Staff
Rev. Dr. Byron S. Wells has been our full time Pastor since April 1, 1984.
"Regardless of your denominational background, the members and friends of Round Grove United Church UCC welcome you, and invite you to share in any and all of our activities! Our focus is on being a church which welcomes diversity of denominational backgrounds as we seek to manifest a greater unity as followers of Jesus Christ. Because many of our members, friends, and guests come from a wide variety of backgrounds, we encourage each other to continue to grow in our faith and understanding without feeling either the need to reject our past experience or to demand everyone else must accept a specific dogma. Each of our participants is acknowledged as having the freedom to decide his or her beliefs based on his or her relationship with God. This freedom and openness allows many families who come from different denominational backgrounds to be a part of the same household of faith as they continue to hold to their personal beliefs. Our unconditional acceptance of one another is shown not only in our friendliness, but also in our support of one another during times of trouble. I invite you to come and share in our friendly community of accepting love and freedom of belief. There truly is a place for you at Round Grove United Church UCC!"
Margaret Wells (BM, NCTM) is the Director of the Round Grove Chancel Choir, Young Ambassadors, Round Grove Chimers, and Children's Choir Club. She has been in that position since April 1, 1984. Margaret Wells' music experience includes many years working with children's choirs and music programs in churches and public school. She is a graduate of the University of Texas in Austin with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education.
Ms. Wells maintains an award-winning piano studio in Flower Mound, TX. Her class of 23 is made up of preschoolers through adults. She is frequently sought after to adjudicate piano events and give programs for area music teacher associations.
As an active member in the Carrollton Music Teacher's Association, she has served as President and Vice President along with many other positions. Nationally certified by the Music Teacher's National Association, Ms. Wells also holds membership in the Dallas Music Teacher's Association, Junior Pianist Guild, and Dallas Chapter of Chorister's Guild.
She is listed in Who's Who of America and Who's Who of American Women.
Jennifer Wells Clay (BM, MMed) is the Assistant Director of Children's Choirs, Director of Cherub Singers, Accompanist for Young Ambassadors and Children's Choir Club and the Fellowship Assistant. Jennifer Wells Clay brings experience, knowledge, and a love for children to Cherub Singers. She has been teaching music to young children for over ten years at Round Grove Church. Mrs. Clay is the owner of Music Steps, an early childhood music program in Lewisville. Prior to Music Steps, she taught in the University of North Texas Early Childhood Music Program (birth through age four) and the Child Development Lab (ages two through six).
Graduating summa cum laude from Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance, Mrs. Clay was the recipient of numerous top music and academic scholarships and awards, including the Undergraduate Award for Achievement and the prestigious Theodore Presser Scholarship. In May 2003, she completed a Master's of Music Education at the University of North Texas where she was honored with the Music Education Graduate Honors Award.
Mrs. Clay has been teaching private piano for eleven years. She is a member of Carrollton Music Teacher's Association, Golden Key National Honor Society, Pi Kappa Lambda (national music honor society), and Phi Kappa Phi (national honor society).
Originally from McKenzie, Tennessee, Michael Chandler (MM) is the organist and pianist for Round Grove United Church. He is a resident of Dallas and is teaching in his seventh year as the classroom music teacher at Parkway Elementary School in Lewisville. He has obtained a Master of Music degree in piano performance from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where he studied piano with Alan Chow, and is also completing a Master of Arts degree in Music Education with an emphasis in Orff Schulwerk at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. During the 1997-98 academic year, Michael was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar studying piano in Germany at the Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt. A winner of a number of competition prizes, he has performed as a concerto soloist with the North Arkansas Symphony Orchestra as well as with the University of Arkansas Chamber Orchestra. In 1999 and 2003, he was a guest performer at the Mendelssohn-Haus Musiksalon in Leipzig, Germany. Michael teaches on the faculty for the Orff Schulwerk certification courses at SMU in Dallas and at UST in Minnesota. He is the accompanist for the Lewisville ISD Fifth Grade Honor Choir, and at Parkway Elementary he directs the Parkway “Panther” Choir and the fifth grade instrumental and movement ensemble, Schulspiel. He is past president of the North Texas Chapter of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA) and is currently serving a three-year term on the National Board of Trustees for AOSA as a Region Representative for Region III. Michael presents workshops for AOSA chapters and for local and out-of-state school districts. Michael has been the Organist for Round Grove since August 2001. He also directs the Super Bowl Men’s Choir and teaches the instrumental component for Camp Round Grove.
Wendy Littrell has been the part time Administrative Assistant for Round Grove United Church since January 1998 and an active member of the church since June 1991. Her duties include putting out the weekly Worship Bulletin and monthly Newsletter, contacting weekly volunteers, compiling weekly attendance, taking care of historical information and files, maintaining church records, taking care of sanctuary "housekeeping" after Worship services, and much more. Originally from Ohio, she was raised in a UCC church outside of Dayton. She and her husband, Charles, have four children and three grandsons.
Mary Quick has been the Christian Education Assistant for Round Grove since 2001. She received a B.S. from The University of Texas in elementary education with an endorsement in kindergarten and a minor in Spanish. Mary has a Master's from Texas A&M University in Early Childhood Curriculum and Instruction. As the Christian Education Assistant, she oversees the Sunday School program for ages 2 through senior high school, including teacher recruitment, staffing, training and curriculum review. Mary and her husband, Grady, have been members of Round Grove since 1994. They have two children.
Yvonne Warren has been the Nursery Assistant since 2003. She has been attending Round Grove with her parents, Carol and Mike Howell, since 1987 and was confirmed into membership in 1991. She and her husband have a daughter and son. She teaches Sunday School and is a Sponsor for the Youth in Action. Yvonne is employed with the Denton Independent School District as a Kindergarten teacher. She has a BS in Elementary Education from Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas.
