Meet Our Pastors

Rev. Dr. Dana Werts, Lead Pastor

Pastor Dana joined the Brook Hill staff in July of 2012 as associate pastor and then became lead pastor in 2020. Her desire is for everyone to live a life of love as beloved children of God, and to share this love with the world so that others might take hold of the life that is truly worth living through faith in Jesus Christ.

She received her undergraduate degree from Baylor University in Elementary Education, and she was a teacher at Christ Episcopal School in Rockville, Maryland, for several years. She received her Master of Divinity and Doctorate of Ministry degrees from Wesley Theological Seminary.

Her favorite foods are anything spicy and key lime pie. When she was a child she wanted to be a professional spelunker (cave explorer) or an artist. Her first jobs were babysitting and as a Six Flags Over Texas ride operator. She is inspired by quiet, faithful people who live out their faith wherever they are, no matter how difficult life is. Her husband Randy makes her laugh. For fun, she likes to take walks in the outdoors. Dana enjoys serving on renewal weekends such as Kalos (Chrysalis), Seven Mile Walk with Jesus (The Walk to Emmaus), and Kairos Outside (ministry to families of those incarcerated).

Her favorite verses are Ephesians 5:1–2, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God,” and John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.” Her favorite characteristic of Jesus is His servant love.

Dana is married to Randy, and they have a son, Kyle, who is married to Corrie, and a daughter, Cayce, married to Mickey. She adores her six grandchildren and four grandpups!

E-mail Pastor Dana at DWerts@bhumc.org.

Associate Pastor Kathy Altman

Rev. Kathy Altman most recently served as pastor of Sandy Mount United Methodist Church in Finksburg, Maryland for 4 years. Previous appointments include Mayo United Methodist Church in Edgewater, Maryland, for 5 years; associate pastor at Westminster United Methodist Church in Westminster, Maryland for 2 years; and part-time licensed local pastor at Mount Tabor United Methodist Church in Etchison, Maryland for 3 years.

Rev. Altman received a Master of Divinity Degree from Wesley Theological Seminary in 2011. She also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology from Loyola University.

Rev. Altman is a second career pastor having spent 25 years in the health care field as a medical technologist and laboratory manager. She felt the call to ministry in 2008, attended seminary while serving as a student pastor, graduated in 2011, and was ordained as a full elder in 2015. She also served as a youth leader at Calvary United Methodist Church in Mount Airy and Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church in Owings Mills and has sung in multiple choirs and praise teams.

Her passions include spirited preaching and worship, helping congregations with spiritual discernment, music ministry, and caring for congregants through visitation and grief support. Rev. Altman enjoys singing, playing 6- and 12-string guitar, gardening, and quilting. She and her husband enjoy traveling and spending time with their three adult children.

Her email address is kaltman@bhumc.org.

Pastor Jennifer Maurás-Rivera, Pastor of Hispanic–Latino Ministry

Pastor Jennifer Maurás-Rivera, from Puerto Rico, is the pastor of the Shalom Hispanic Ministry. Below is a short bio from Pastor Jennifer:

In 2000, I visited the Methodist Church “El Santuario” in Puerto Rico. It taught me different ways of approaching God and I became passionate about His presence. I was 19 years old when God called me to become a pastor; this “call” He continued to repeat on countless occasions!

As time passed, God allowed me to assume various leadership positions that were forming me. I worked with youth of the local church and the Methodist youth in the southern part of the island. In addition, I visited prisons, attended to the homeless and addicts, worked with local missions, marriage workshops, women ministries, and preached around the island and in the United States. I continued God’s work while studying at the university, reaching a doctoral degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology (with God, everything is possible).

In 2015, I arrived in Baltimore, Maryland as part of a mission trip and was offered an invitation to work with the youth of Salem United Methodist Church.

In 2016, I married my husband, Ángel M. Rivera Colon and together we continued to serve this church until June 2019. On July 1, 2019, I accepted the beautiful assignment to come serve the Shalom Hispanic ministry of this beloved church (Brook Hill UMC). It is an honor for us to be part of you and as long as God permits, we will be here to serve.

Our vision for Shalom Ministry is to equip and develop a healthy church filled with the Holy Spirit, which extends the Kingdom of God through biblical teaching and social service, with the intention of transforming lives, making disciples, and developing leaders who will be integrated into the life of the Church.

Contact Pastor Jennifer at MinisterioHispano@bhumc.org.

 

Meet the rest of Brook Hill’s dedicated staff!