OUR COMPOSERS

 

Jody W. Lindh

 

Lindh served University Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, TX from 1969 to 2013, directing the adult Chancel Choir, the youth Aldersgate Chorale and the fourth-to-sixth grade Wesleyan Choir.

After attending Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, he earned his master's in organ performance at Southern Methodist University in 1968. While at SMU, he worked part time as organist at University Park. After graduating and completing a Fulbright fellowship -- he studied organ performance in Cologne, Germany -- he began his career at University Park.

During his career, Lindh collaborated with Joe Cox to create six original musicals based on biblical and faith themes, traveling with the youth choir to present them across the U.S. Over the years, Lindh forged such deep connections with the youth that a steady stream of college kids comes through his office to see him during school breaks, according to Gloria Thomas, retired director of Christian education at the church. "He was not soft on kids. In fact, he was really tough. He challenged them to do their best whether in choir or elsewhere, but he loved them and they knew it," she said. "Who else could challenge that many high school kids to sing every Sunday morning at 8:30 AM?"

Lindh is married to the Rev. JoNell Lindh, pastor of Chapel Hill UMC in Farmers Branch. In 2012, Lindh was honored with an Each Moment Matters Award at a luncheon hosted by Presbyterian Communities and Services Foundation and benefiting Faith Presbyterian Hospice.

A little known fact about Lindh: He’s a Lutheran. He's an associate member of University Park, but remains a member of Elim Lutheran Church in Marquette, Kansas, the church he grew up in. "My great-grandfather was a founder of Elim in the 1880s, and my whole family is there," he said. "I couldn't possibly leave it!"