Rev. Ron Foster

Rev. Ron is a doting father of two daughters, Christine (16) and Sara (13). He and his wife, Holly, live in Rockville, Maryland in an old farmhouse with a great white oak (complete with tire swing) in the front yard. Ron has been an ordained United Methodist Pastor since 1985 and has served churches in Boonsboro and Reisterstown, Maryland before coming to Bethesda in 1998. He has been extremely active in the area of youth ministry for the past 20 years as a youth director, retreat speaker, pastor, and workshop leader. A graduate of Princeton University ('83) and Duke Divinity School ('86), along with Kenda Creasy Dean he has co-authored The Godbearing Life: The Art of Soultending in Youth Ministry and has been a regular part of the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary's Institute for Youth Ministry for the past ten years. His other loves include basketball, coaching soccer, writing, and music of all kinds.

David A.
Fanning,
Director
of Music

David began serving as Director of Music at BUMC in September of 2002.  He earned a Bachelor of Music degree while studying with Dr. Lisa Kinzer and Dr. Joel Schoenhals at Longwood College in Virginia. David has performed solo recitals in cities across the country, including San Francisco, Jackson, MS, and Washington, D.C. In 1998, David played at the White House as part of the annual Christmas celebration.

David attended the Conductor's Institute of South Carolina, where he was coached by a number of noted conductors including Donald Portnoy, Karen Lynne Deal, Peter Jaffe, Paul Vermel, and Manuel Alvarez. He earned a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Kentucky under the supervision of Dr. Robert Baldwin.

David is an accomplished jazz pianist and has performed with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the Duke Madison Quartet, the Alan Hood Quartet and the Keith McCutcheon Group and has led his own jazz groups. He has been heavily involved in the Musical Theatre genre as well, having worked as a vocal coach, rehearsal and pit pianist, percussionist and conductor. He has served as Musical Director for a number of shows including A Chorus Line, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Evita, Pump Boys and Dinettes, The Secret Garden and Little Shop of Horrors. David has also traveled to Scotland to serve as Musical Director for musical productions presented in conjunction with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Alison Chacon, Administrative Assistant

Alison has been on our church staff for the last 3 years and does a wonderful job producing our weekly bulletin, the electronic Weekend Update and our monthly newsletter, The Messenger. Alison lives with her husband, Horacio, and their two daughters (Lauren 12, and Katherine, 10) in Rockville. Originally from England, Alison enjoys tennis, reading, and gardening in her spare time. She also is the co-leader of our 4th and 5th grade ministry, High Voltage.

Rev. Jenny Cannon

Rev. Jenny has been with BUMC since July 2006.  She and her husband Kirkland Reynolds live in the Bethesda area along with their cat, Harry. A lifelong United Methodist, Jenny is a graduate of Emory University and Candler School of Theology. She worked in nonprofit social services in Atlanta for two years before coming to Bethesda. She is committed to the ministries of open hearts, open minds and open doors and is excited to be serving her first appointment at BUMC. In her downtime, Jenny enjoys drinking coffee, taking walks and cooking.

Amee Fansler,
Youth and
Children's Ministries

Amee has been on staff as the Youth Pastor at BUMC since fall of 2001 and a member since 1997. An on-the-go mom of two (Ashley, 15, and Aubrey, 12), Amee has been involved professionally in Youth Ministry since 1991. Originally from the Tidewater area, she and her husband, Randy, both sing in our Praise Band and Amee has been the driving force behind our VBS program for going on 5 years now. Amee is passionate about seriously engaging youth with their faith in creative, fun, and unexpected ways.

Chris Warrington, Organist

Chris is a multi-talented musician and performer (can this man do movie voices!). A graduate of Towson University, Chris has been a church organist since the age of 17 and has played in three United Methodist congregations over the past 18 years. In addition to accompanying the Chancel Choir, Chris also plays keyboards with our Praise Band, and a pretty mean piano, too. The proud father of three children (Stephanie, Scott, & Thomas) and he and his wife, Melissa, live in Reisterstown, Maryland where project by project they continue to destroy and rebuild their home.

Kris Hoxha,
Office Manager

Kris has anchored the staff for the last 14 years and her duties include bookkeeping, payroll, office administration, and being the friendly voice of BUMC that most people first encounter. In her life beyond BUMC, she is very active with as a lieutenant of the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad where she is trained to do sophisticated accident and fire rescue and recovery operations. Her other passions include riding her Harley "Road King" whenever the weather allows, playing golf, and skiing.