Our Staff

Lead Pastor Alecia Hilmer

Pastor Alecia will be entering her twenty-second year here at First United Methodist Church . Here is a little background on her journey. She attended The University Of Dubuque Theological Seminary and got her Doctorate in Church Revitalization in 2004. Alecia is married to her husband, Todd. She has two adult children, Samantha and Jonathan and Todd has three adult children, Ben, Nick, and Rebecca. In her spare time she enjoys being outdoors in nature, gardening and LOVES to read a good murder mystery novel. Her hopes in ministry is for the church as well as herself, to continue to love God and love our neighbors. Random Fun Fact : ” While horseback riding in Alaska, I was chased by a grizzly bear!” Favorite Bible Verse : Romans 8:38-39

Email: pastor@southslope.net

Director of Youth Ministry – Alison Merrill

Alison is new here at the church starting summer of 2022 as the Director of Youth Ministry! Alison graduated in May of 2022 with her bachelors degree in Religion and Management. Alison is engaged to David Hanson and they have a cat named Charlie. In her free time Alison enjoys ballroom dancing, hanging out with friends, singing, acting, and spending time exploring nature! Alison loves to see people growing in their faith and loves to help people on that journey. Random fun fact: “I have been performing on stage since I was 3 years old!” Favorite Bible Verse: Matthew 18:3 & Proverbs 31:25

E-mail: youth.nlmethodist@gmail.com

Director of Children’s Ministry – Mandy Moellering

Mandy Moellering lives in Mount Vernon with her husband Mike, and three children. Max is a student at Iowa State, while Laila and Spencer attend school in the MV Community School District. Mandy works at Bright Starts Christian Preschool. Some of her interests include community theatre, gardening, and Disney. A fun fact about Mandy is that she owns an excessive number of Christmas trees for holiday decorating! Her favorite Bible Verse is Jeremiah 29:11.

Email: kidmin.nlmethodsit@gmail.com

Director of Music Ministry – James Gaffey

James Gaffey began in the fall of 2022 as our Director of Music Ministries. When asked about what musical instruments he plays, James’ replied, “Pretty much everything.” His favorite instrument is the melodica, which is handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. We had to look it up, before we remembered him playing it on a Sunday morning! James’ said one little known fun-fact about him is that he once was a professional Tetras player. James is a life-long member of the church.

Email: jamesgaffeymusic@gmail.com

Director of Creation Kids Childcare Center Michelle Eide

Michelle has been the Director of Creation Kids for over 20 years . She received her AA in Early Childhood Education. Michelle is married to her husband, Dustin and together they have four children, Jaelynn, Peyten, Landen, and Ashlynn. On the weekends you can find her cheering for her children at their sporting events and spending time with her family. Michelle wishes to continue teaching and growing the children at Creation Kids to prepare them for elementary school and also in their love for God. Favorite Bible Verse: Proverbs 3:5-6

Email: ckdir@southslope.net

Assistant Director of Creation Kids Childcare Center Kara Fenstermaker

Kara has her AA in Early Childhood Education and been the Assistant Director for sixteen years. She is married to Andrew and they have three awesome boys, Braylon, Brekkon, and Brylor. Their family time is spent with each other camping and being in the great outdoors. She also likes to craft. Random Fun Fact: ” I have worked in every position at Creation Kids except Director.” Favorite Bible Verse: 1 John 4:19

Email: asstckdir@gmail.com

Executive Director of The North Liberty Community Pantry Kaila Rome

Kaila received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at The University of Iowa. She has been the Executive Director at The North Liberty Community Pantry since 2016. Her family all resides in Illinois. She has two brothers and is a very proud Aunt of three nieces and two nephews. Kaila has several hobbies she relishes like: weightlifting, yoga, cooking, watching football and travels when ever she gets the chance. As for her hopes in this ministry, Kaila says: ” I hope to serve the community with the utmost respect and dignity towards those in need. I hope to eliminate hunger in our community and no longer be needed as a ministry. In the meantime, I wish to empower our community to care for each other and themselves and work towards a cooperative method of growing food, sharing resources and feeding our neighbors.” Random Fun Fact: ” I have traveled to six foreign countries.” Favorite Bible Verse: Matthew 22:39

Email: director@northlibertycommunitypantry.org

Church Office Manager Kara Adrian

Kara graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a double major in Finance and Real Estate. She also has a minor in Accounting. Kara married her husband, Jeremy, in 2009. They now have two gorgeous boys which occupies the majority of any free time. They love to travel together as a family!

Random fun fact: Kara and Jeremy went to the NFC Championship game in Green Bay! It was one of the coldest games in history with a wind chill of -23 degrees.

Favorite Bible Verse: Philippians 4:13

Custodial Maintenance Bob Housel

Bob has been our Lead Custodian since November 2018. He spent three years at The University Of Iowa for Business where he met his wife Karen. They later were married in 1980 and had two sons. Their adult sons are now married themselves. Bob enjoys volunteering his time here at The North Liberty Community Food Pantry. He is also a Wild Land Firefighter and helps aid in controlled burns. When Bob has free time, he along with his friends and neighbors split wood for the campers and donate the proceeds to Friends of Coralville Lake (FOCL). Favorite Bible Verse: Exodus 3:14

Email: rjh3418@gmail.com