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Reverend
Tom Downing
Minister of Adult Education/
Senior Adult Programming
Rev. Tom Downing, an ordained elder of the North Texas Annual Conference,
comes to First Church after retiring from a distinguished career
with Southern Methodist University Online Learning Systems Administrator
and Web Developer for the Mitch and Linda Hart eCenter. Tom was raised
in Dallas but left the area to attend the University of California
at Berkeley where he graduated with a Degree in Political Science
in 1968. Returning to Dallas he began attending First Church in 1970
where he met his future wife, Carolyn, in the College Class. He began
seminary at Perkins School of Theology that same year and married
Carolyn in 1972 while interning at St. Mark’s United Methodist
Church in San Antonio. Tom received his Masters Degree in Theology
in 1974. He spent ten years as a United Methodist minister serving
churches in the North Texas Annual Conference. His first appointment
was as Minister to Youth at First United Methodist Church, Denton.
He then served as pastor in charge at Little Elm and finally Henrietta,
Texas. In 1982 Tom left the full time ministry to work in educational
computing for Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. At
that time Tom and his family renewed their relationship with First
Church where both his children, David and Amy were raised.
Tom is the principal author of the First Church Core Curriculum series, a multi-media offering of topics essential to Christian Discipleship. He is also the author of the First Church Online Bible Study. Trained in math and physics as an undergraduate, he enjoys relating his understanding of science to Biblical topics. Tom likes to say, "Attending church does not require disconnecting your brain at the door."
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