Staff
Rev. Albert Hahn - Pastor
Rev. Albert Hahn joined us in July of 2005 as our pastor. According to him, he has been loving ministering to and with the Smithtown United Methodist Church. He has been focusing on building the community through inspiring worship, small group ministry and lay leadership empowerment. He firmly believes that 21st century churches must build its ministry on a strong partnership between the laity and clergy. He finds great joy in inviting people to find their true calling in serving one another and serving God.
Prior to joining us, Rev. Hahn served in the Vision of Peace Church in McLean Virgina (a new church start), Bellmore United Methodist Church in Long Island and the Korean Methodist Church and Insitutute in Manhattan. He was ordained in 1994 in the Northern New Jersey Conference. His academic background includes a B.A. with a religion major from Vassar College, Master of Arts in Christian Education from Princeton Theological Seminary, Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary NYC and a Pastoral Counseling Certificate Program from the Post Graduate Center in Mental Health. In 2008, he also received a Doctor of Ministry with the focus on preaching from the Iliff School of Theology, in Denver, CO.
Besides ministry, he loves sports (more playing than watching) especially racquetball, hiking and going out for a nice meal with his wife. Recently he has been developing more interests in skiing. In 2008, he ran Long Island Marathon and hopes to complete NYC Triathlon in 2010.
His wife Juhye is pastoring East Hampton United Methodist Church. They have ten year old son Peter and seven year old daughter Harim.
Heather Wilson - Music Director
Heather Wilson is very excited to be part of the Smithtown United Methodist community. She took the position of "temporary" music director in September, 2006, and was thrilled when she was recently asked to become a "permanant" staff member. Her highlight of every week is Sunday morning when she gets the privelege of leading our wonderful choir. In addition to moving forward with the choir, she hopes to expand the music program by getting more kids involved. She believes everyone has a beautiful voice, gifted them by God, and encourages anyone to join our loving choir community.
Heather began playing piano in 2nd grade and singing at church in 3rd grade. Church music has always been an integral part of her life and she feels it has been the key factor in shaping her spirituality. Before coming to Smithtown United Methodist Chuch, Heather served as the primary organist for Ss. Cyril and Methodius Church, in Deer Park, for three years. She also played organ and piano as a substitute in many churches on Long Island and in New York City.
Aside from church music, Heather's greatest passion is teaching. In May 2006, she graduated from New York University with a Bachelor's Degree in music education. Currently she is teaching elementary school music/chorus in the Sachem School District and absolutely loves it. Heather also enjoys traveling the world, scuba diving, skiing, and writing her own music.
Mae has been a member of the Smithtown United Methodist church since 1962. She and Ted have been married for 47 years and have 3 children and 5 grandchildren. She has been secretary since June of 1997.
Robin Schmidt - Lay Leader
Pam Tarry - Wesleyan School Director
Pam Tarry became the Director of the Wesleyan School in July 2005, but began her association with Wesleyan long before when her own children were students from 1991 to 1995. Prior to coming to the Wesleyan School, she worked for the Bayport - Blue Point School District for 34 years as a teacher and taught 2nd grade, 1st grade, and Kindergarten.
Mrs. Tarry loves the Wesleyan School, the staff, and the welcoming families who have all made this a very positive experience for her. She is dedicated to the the school philosphy of hands on learning.
Mrs. Tarry's academic background includes a B.A. from Molloy College and a Masters of Education in Reading from the University of Nevada at Reno. In addition, she has attended numerous conferences, workshops, and post graduate courses in early childhood education.
Mrs. Tarry has been married for 28 years to her husband, Hal. They have two children: Matthew, 19, who is an engineering student at the University of New Haven and Juliana, 15, who is a student at Smithtown West.
Mrs. Tarry enjoys cooking, reading, working out, and yoga. She also enjoys skiing with the entire family, and hopes to get back into long distance bicycling which is how she first met her husband!
Julie Garofalo, RN - Parkinson Therapy Center Coordinator
Julie Garofalo was born in the Bronx, NY and was raised in Mahopac, N.Y. Her family moved to Long Island after she graduated High School. She is married to a wonderful man named Anthony and has a delightful boy named Vinny. She is a Registered Nurse and graduated from the Suffolk Community College Nursing Program.
Julie has been at the Parkinson Therapy Center for the past 9 years. She is also the Registered Nurse and Coordinator for the American Parkinson Disease Association Information and Referral Center at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center for the last 6 years. She is currently a board member of the Wesleyan School.Julie's hobbies include bike riding, walking, going to the beach, traveling and dining out.
