New Senior Pastor named at United Protestant Church of Grayslake
On Sunday, July 6, the United Protestant Church (UPC) of Grayslake will welcome a new senior pastor, Rev. Gary Waters of McHenry.
Waters, age 46, is originally from Rockford, Ill. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Marquette University and a Master of Divinity degree from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in 1993. He has been an elder in the United Methodist Church since 1995 and has served as a pastor since 1990. He and his wife, Amy, have two children. For the past two years, Waters was pastor at Saint Thomas United Methodist Church in Glen Ellyn, Ill.
After the 10:30 a.m. service on July 6, a potluck luncheon will be held to welcome Rev. Waters and his family to UPC.
Since Feb. 2, Rev. Dr. Steven Bullmer of Crystal Lake has served as interim senior pastor. He was senior pastor at the First United Methodist Church in Crystal Lake from 2008 to 2013. Bullmer will continue to serve UPC as membership coordinator, a volunteer position. Rev. Merlyn Lawrence will continue as associate pastor, having served in that position since December 2012.
"I believe that the life of discipleship is fairly simple. It is a life dedicated to doing all the good we can, refraining from doing any harm and staying in love with God," Waters said. "My hope and dream for my ministry with everyone I meet who has an interest in the movement of God's reign in the world is that we will become partners in doing the essential work of God in Creation."
The United Protestant Church of Grayslake is affiliated with the United Church of Christ Fox Valley Association and the United Methodist Church Northern Illinois Conference. Worship services are held at 8:15 and 10:30 a.m. on Sundays, with Christian education for all ages at 9:30 a.m. on Sundays during the school year. The senior pastor is Rev. Gary Waters and the associate pastor is Rev. Merlyn Lawrence. For more information, call (847) 223-8131 or visit www.upcgl.org or the church's Facebook page. UPC is located in historic downtown Grayslake, at 54 S. Whitney St.