Staff
Pastor Stephanie Price
she/her/hers - Founding Pastor of The LandPastor Stephanie Price
Rev. Stephanie Price is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church appointed as the full-time Pastor of The Land beginning July 1, 2018. Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Northern Colorado and a M.Div. from The Iliff School of Theology. Prior to becoming the Pastor of The Land, Stephanie served two churches; Evergreen United Methodist Church in Evergreen, CO and Hope United Methodist Church in Greenwood Village, Colorado.
Having spent the past five years developing The Land, Stephanie is learning to see God in all things, and says, “I most reliably feel God’s love and grace when I look at the young woman my daughter is quickly becoming.” Stephanie lives in Centennial, CO with her daughter, dog, and cat. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys, reading, writing and walking her dog.
To contact Stephanie, you can email her at stephanie@thelandumc.org.
Pastor Connor DeFehr
Pastor of Spiritual Life and WorshipPastor Connor DeFehr
Connor has been a part of the Land since the dead of winter 2019, which shows that he’s truly committed to it! When he’s not getting seconds on food there, he’s probably off to a gig since he has been a professional bassist for many years throughout the Denver area. Connor also greatly enjoys song writing, which often looks like putting new lyrics and chords on an old hymn or setting an old tune to jazz so he can play it with his trio.
His passion for worship has stayed with him since the end of middle school when he played bass and began being mentored under the wing of his good friend Zac Hicks. Under Zac, he developed a passion to not only play fun worship songs, but also to equip people to enter into a deeper relationship with God through the words we sing and reflect on.
Connor recently graduated with an MDiv degree from Denver Seminary and is now pursuing chaplaincy alongside his pastoral call. In his spare time, he enjoys going on hikes, eating unique foods, and reading often. Of course, these things are better done with his wife, Jess, his two cats: Tobias and Thalia, and his baby girl Jovie, who was born April 3rd of 2019.
Gayla Dunning
Summer GardenerGayla Dunning
Gayla Dunning is a proud Colorado native. She grew up in Colorado Springs and though she has left the state 3 times she always comes back home to the place she loves. Gayla says, “The mountains feed me like no other place on earth. When life starts to get too stressful, I know that it is time for a long hike in God’s beautiful creation to detox my mind, body, and soul.” Gayla worked in a small garden center in Colorado Springs before going to college to get her bachelor’s degree and teaching license. She has spent the last 8 years teaching early childhood education in Denver Public Schools and then at St. Andrew Preschool. She has now “retired from teaching” and is excited to see what comes next. Gayla and her husband Andy live in Denver. They have 4 adult children, 2 grandchildren, and a strong-willed Jack Russell terrier named Dollar.