Dear Park Family and friends,
Since its inception, Park has been a community that cares deeply about kids. Jesus didn’t want anyone keeping young ones from him, and we don’t either. Simply put, we are driven by the deep desire to see the next generation come to know, love, and follow Jesus.
This is why our leadership has spent the better part of last year searching and praying for a full-time Family Pastor to join our pastoral team. The idea behind creating this new position at Park Church was to have someone dedicated full-time to strategizing and leading all discipleship efforts for our children, youth, and families. This includes leading and coordinating Park Kids on Sunday mornings and providing leadership and direction for Middle School Group and High School Group as well (which will continue being coordinated by our very own Jenny Streich and Anthony Santiago). The Family Pastor at Park Church will be the passionate heart, strategic mind, and driving force behind the discipleship of Park Church’s children, youth and families.
With all of this in mind, we are excited to announce that on Sunday, February 6 we will be introducing Park Church’s new Family Pastor: Alice Fadiora!
Growing up as a pastor’s kid, Alice spent a lot of time at church serving in just about every role you can think of, laying a strong foundation for the deep faith she has today. She earned her BA in Economics from Haverford College and spent 4 years working in Equity Research and Financial Planning. After meeting her husband, Sam, and having their two wonderful children, she sensed a call to seminary. While earning her MDiv at Princeton Seminary, her passion for the health and spiritual formation of marriages, families, and children began to grow. After Seminary, Alice completed a post graduate certification in Marriage and Family Therapy and became a licensed therapist in private practice where for the past few years she has been helping individuals, couples, and families pursue healing and wholeness. In addition to her work as a marriage and family therapist, her enduring pull to the church has led her to become ordained in the American Baptist Church. While she has served in several churches, her most recent experience was serving as a children’s and youth pastor in a church in Princeton.
Most importantly, Alice has a deep faith in God and is passionate about helping the church become a community where children (and the marriages and families that nurture them) grow to know, love, and follow Jesus. She is very excited to be joining the team here at Park, and so are we!
Alice’s first day will be February 1. Our amazing Park Kids coordinators, Rachel Hegner and Amanda Agresti, will be staying on until the end of February and working closely with Alice to ensure a smooth transition for Park Kids. We truly have been so blessed to have had Rachel and Amanda during this time of transition. If you haven’t recently, please remind them of that.
We hope to see you Sunday, February 6 for an opportunity to hear a little from Alice and to help welcome her and her family to Park Church. Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support throughout this search. May we, as a church, never let go of our commitment to developing the heart of our children, students, and families.
In grace & peace,
Michael Carlson
