Grace United Methodist Church’s new pastor, the Rev. Susan Daniel-Brey knew as early as 6 years old she had an interest in the ministry.
Daniel-Brey officially began as new pastor for Grace United on July 1. She most recently served in Columbus, Kan., at the First United Methodist Church. She knew early on that she wanted to be involved in ministry. In the fall of 1980, she was a youth pastor child studying teaching. She then taught school in Wichita for a period of time and a woman she knew went to seminary. She followed by answering the call and attending seminary herself at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas at the Southern Methodist University.
“I realized I had a calling in my life,” Daniel-Brey said. “There were lots of moments. I can track it back to when I was 6 years old. I had a lot of interest.”
There are many things Daniel-Brey enjoys about the ministry, she said.
“Part of it is the dialog between the person’s heart and their stories of faith and precepts of faith and our lives in the world,” she said. “Partly that plays out when people whose faith may have been dormant for a while and they say ‘yes, I want to be active.’”
Daniel-Brey was sent to Emporia by Bishop Scott Jones. She said the district superintendent seeks the best pastor for the church at that time.
“I feel like this is a good match,” Daniel-Brey said. “We’re excited to be here in Emporia. I’m really pleased to be at Grace United. I feel like it has a lot of really vibrant ministries. I’m enjoying the cultural richness of the area.”
Daniel-Brey is married to Ed Brey. They have three grown sons and one daughter, who lives at home. She enjoys gardening, community service, reading, writing, stained glass and scrapbooking. She’s been involved in several community organizations including the Rotary, Habitat for Humanity and Big Brothers Big Sisters. She’s also been on mission trips to Mexico, New Mexico and a youth trip to Louisiana. She also plans on being involved in the Emporia community in several ways. She plans to be involved in the Emporia State University campus ministry and with La Esperanza Methodist Church.
“I’m just looking forward to being a part of this community,” Daniel-Brey said. “And being involved in the life of this community.”