First Presbyterian Church of McAllen, Texas
A Congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Living Out God's Call to Joy & Justice
Staff
Pastor
Kathryn Escandell
Before entering the ministry, Kathy and her husband Tom raised four children while she also worked as a teacher and a business woman. After Tom died, she fulfilled her lifelong dream to go to seminary. She received her Master of Divinity Degree from Austin Seminary in 2010 and was ordained in 2014. Before her call to be our pastor in 2017, she was an associate pastor at University Presbyterian Church in Austin.
Organist
Beverly Bradburn
Beverly took her first piano and organ lessons from her mother. At age 17, she began playing the organ in church. She has a Master of Music degree from the University of South Dakota. Her entire professional career was in the McAllen schools including more than 25 years at Morris Middle School where she discovered her passion is middle school choir.
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Beverly plays our magnificent Aeolian-Skinner organ which was was installed in 1962. Fun facts about the organ:
* the sugar pine was harvested in Pacific Northwest and shipped through the Panama Canal to the manufacturer in Boston, Massachusetts
* the kiln-dried wood is completely perfect; no knots or splits
* there are 1654 pipes; the longest is 18 feet and the shortest is less than 1 inch
* 20+ miles of electrical wiring was used
* it took two months to install
Church Administrator
Brain Pullen
Custodian
Shannon Pruneda
Facilities Manager
Martin Davila
Choir Director
Roberto Garza
Robert began his career as a church musician at age 17 when he conducted the youth choir at St. Theresa's Catholic Church in Edinburg. He graduated from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley with a degree in music education. He founded and directs the Dolce Armonia Choral Ensemble; composes and arranges music; and performs in the award-winning Mariachi Estrellas. He also works full time as a choir director at Cathey Middle School in McAllen.
Session
Active ruling elders, elected by our congregation, who make decisions for the running of our local church and serve as spiritual leaders of our congregation:
Class of 2025
Kathy Garfield
Chris Leonard
Kathryn Henry
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Class of 2026
Mike Hudler
Bernard Tabali
Class of 2027
Lita Simpson
Nadine Force-Macey
Caly Fernandez
Trustees
Spud Brown - 2025
VACANT - 2026
Cameron Henry - 2027
