Rev. Jenny Smith grew up in the same United Methodist Church in Ft. Worth, TX, that her father's family has been part of since the 1930s.  After studying mathematics at Baylor University, she received her M.Div. from Duke Divinity School. After seminary, she completed a residency in Clinical Pastoral Education at University Medical Center in Tucson, AZ. She transferred from the Central Texas Conference and is an ordained elder in the Desert Southwest Conference of The United Methodist Church.  For six years she served as an associate pastor at Paradise Valley United Methodist Church and currently is in her fifth year as the pastor of Desert Foothills United Methodist Church  in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix.

Jenny has a broad set of interests and, at the moment, finds particular joy in dancing (salsa, swing, rumba, waltz, foxtrot, etc.), hiking, photography, star-gazing by night and looking for lizards and other desert creatures by day.

Rev. Cynthia Langston Kirk has served as pastor with three churches in the Desert Southwest Conference and has just started her fifth year in her extension ministry, Piecing Stories. (www.piecingstories.com and www.piecingstories.com/blog ) Through writing, fabric art, leading retreats and chaplaincy she seeks to connect and deepen our stories with God’s Story. She co-edited Rhythm and Fire with Jerry Haas in 2008. Cynthia is interested in the creative process in many expressions, reading, traveling, granddaughters and goddaughter.  She attended Academy 21 at Bon Secours in Baltimore and has served on four Five Day Academy teams.

Susan is the director of music and lay ministry at Desert Skies UMC in Tucson.  She is originally from Southern Illinois, and she and her husband have lived in Tucson for over 30 years.

In addition to her work at Desert Skies, she is actively  involved in the music education community in Tucson  - through teaching, accompanying and performing.

She and her husband Ralph have two adult daughters.  Susan is an avid reader and loves to travel.

Les Kirk’s grandfather homesteaded from Sweden to near Williams, Arizona in about 1912, making Les a second generation Arizonan. He developed a love for the outdoors and the created world during his stays on the farm and in the logging camp where he grew up. Les attended Academy 15 at Mercy Center in Burlingame, CA and has served on four Five Day Academy teams in Arizona. He is tremendously blessed by his work as a part time hospice physician. His interests include reading, music of all kinds, hiking, photography, his granddaughters and goddaughter.