Our Staff
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Pastor Bryce Blank
I am privileged to serve as pastor of Epworth UMC. Throughout my life I have been pulled closer to God through powerful experiences that have shown me who God is. Here at Epworth UMC, we seek to reflect God in all that we are by living, sharing, and growing in God’s love. My hope is that you would find this community as a place that you belong as a follower of Jesus Christ.
Originally from Rapid City, SD I grew up with my family in the Black Hills. I went to Dakota Wesleyan University before attending seminary at Perkins School of Theology. Before serving in Valley City, I served as a youth director at Christ UMC in Farmers Branch, TX and the Associate Pastor at First UMC in Watertown, SD. My wife Meaghan and I have fur babies who we love to hang with.
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Cassidy Fraedrich - Office Administrator
Meet Cassidy, the backbone of our office and the undisputed champion of troubleshooting all of our technology problems. When it comes to keeping things running smoothly, Cassidy is the wizard behind the curtain.
When she's not turning chaos into order, Cassidy enjoys road-tripping to new places and spending time with her cat, Mr. Richard.
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VirLyn Hoff - Congregational Care Coordinator
Hello, I’m VirLyn Hoff. My husband Gordon and I have been members here at Epworth since we moved to Valley City as newlyweds. I have served on various committees of the church and I am active in the Sunday School and United Women in Faith. The people of Epworth have shown me the importance, the necessity, of being in a community of believers. I am honored to serve the congregation through the work in the office at this time. As an elementary teacher by profession, I treasure caring for and watching my three birth grandchildren grow and learn, along with three honorary grandchildren, plus whomever else God brings into my life. I am glad to greet you in church.
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Anne Osborne - Youth Director
Anne Osborne lives in Sibley on Lake Ashtabula with her dog, Rosie. She enjoys water sports such as paddleboarding and jet skiing.
She works for the National Wheat Foundation and runs the National Wheat Yield Contest. She enjoys working with farmers and especially farmers who serve on boards and want to improve their industry.
Anne serves as the Chair of the Board of Pensions for the Dakotas Conference. She has also served as dean of a Summer’s Last Blast camp for youth at Lake Poinsett Camp.
Anne has a daughter, Katie, who is a 9th grade English teacher at Casselton and stepson Paul, who lives in Grand Forks, and stepson Jim, who lives in Jamestown. Anne has 1 granddaughter Ansleigh, who is 7 months old.
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Holly Neuberger - Interim Christian Ed Director
My name is Holly Neuberger. I have had a very blessed life. God is so good! Married to Dale for 44 years, we have three children, grandchildren, and one great grandson! For most of my adult life I have worked in the emergency medical services. 35 plus years as a critical care paramedic by air and by ground. My other "work" hat was as a 911 dispatcher for 20+ years. I continue to teach courses for the state, including basic first aid, CPR, emergency medical dispatching and EMT courses. I love teaching! This is why I will be helping out with the Sunday school class until a permanent teacher is hired. I hope you will join your child in some of the classes. I believe your child will want to "show you off" to the rest of the kids! We will have stories, activities, games, and art work. We will understand the importance of prayer. Children will learn that their Heavenly Father will hear them because He loves them so much!