Rev. Cynthia Engstrom

Lead Pastor

Rev. Cynthia Engstrom became Lead Pastor at Travis Park Church in July 2022, coming from Universal City United Methodist Church. She is a mom of two beautiful young adult children, Sarah and Neil.

Cynthia is a second career clergy. Her M Div. was completed at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (APTS) in Austin. She followed immediately with a Master of Art in Religion, concentration in Theological Ethics at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest. She is now in the final stages of a Doctor of Ministry Degree at APTS with a concentration in Christian Spirituality; her research centers on community mobilization for the sake of transformation and systemic change.

At the Conference level, she Chairs the Transforming Community Vision Team (TCVT) and serves as a member of the Transforming Communities Network (TCN) Design and Development Team, which trains congregational/ community cohorts to be facilitators of community change. She also serves on the Methodist Healthcare Ministry (MHM) Board, which is transitioning to an augmented focus on social determinates of health, such as poverty.

Rev. Gavin Rogers

Associate Pastor

Rev. Gavin Rogers is the Executive Director of Corazon San Antonio, a local non profit for the unhoused and marginalized. He also serves as the Associate Pastor at Travis Park Church in downtown San Antonio. He is the founder of the interfaith community group Pub Theology San Antonio. He is a native Texan and is a graduate The Divinity School at Duke University. In 2013 he was selected as the Young San Antonian of the Year for his work of solidarity with the homeless when he lived on the streets of San Antonio for Lent. This award has been given to one San Antonian each year since 1931. In 2018, Gavin traveled with the migrant caravan to better understand the immigration issue and learn the personal stories of migrants.  His work can be found on CNN, NPR, San Antonio Report, and the San Antonio Express News.  Gavin’s mission is to engage the community to seek unconditional love and justice in action to all of our neighbors.

Pastor Shiloh Morris

Youth and Young Adults

Shiloh Morris came to Travis Park Church in October 2021.  Shiloh graduated from McMurry University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and graduated from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in 2016 with her Master of Divinity.  During her year long internship, Shiloh was placed at McMurry University in the Chaplain’s office where she served as the Student Ministry Director and as a teaching assistant in the Religion Department.  In that placement, she found her passion for working with students of all ages in a student ministry setting and academic setting.  After graduation, Shiloh served at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Lubbock, another Reconciling Congregation, as the Associate Pastor of Student Ministries for 5 years, where she most recently came from.  Areas of focus and interest of Shiloh’s include Koine Greek, the New Testament (especially Luke-Acts), Liberation theology, queer theology, feminist theology, and dialogue with the other.

Shiloh has three spoiled cats (Meeko, Tipton, & Lewis), who she is more than willing to show you pictures of anytime.  Some of her favorite things are: sweet tea, corny/”dad” jokes, video games, disc golf, attending student’s extracurricular activities, guest lecturing, and whatever else keeps her busy for the time being.

Children’s Ministry

Analisa Vitola

Children’s Ministry Director

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Analisa Vitola is a lifelong member of Travis Park United Methodist Church. Her family has been involved in the church ministry beginning in the 1940s! Analisa began her church career in Ms. Patty’s Littlest Angels choir at the age of 3. Once beginning grade school, she was a committed member to the Cherub Choir under the direction of Ms. Betty Telford. In middle and high school, she sang, danced, and performed in the Emmaus Singers enthusiastically led by Michael Kahl, Rev. Joe Stoebough, and Dr. Gary Mabry. Analisa was also a devoted 7 year member of the youth group led by one of her favorite people, Evan Jones. After graduating from Texas State University, she returned to San Antonio, joined the Sanctuary Choir, now under the direction of Analisa’s first Travis Park friend, Caroline Bonner Collins, and assisted with the Joyful Noise! children’s choir for 10 years. She is honored to be part of staff in her position of Children’s Ministry Director as she stands on the shoulders of giants that continue to guide her faith journey.

Cydni Bravenec &
Johanna Daily

Nursery & PlayRoom

Isabel Laborde

Nursery & PlayRoom

Youth Ministry

Sonya Cruz

Youth Sponsor

 Christy Caez

Youth Sponsor

Cody Miller

Youth Sponsor

Patty Bonner

Emmaus Youth Choir Sponsor

Chas Waters

Emmaus Youth Choir Sponsor

Music & Worship

Lou Caroline Collins

Director of Music and Worship

Caroline Collins is honored to be directing choirs at the church where she grew up and participated in choirs throughout her life. Before leading music at Travis Park Church, she successfully taught music at Nimitz Middle School, first as assistant band director and then as head choir director. Caroline graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in Instrumental Music Studies. It is a joy for Caroline to lead choirs at Travis Park Church, especially since her husband, mother, and two daughters are able to participate in the ensembles. Caroline believes that music can be the bridge that connects all kinds of people, creates a common ground, and can help us see past differences to create an environment that nourishes the soul and energizes the spirit.

Chas Waters

Worship Leader

Charles ‘Chas’ Waters has been the associate worship leader for Travis Park since the Spring of 2022. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from Reinhardt University in Northwest Georgia, where he also grew up. After college, he moved to San Antonio where he could be closer to family and eventually started his own when he became a father to his beautiful son, Oliver. It was upon looking into where Oliver could be baptized that Travis Park stood out for its values of inclusion and unconditional love for all people. It was during this process that Chas officially joined the church in 2019. Since becoming the associate worship leader, Chas has been honored to use his musical gifts to express the love that he finds so graciously given back to him from the people of Travis Park. Outside of church and parenthood, Chas enjoys working as a musician around San Antonio. He also loves teaching, performing and creating his own music. He looks forward to seeing where God takes him as he continues growing with Travis Park United Methodist Church. 

Chelsea Bumgarner

Worship Leader

Chelsea Marie Bumgarner joined Travis Park with her wife and family in the summer of 2022. In the spring of 2023, she was asked to join Chas Waters as Worship Leader, supporting him in the music ministry. Chelsea has over 5 years of music and theater education and has over 27 years of professional and community theater experience performing around San Antonio. Chelsea and her wife Michelle perform often together and enjoy the opportunity to do so at Travis Park Church. Travis Park has been the first church they’ve attended who accept and affirm a Transgender woman and her wife as children of God, fearfully made in the creator’s image. While not at church, Chelsea works as an IT engineer for VMware and teaches online at Penn State University, while her wife runs a local CPA office. Chelsea is both honored and humbled to have the opportunity to share what God has given her with such an accepting church family, while standing side by side with her bride in their walk.

Yi-Hsin Yu, CAGO

Organist

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Yi Hsin (Sophie) Yu grew up and completed her education in Taiwan. She has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the National Taiwan Normal University, majoring in Piano Performance. Before moving to Texas, she had led several girl’s choirs that won the district and regional competitions multiple times during her 23-year tenure as a middle-school music teacher in Taiwan. Mentored by Dr. Juanelva Rose, founder of Tunghai University’s Music Department, she started learning organ playing in 2015 and played Sunday services for the Luce Chapel at Tunghai University. After transitioning to the U.S. in 2019, she earned the Service Playing Certificate and the Colleague Certificate awarded by the American Guild of Organists (AGO) within two years.

Her service experiences in the U.S. included Lutheran Church, Episcopal Church, and Catholic Church. Presently, she enjoys playing the three amazing keyboard instruments at Travis Park Church since March 2022. She has two daughters, Rachel is going to college in Fall 2022 and Renee will be a Junior in high school.

Kevin Collins

Director of Handbells

Kevin is the Director of Handbells at Travis Park. He has been attending Travis Park since 2013 and has been a participant in the bell choir for most of that time, stepping in as director in 2022. Music has been a part of Kevin’s life since 6th grade band. Kevin is an oboe player and met his wife, Caroline, while on the drumline playing cymbals in the Longhorn Band at The University of Texas at Austin. Together they have 2 beautiful daughters who are active in the children’s ministry at Travis Park with another baby girl due in March 2023! Kevin also sings in the Sanctuary Choir, under the direction of his wife, and is currently the chair of the Travis Park United Methodist Church Foundation Board.

Rudolph (Rudy) Galindo

Sound & Lighting Technician

Marcelino Velazquez Jr.

AV/Media

Mia Carey

AV/Media

My name is Mia Carey & I program/operate MediaShout (what y’all see on the projectors) for Sunday worship & sing with the Celebration Band. I have a bachelor’s & a master’s degree in criminal justice/criminology. I have been a parole officer for the state of Texas for over 1 year. My parents joined Travis Park Church in 1998, when I was 4 years old. We were members until 2006, when my dad took a position at another church. My mom & I returned to Travis Park almost 1 year ago & it’s been such a blessing. I’m grateful to to be of service to Travis Park through media & music!

Office Staff & Volunteers

Shirley Watkins

Church Membership

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Shirley Watkins has been a member of Travis Park Church since 1973. She began volunteering with church membership when her children left home and she found herself without purpose. It was a good fit, as she likes accurate record-keeping and order. She has a deep love of Travis Park Church and its people: past, present and future.

She and her husband, Phil, are the parents of 3 adult daughters who were raised at Travis Park Church, and are the grandparents of 4.

She is an active participant with the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and a member of the Community Board of Methodist Healthcare System.

Megan Paterson

Director of Hospitality & Events

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Celia Aguirre

Office Manager

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Juliette Clark

Communications Director

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Juliette Clark serves as the Communications Director at Travis Park Church. She joined the church in 2020, during the COVID pandemic, before she even sat foot in the beautiful sanctuary.

Juliette loves the mission and ministries of Travis Park Church and believes that every human is precious and belongs fully at God’s table.

In her spare time she enjoys gardening, reading, spending time with her husband Joe, scrolling social media and liking things, and exploring with the Explorers Group of Travis Park.

Bobbi Kroll

Church Historian

Janette Grant

In loving memory of 17 years of faithful service and friendship. 

Remembering Janette >

Catherine Metzger

Church Bookkeeper
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Sonya Erb

Church Finance Volunteer

Leonard Hartfield

Building Supervisor

Ernest Moore

Building Maintenance

Group Leaders

David Stone

Questions? Sunday School Class

Dr. Linda Solis

Social Justice Sunday School

Dr. Kathleen Laborde & Isabel Laborde

Puente Pal T Shirt Doll Ministry

Dr. Rachel Jennings

Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN), Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA), and liason to Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP)

Mary Villalobos

United with Faith (Women’s Group OPEN TO ALL)

Leadership Board

(Formerly known as Church Council)

The Leadership Board represents the interests of all Travis Park Church members through Church Governance.  As such every Church Council member wears the hat of Staff Parish Relations Committee, the Trustees and the Finance Committee. The task as leaders is to carry out the vision of the Pastor and goals for Travis Park Church. The Leadership Board is supported by task groups to bring the mission, vision, goals and strategies of Travis Park Church to life.  We need everyone to be a part of Travis Park Church’s servant ministries.

2023 Leadership Board

Ronda Hageman

Heather Mace-Meador

Carol Lockett Scholl

Beth Smith—Chair

Linda Solis

Velia Suarez

George Taylor

Mary Jo Villalobos

Tracie Kuenzi*

Corazon Ministries & Deborah’s House

Morgan Handley

Corazon San Antonio Associate Director

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Ashley O’Leary

Deborah’s House Executive Director

Email Ashley >

Robbie Rodgers

Chef & Kitchen Manager

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