January 6, 2026
Pastor Steve and members of the SPRC,
With deep gratitude for the past seventeen years of serving on the staff of First Methodist Midland, I humbly submit my resignation as the Director of Events effective following Easter 2026.
I began working for First Methodist Midland when my son was a few months old. As he nears his senior year of high school, I feel drawn to fully soaking in all these moments, being present and able to support all of his high school endeavors as he finishes up, without the divide of busy events and work commitments.
As I reflect on the past seventeen years, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. My work at First Methodist Midland began when I was approached by Dr. Tim Walker in the fall of 2008 with the proposal of coordinating the newly formed Relationship Center and offering two events a year for the church and community on relationship topics. This was initially a 10 hour per week job commitment.
Both of my children enjoyed our excellent Children First preschool program, and I had the great joy of seeing them with their classmates and teachers in the hallways and playground while I was at work. First Methodist has literally been a second home to my children as they have grown up, and this has been a tremendous blessing.
My job responsibilities have evolved over the years as I took on the addition of coordinating the weddings held in the church, and later the scheduling of the building. Working with our wonderful pastors to unite a couple in marriage and having the privilege of being the only other person present in the sacred moments when a bride and her father exchanged loving words, standing together arm in arm before the doors were opened and the bride revealed to her expectant groom, were treasured moments that really felt like holy ground.
All of these opportunities and the evolving of responsibilities have stretched and grown me in ways I didn’t know that I was capable of and I will be forever grateful. I was able to create and coordinate events which forced me very reluctantly into public speaking. Tim told me that if it was my event, I had to be the one to tell the church about it. My legs shook so badly the first time that I stood on the stage during Sunday morning worship that I had trouble navigating the stairs to the pulpit. I was thankful for the very large wooden pulpit that existed at that time and hid my shaking. I read word for word from a piece of paper what I wanted to convey. This developed over the years into unexpected joy of publicly participating in leading our church family in worship and being able to convey upcoming events.
Steve, the phrase “grace and peace” is not just something you say but something you fully embody. I have never met anyone who extends so much grace, kindness, support, and understanding. When tensions arise among the team, you extend grace and bring peace to the group. You are a steadying anchor. It has been one of the greatest joys of my life so far to serve on your team, creating meaningful experiences as a church staff for our church family to connect, grow together, and center our focus on the reality of who God is: compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love, and faithful.
I look forward to continuing to worship with and be a part of the First Methodist family. I pray God’s greatest blessings on the staff, leadership teams, and church family as we together return with Jesus to the goodness of the Garden.
With deepest gratitude,
Kara B. Harris