Meet the Associate Pastor

Rev. Jeanne Festa was appointed to be the Associate Pastor at Green Valley Community Church on July 1, 2007.  She was previously a pastoral intern at GVCC for one year in 1996-1997, when she was a second year student at Claremont School of Theology.  During that year, she set up a program for visitation of homebound persons, learned the basics of worship leadership, and assisted in many other aspects of ministry.  After graduation in 1998, and for the following four years, she was appointed to serve at Red Mountain UMC in eastern Mesa, where she worked with youth, taught confirmation, and helped with membership care and education.  With several very talented musicians, she created and led an early Sunday morning "Coffee House" worship service.

After requesting a return to the South District to be closer to her grandchildren-to-be, Jeanne was delighted to be appoointed back to her home church in Sierra Vista, Arizona.  There, she led an informal worship service, created and led a new traditional service during Sunday School hour, visited first-time worshipers and led them through the process of joining, created a visitation team to keep in touch with the homebound, taught confirmation, and helped organize new Education and Family Ministries work areas.

Although baptized in an Episcopal church in Baltimore, Jeanne attended Methodist and, later, United Methodist churches, from cradle roll onward.  She made a commitment to follow Christ at a Youth Temperance Council camp in her teens, and continued to grow in faith and a desire to serve Christ in all the years that followed.  She attended Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College, while it was still United Methodist, then married and raised her children while volunteering in many different capacities in the churches she attended.  The Army brought the family to Ft. Huachuca, Arizona in 1977 and they stayed in Sierra Vista to raise three children who are all currently grown and enjoying career and families in Tucson, Sierra Vista and Orlando, Florida.

Jeanne is in her tenth year of ministry, enthusiastically serving God in this vibrant and grace-filled congregation, which she remembers with great gratitude and fondness.