Pastors & Staff

Tiffany Danna is an ordained elder who brings with her a passion for ministry and decades of ministerial experience. Tiffany grew up on a ranch in Oklahoma near the communities of Tonkawa and Ponca City. She studied at Northwestern Oklahoma State University for three years before transferring to the University of Southern Mississippi. At Northwestern, Tiffany was the feature twirler in the marching band and served as first chair clarinet in concert band. She earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree (English) with honors from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1994.
Tiffany earned her Master of Divinity Degree from Brite Divinity School. During seminary, she was awarded the Joey Jeter Homiletics (preaching) Book Award. Her relatable narrative-style sermons often bring a laugh or a tear, but always inspire thoughtful reflection and love in action.
Tiffany has served in a variety of church and community settings which inform her ministry. Her experience in serving a cross-denominational appointment (Disciples of Christ) fuels her interest in working with other faith traditions to better serve the community. Her years as a hospice chaplain inform her pastoral care skills and passion for health and wellness ministries. Her experiences as a children and youth pastor have led her to be an advocate for people of all ages. Moreover, her experiences as a senior pastor have given her skills for organizing the church for the mission of making disciples for the transformation of the world. She has a Christ-driven passion for mission with the least of these.
Tiffany and her husband, Joe, have been married for 30 years. Joe is a retired school administrator who enjoys playing golf and officiating sporting events. The Dannas are proud of their daughter, Beth, and her husband, Christian, who live in Tolar. Joe and Tiffany enjoy doting on their three granddaughters.

Rev. Laura Rothe began her ministry career along with her husband Rev. Eric Rothe together and later retired together. In between, there’s been music, moves, Cowboy Church and a passion for the Irish.

They met while both were music composition majors at North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas). They married in 1984 while serving as music ministers at Genesis UMC in Fort Worth. While they served as diaconal ministers at White Rock UMC in Dallas, son William entered their lives.

Eventually, Laura was ordained as a deacon — in fact, she was in the first class of deacons. “I’ve been a deacon since there have been deacons,” says Rev. Rothe.

Her husband's appointments took them to Spring Valley UMC in Dallas, First UMC Jacksboro, Lakewood in Dallas, Whitewright/Marvin and Quinlan. She was the first full-time music minister at First UMC Coppell, overseeing multiple choirs, and also served at Munger Place, Cochran Chapel and First UMC Terrell. After the Christmas that they had five services at each of their churches, she scaled back to part time and often found roles where Eric was appointed.

At two of his churches, the music directors became ill and she stepped into that position. In others, she created successful programs for children, including a community children’s choir in Jacksboro and a Lakewood after-school program helping teach English to children who spoke only Spanish at home. “They were so smart — they just became little scholars right in front of you,” Laura said.

One of Rev. Rothes' most life-changing events took place while Eric was at Spring Valley. Rev. Ray Hennigh, then the senior pastor, organized a Wesley tour of the British Isles. That’s when Eric and Laura fell in love with Ireland, its people and its music. They were struck by the segregation of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Curbs marked neighborhoods as Catholic or Protestant, and schools, hospitals, ambulances and taxis operated separately. A wall divided the Protestant part of town from the Catholic. But a Methodist church stood within the wall, and people could enter on one side and exit on the other, Eric said.

That inspired Pastor Laura to get involved as hosts in the Children’s Friendship Project, a peace initiative pairing Catholic and Protestant teenagers for a stay at U.S. homes. Today, Eric keeps up with many of the teens who stayed with the Rothes.

Pastor Laura's trips to Ireland also reverberated in her music. The Rothes have performed as the duo Celtic or Not, playing at churches, nursing homes, restaurants and pubs. Eric even did a Celtic Spirituality Bible study at a pub when they were at Lakewood.