Melissa Florer-Bixler was called to be pastor of Raleigh Mennonite Church in 2016.
Melissa is a “convinced” Mennonite. As an adult she found herself drawn to Anabaptism’s emphasis on consensus decision-making, the priesthood of all believers, peace building, and potlucks. She is a sucker for four-part harmony.
Her formal education occurred at Gordon College, Duke University, and Princeton Theological Seminary. She was nurtured into pastoral ministry over the past decade by the spacious welcome of Portland Mennonite, Oxford Circle Mennonite, and Chapel Hill Mennonite. She was the recipient of the gentleness and shared life of L’Arche Portland (OR) and works to extend that beloved community as a board member of Friends of L’Arche North Carolina.
With her time she defends her snap peas from insects, attends to the words of Elena Ferrante, Karl Barth, and Li-Young Lee, and cultivates the will to learn Spanish by listening to Ana Tijoux. Sometimes she writes things that other people read in The Mennonite and Christian Century. She expends the most time, energy, tears, laughter, fear and patience co-parenting her three children with her spouse, Jacob.
Alan Reberg (Minister of Community Development): His special hot button is Economic Justice and the resolution of issues that oppress the poor.
Joy Wahnefried began attending Raleigh Mennonite Church in 2014. In June 2017 she began her role as Pastoral Resident.
She is a convinced Mennonite who was drawn to the faith because of the emphasis on peace and justice, the priesthood of all believers, and the care for the earth. She loves preaching, deep
conversations, supporting other people as they grow into their gifts, imagining a better world and trying to bring it about.
In her spare time she reads and tries to persuade other people to let her play with their dogs. She also loves listening to spoken word poetry but is too scared to actually take that microphone.