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Rev. Candace Lansberry

Senior Pastor

Liminal. I have recently been learning about liminality, defined as the time that is neither here nor there. Or, in the words of Ed Catmull from Pixar, “There is a sweet spot between the known and the unknown where originality happens; the key is to be able to linger there without panicking.” (From Susan Beaumont’s book, How to Lead When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going).

We are no longer in the shutdown of the pandemic, but nor are we living COVID free—we are definitely in a liminal space where we are lingering in the unknown. Certainly, we are striving to do our best ministry together, but it looks little like what we had prior to COVID and stretches into a future that we really can’t picture yet. But what an exciting time for prayer, discernment, dreaming, and figuring out our future as a faith community.
We’d love to have you come alongside us as we figure it all out…and adventure in faith as we seek new ways to draw people into a life-giving relationship with Christ.

Reverend Doctor Candace Lansberry is the Senior Pastor at Desert Skies United Methodist Church. She came to the church in 2015 excited about the possibilities for growth and ministry in the northeast part of Tucson. That excitement is fueled by the belief that vital mainline churches are an important part of reaching people of all ages who have been turned off by more extreme expressions of Christianity. The Desert Skies congregation is a vital, service-oriented congregation ready to take on the challenging task of reaching new people for Christ in new ways… and that is Rev. Candace’s passion as well.

Rev. Candace most recently served as a District Superintendent in the North District of the Desert Southwest Annual Conference (Las Vegas area) and prior to that planted two new United Methodist Churches, one in Mesa/Queen Creek and one in Las Vegas. She earned her Master of Divinity Degree at Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, California where she received the President’s Award for Academic Excellent and her Doctor of Ministry at Drew Theological Seminar in Madison, New Jersey. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Brigham Young University in Theater and Cinematic Arts.

Candace is married to Mark, also a United Methodist pastor. They have three daughters and five grandchildren.