We are blessed with a long-awaited pastor!  July 1, Pastor Darlene Sheffer will become pastor at the First United Methodist Church in Norton.  She was born in Baltimore and grew up in Pasadena, Maryland (40 miles from Washington, DC), where she attended the Methodist Church and was baptized and confirmed.  Being a pastors a second career for Pastor Darlene.  She has an Associate of Arts degree from Anne Arundel Community College, a Bachelor of Science degree from Salisbury University with a major in biology and a Master of Administrative Science degree from John Hopkins University.  She has worked at KU and K-state in research science and lived about half of her life in Kansas.  

When she felt God calling her to become a Pastor, she went to Saint Paul School of Theology and earned a Master of Divinity degree.  She has been a Pastor in the Great Plains Conference since 2015 and was ordained as an Elder in the United Methodist Church and a member of the Great Plains Conference in 2022.  Pastor Darlene enjoys nature and nature photography.  She is a book lover and finds it hard to resist being books; she also enjoys puzzles, board games and movies.