venice, as does his younger sister, Sarah. 

Steve and Mary Jeanne Moorman felt at home on their first visit to Grace UMC in the summer of 2007, and transferred their memberships from Asbury UMC in Denton, TX, where Mary Jeanne served as pianist. In 2009, when Gene Hodges accepted the position of Director of Traditional Music, Mary Jeanne was invited to serve as Chancel Choir accompanist. Mary Jeanne loves being a member of our dear church family, led by our beloved pastor, and is thankful that she can invite friends to Grace with the confidence that they will be lovingly welcomed and encouraged to worship in Spirit and in Truth.

Olivia Partington-Farrow, is the Director of our Grace United Methodist Preschool.

She holds a Bachelors Degree from the University of Arkansas, Go Hogs, in Education and has her Advanced Level Florida Director’s Credential. She has been in the education field for over 10 years as in a Co/Assistant Directing/Administration position in a corporate and non-profit Early Childhood preschool along with serving in each position in the classrooms setting. 

Her passion is to always help serve the community, church and our younger generations, along with watching the students, families and staff achieve their goals and have great success. She truly believes that everyone should have the opportunity to succeed and achieve their goals on all levels of education. Providing a safe, healthy, and peaceful place for staff and families to come to, is a true goal that she strives for. 

She is a member of the Children’s Forum and FLAYEC, programs that provide different resources for her and the staff here at Grace to continue their growth in the field and in continuing of their education. 

Dean join the Grace team in 2021. Dean, with his eager to help spirit, does a tremendous job making sure our campus is ready to receive and welcome all who enter its doors.