Karen Dorris was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and moved to the Houston area as a small child. She graduated from South Houston High School, Stephen F. Austin University, and Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University where she was the highest graduate in the class of 1977.She received a Doctor of Ministry degree with a concentration in preaching from Perkins School of Theology in 1991. She has served as the associate pastor at First UMC, Liberty, and Bethany UMC, Houston: as the senior pastor of Canterbury UMC, Houston, and Sunset UMC, Pasadena. She was appointed as the District Superintendent of the Houston Southwest District from 2002-2006, and currently serves as the Director of the Center for Congregational Excellence in the Texas Annual Conference where she works in the transformation of existing congregations and the establishment of new congregations.

 Karen Dorris has served on the Town and Country Ministries Committee, Board of Ordained Ministry, Commission on Equitable Compensation, and the Division of Campus Ministry.  She was a delegate to the Jurisdictional Conferences of 1996, 2000, and 2004.  She has been named as the Minister of the Year by the Pasadena Kiwanis Club and as an Outstanding Alum of South Houston High School.  She is married to H. Sparks and they have two grown children: Laurel Elizabeth Ellisor and her husband Michael live in Maxwell, Texas, where Laurel serves as an assistant district attorney for Caldwell County, and Matthew Dorris is a sophomore at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.  Karen is an avid jogger and enjoys refinishing furniture and antiquing in her spare time.

What an honor it is for me to be asked to serve the people of Faith United Methodist Church as an Associate Pastor.  As an ‘Army Brat’ I have lived all over the world and have traveled extensively, but after high school I felt the need to get back ‘home,’ to Texas.  At Texas Tech I met my best friend and husband, Jon Sims.  Being a clergy couple, we have had opportunities to both minister together and support one another.  Since college I have lead in various ministries including: inner-city ministry, campus ministry, community living, children, women, guest speaking/preaching, retreat leading, etc.  My heart is to help people to live life better. 

I attended Texas Tech University and received my Bachelors of Science in Family Studies and a minor in Substance Abuse Studies.  While at Texas Tech I was on the leadership team with the Wesley Foundation (United Methodist Campus Ministry).  After university I went directly to Asbury Theological Seminary and received a Master’s of Divinity.  These academic degrees are only the beginning to my desire to deepen my heart and life.  As a life-long learner, I continue to enjoy reading in the areas of bible, preaching, spiritual formation, finances, parenting and organizational behavior.

Jon and I have three amazing little boys.  Noah is 7 and he has a scientific little mind.  Daniel is 5 and he longs to make people laugh.  Michael is 2 and his goal is to get everyone playing ball with him.  We cherish our time of family togetherness and certainly see that our children provide us with our most important area of ministry.

In a nutshell…I adore my family, relish life, live for adventure, love the outdoors, always long to travel, am passionate about living a life that makes a difference, cherish friends, admire my husband, embrace hope, thrive on conversation, appreciate solitude, derive pleasure from gardening, and I pray in all of this I will indeed extol my Lord.

My family and I have been members of Faith United Methodist Church since 1994. I have always felt that being a part of Faith meant, and continues to mean, being a part of a family. I became the Assistant Youth Director in 2005 and accepted the position of Youth Director in 2006. My richest blessings come from my children, my work with youth, my family within the body of Christ and, most of all, walking daily with God.

My journey @ Faith began the day it opened its’ doors.  My husband & I were new to the neighborhood, saw the advertising for a new church, and with great enthusiasm…added it to our calendar.  We joined that very first Sunday ~ truth be told because of the wonderful feeling of family right from the start and the amazing choir that filled the service with melodies and harmonies from above.  Imagine my surprise when I attended the first choir practice only to find that group was ‘on loan’ from our charter church…and between the four of us in attendance, we had to pick our own leader.  Well, I must say that our music department has grown in leaps and bounds since that first Wednesday, and I consider myself one blessed woman to have been a part of that process.  The blessings spilled right on into my private life as my family has grown to include two terrific sons.  How fortunate we are that Faith has been there every step of the way.  

I received a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts from Texas A&M University…where I met my husband…and my Masters (from U of H) is in Education…a field that I have also had the honor to partake in throughout my journey ~ both here @ Faith as the director of the preschool and in both the public and private education system.  Psalm 37:4 tells us, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”  I am living proof that this promise is true…for if you would have asked me growing up what I would have liked to do…I would have said ‘sing’.  However, I let fear get the best of me more times than not.  Oh how loving our Father is to know exactly the right time to give us those desires…for my journey may not have been straight the entire time, but my Heavenly Father has been right there alongside me ~ loving, guiding, strengthening, guarding, encouraging, and most importantly forgiving ~ and the doors He has both opened and closed in my path have brought me here today ~ and for that I am most grateful.  There is nothing that delights me more than to lift up a song of praise in His sanctuary…and Faith has provided that for me and my family and so much more. 

bio coming soon...

It is a blessing and honor to serve as the pianist at Faith UMC.

I have been playing the piano for church groups since I was in junior high school.  As a child, I was inspired and encouraged to play the piano by my parents.  My piano teacher was a wonderful role model as she was also the pianist in the church I attended.

I began playing the piano at Faith for the 8:30 service in 1993; that role has expanded to playing for all the services.  I also play for rehearsals and for other events at Faith.

I am originally from El Paso, Texas.  I received a Bachelors of Arts in Education from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science in Education from Corpus Christi State University.  My husband Dave and I are parents of a daughter, Leslie.  She is a graduate student at the University of North Texas.

Psalm 98:4 'Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.'