Leadership

Pastor Hoyt, Sandy and their two sons came to UMCL in 2017 after serving in rural churches, a university church, three city churches, and two suburban churches.  Prior to his professional ministry he worked in higher education for 23 years.  

Pastor Hoyt has preached thoughtful, scripture based messages, often in series.  His teaching has encouraged the church to read the word daily, be involved in small groups, and continue to minister to the community and the world.  He lead the way by participating on two mission trips, one to Puerto Rico to help rebuild homes destroyed by a hurricane, and one to Kenya's In Step Children's Home where he helped get technology and tablets donated by Rotary up and running.  He also preached, taught and played soccer with the kids.

When the Pandemic hit, Pastor Hoyt immediately began taping worship services for Sunday and taped a long series of Bible stories for kids to keep everyone engaged in worship and the Bible.  Although out of his comfort zone, he lead the way with livestreaming church services.

Pastor Hoyt will be remembered as a mentor and encourager.  He often would encourage people to step out of their comfort zone and move ahead in faith when they were prompted by the Lord for acts of service, teaching, or ministry.  

Pastor Hoyt studied at Southern Methodist University, the University of Maryland at College Park and United Theological Seminary.  He has degrees in psychology, counseling and divinity.  He has served on United Methodist district and conference committees, including the Council on Finance and Administration, the Board of Ordained Ministry, registrar for the District Committee on Ministry, chair of the District Committee on Superintendancy.  He also served as facilitator of the conference wide Hands To Plow church revitalization program and a graduate of Leadership Academy.

May 28th was Pastor Hoyt's last day of preaching which was followed by a reception.  UMCL wishes Pastor Hoyt the very best as he retires from full-time ministry.

Pastor Sung Ho Lee will officially begin as pastor of UMCL on Sunday, July 2, 2023.

Theo and Victoria, graduates of Messiah University with Bachelor’s degrees in Christian Ministries and dual concentrations in Congregational and Youth Ministries, will be leaving UMCL mid-June 2023 to continue their career path in the Boston area.

UMCL has appreciated their boundless energy and creative ministry to our children and youth.   The Sunday Children's Moment has been instructional and often entertaining to the children (and adults).  The children and youth have grown in their faith and had a good time, too.

We wish Theo and Victoria the very best during this time of transition for their family.   

Kelli joined the UMCL staff in August 2019.  She has lived in Livonia for the last 11 years with her husband, Joseph and their two children and has  worked in the Livonia area.  She thoroughly enjoys being part of the community and is excited to work at United Methodist Church of Livonia.

Kelli prepares the "Weekly Update" email, oversees the day to day office tasks and reporting, and answers the phone.

Dan believes music is his gift from God. He has loved singing since before he could remember.  He gave that talent back to God in the Catholic church he attended until he was 18. After deciding his views differed from that of the Catholic church, Dan stopped attending regular services. Years later, Shari, Dan's wife,  found her faith and ultimately brought him back to services at a Calvary Chapel, where he felt called to be part of the praise band and inquired about becoming involved. The Baptist views of church leaders were quite strict, and he didn't feel that was in line with Jesus' teachings. With the wind sucked out of his sails, Dan started to worry what God's plan was for him. Then, two friends  contacted  Dan asking if he would assist in the start of a contemporary worship service in Livonia. God's plan was dropped in his lap. This was over a decade ago, and Dan hasn't regretted a moment of it. Dan feels that God has led him and has a purpose for him at UMCL.  He plans to stay as long as he is called.