My name is Stephen L. Girsh Sr., and I have the privilege of serving as Pastor, caretaker, and manager of Abbott Methodist Church. My journey to this role has been shaped by decades of ministry, music, and a friendship that began more than thirty years ago.

I first met Don Reed at King Memorial UMC in Whitney, the church where my wife, Brenda, and I were married in 1992. Over the years I became deeply involved in that congregation, eventually serving as choir director for several years. My calling to music ministry began even earlier, back in the early 1980s, when I first served in a small Methodist church in Pattison, Texas. Since then, I’ve had the blessing of sharing music in several churches, always seeing it as a way to lift hearts and draw people closer to God.

When Abbott Methodist Church reopened in 2006, Don often invited me to come and provide special music during services. Those visits slowly knit my heart to the Abbott congregation. In 2009, after leaving King Memorial, I became a full member of Abbott Methodist Church — a place that already felt like home.

I was ordained by the Universal Life Church in July 2016, and on January 2, 2022, Abbott Methodist Church ordained me as a Pastor. That moment remains one of the greatest honors of my life.

Before Don Reed passed away, he personally asked me to take over the management and care of Abbott Methodist Church. I accepted that responsibility with deep gratitude and humility. I was later elected President/Treasurer, a position I continue to hold today with the trust given to me by Don, and by Willie and Bobbie Nelson, who saved the church from being sold and moved back in 2006.

Today, I am blessed to serve alongside four other pastors who each bring their own gifts, experiences, and callings to our congregation. Together, we form a well‑rounded team of spiritual leaders committed to guiding, supporting, and nurturing the Abbott Methodist Church family.

I see my role as a continuation of the legacy handed down through generations of faithful people — from the five remaining members in 2006, to Bernice Pope, to Don Reed, to Willie and Bobbie, and now to me. My hope is simple: to keep the doors open, the lights on, and the spirit of welcome alive so that anyone who steps inside feels the peace and presence of God. As Willie said on reopening day in 2006, “Once you enter, you are a member.” I try to live that out every day.