Hometown: Nowhere in particular
Present City: Dallas
Education: University of Kentucky, BA in Communications
Profession: Manage scholarships at UT Dallas
Tell us about your family.
Scott Spreier and I have been married for 38 years. We have three children: Mary Lu Hare is active at Wilshire and lives in Fort Worth with her husband, Thomas; Wilson Spreier, his wife, Shelley, and their three children live in San Antonio (and belong to Woodland Baptist Church); and Joel Spreier lives near Denver.
How about your volunteer life?
I’ve always been engaged in civic life. It might be because for a part of my time growing up, I lived overseas. I’m very engaged in voter registration, access to the polls and awareness of elections and voting opportunities.
Favorite hobbies?
I love to camp (in a tent), hike and snowshoe. I try to garden. I’m old enough that I’m leery of activities where I could get really banged up.
Where are you engaged at Wilshire?
I’ve taught preschool Sunday School off and on (mostly on) for about 12 years. Now I’m with 1+ year olds. We always have room for more! In between, I’m in Epiphany Class, which was Young Adult 3 or 4 when we started at WBC in 1996. I take part in WOW — lately mahjong and Tuesday Evening Book Club. All these activities remind me of the great community I have at WBC across generations that I wouldn’t have without this church.
What has surprised you most about Wilshire?
Surprise isn’t quite the right word. I’m most in awe of our willingness to be “that kind of church.” We’re not perfect and we’re not always good at a lot of stuff, but we’re willing to work at it and (hopefully) make room for more people in the pew — or wherever they intersect with our church family. As the world and our families evolve, I’ve become interested in how to build community that doesn’t demand 11 a.m. Sunday attendance. I know “church” requires some sort of worship as a group. Based on my WBC experiences, I know we’re going to figure this out. Church is grounding for me. I know a lot of people who would benefit from the peace I get just from walking into our building. The question, of course, is how do we as a congregation extend that welcome.
What do you think God is up to in your life right now?
I don’t know. I keep waiting for an email!
What’s something interesting most people would not know about you?
I hitchhiked a couple times in college. It absolutely is not something I would recommend. But it shows we all did stupid stuff in our youth.