Pastoral Staff

Pastors At Rayne

Carol Winn Crawford, Senior Pastor

Carol "Callie" Winn Crawford first came to Rayne in June 2003. Prior to her present appointment, she served churches in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans area as well as Campus Minister at the University of New Orleans, Southern in New Orleans, and Delgado Community College. Over the years, she has served on several conference boards and commissions including the Commission on the Status and Role of Women, Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, the Board of Global Ministries, and the Episcopacy Committee. She has served as a delegate to both the Jurisdictional and General Conferences of the United Methodist Church..

Earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Louisiana State University in 1973 she was chosen for the honorary Mortar Board membership and Phi Beta Kappa. In 1978 she earned her Masters of Theology degree and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, selected by the faculty as the recipient of the 1978 Senior Award. She was ordained a Deacon in the Louisiana Annual Conference in 1976 and an Elder in 1978.

Callie is married to Billy Crawford, a retired educator and education consultant, who served as the Assistant Superintendent of the Louisiana State Department of Education and has helped to re-open three post-Katrina recovery schools. Callie has two children: Luke Winn Fleming, who recently received his Doctorate in Viola Performance from the Juilliard School in New York City where he is violist for the Juillard Quartet-in-Residence, the Attacca Quartet.  Callie's daughter, Sarah Winn Fleming, a graduate of  Louisiana State University and co-founder of Hagar’s House, a Methodist sponsored shelter for women in mid-city New Orleans, recently received her Masters of Social Change Degree with distinction from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver.

There is a long history of Methodism in Callie's family. She is the daughter of John Winn, founder of the Center for Pastoral Effectiveness and now a semi-retired minister of the Louisiana Conference, and stepdaughter of recently retired Carole Cotton Winn, founder and Director of the Academy for Spiritual Formation of the Louisiana Conference and who served as Rayne’s associate minister during the 1970’s. Callie’s recently ordained sister, Lane, serves as the associate pastor at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Slidell.   Send Callie a message by clicking here.

Affiliated Ministries Pastors

William Thiele, Spiritual Director

Although not officially on the staff of the Rayne Church, William Thiele directs a new ministry which Rayne co-sponsors with the Parker Memorial United Methodist Church where William is a part-time pastor. It began with a the need for post-Katrina counseling and the dream of an intentional growth center. Under the spiritual direction of William Thiele, it has evolved into The School for Contemplative Living. The school is supported by a growing number of partners and members and offers a wide variety of opportunities for spiritual growth and service deeply grounded and centered in prayer. Its office is located at Rayne, and you may reach it by calling 504-899-3431 or by clicking here.

Max Zehner, Campus Minister

Max Zehner has been the director of the Tulane Wesley Foundation since 2003. Under his direction, the student ministry has thrived and the Freret Street Methodist student center has been updated and improved. A graduate of Duke Divinity School (Master of Divinity) and University of Southern Mississippi (B.A. English), Max has been involved in the New Orleans Mission Zone and the recovery of the United Methodist Church in New Orleans since the storm. Max was ordained as an elder at Annual Conference this June, and has become a member of the Louisiana Annual Conference in full connection. He is an intelligent, creative, and energetic young minister with a buoyant spirit, a wonderful sense of humor, and a gentle heart. As a member of our staff he will assist with worship, preaching, and pastoral care and will provide leadership and support for our college and young adult ministries. Send Max a message by clicking here.