Church Leadership

Pastor Jackie Ann Rose Kraft

At Asbury United Methodist Church, we are grateful to have an outstanding team of leaders who are dedicated to serving the Lord. Our philosophy is that we are truly "blessed to be a blessing."

Pastor Jackie Ann Rose Kraft

Pastor Jackie Ann Rose Kraft has served Asbury United Methodist Church since July 2003. The youngest daughter of Phyllis and Russell Rose, Reverend Kraft (or Pastor Jackie, as she is known) graduated from Batavia High with honors, and went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in Organizational and Interpersonal Communication from the University at Buffalo. Answering a call from God, she began her ministry in the United Methodist Church in1988 and entered Colgate Rochester Divinity School where she received her Master’s of Divinity degree in 1990.

Reverend Kraft took her first pastoral appointment in 1988 at North Gainesville United Methodist Church in Wyoming County. Since that time, she has served as pastor at three other churches, and also spent four years directing the Camping, Conferences and Retreat Ministries for the Western New York Annual Conference. She has served in multiple administrative leadership roles for the Methodist church in upstate New York.

At Asbury United Methodist Church, Pastor Jackie has led our congregation through two building projects in seven years, culminating in the beautiful new building we now call home, where we held our inaugural worship service on May 30, 2010. Pastor Jackie is known for her deep love of the Lord, her warm and cheerful demeanor, and her compassionate heart. She has guided our congregation to a renewed sense of commitment to reach out to serve our surrounding community. She reminds us regularly that we are “blessed to be a blessing.”

In addition to her service at Asbury UMC, Pastor Jackie serves as a chaplain for the 107^th Airlift Wing in Niagara Falls, where she works in consultation and cooperation with the command officers. She provides routine and crisis counseling, spiritual guidance, and a boost to morale for military personnel and their families. During her 13 years of service, she has been deployed to Istres, France and Adana, Turkey.

Pastor Jackie’s husband of 32 years is the Reverend Thomas Michael Kraft, who serves Pendleton Center United Methodist Church and First Church Niagara Falls UMC. They are the proud parents of daughter, Autumn, and grandparents of their grandson, Landis. Pastor Jackie and Pastor Tom reside in Pendleton Center.

Charles D. Syms

Charles D. Syms, Lay Leader

Mr. Charles D. Syms has been a leader in our congregation for almost two decades, and has served as our Lay Leader since 2005. Mr. Syms is a Clinical Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at the University at Buffalo. He earned his undegraduate degree in Urban Studies at Buffalo State College, and his master's degree in Social Work at California State University-Sacramento. In addition to his service to our congregation, Charles has been active at the conference level, recently completing an appointment to the Board of Ordained Ministry, where he worked with other lay members and clergy to evaluate and counsel candidates at various stages of the ordination process.

Charles and his wife, Laurie, live in Buffalo. Their daughter, Alyssa, is a 2010 graduate of Buffalo State College, and their son, Jared, is a rising junior at St. John's University. The Symses have been members of this congregation for more than 20 years, and Laurie's father has been a member for almost 40 years. What a wonderful family of God!