A Little About Marty

Marty Vershel has long believed that holy things happen in ordinary places — and sometimes in the weird ones too. In kitchens and hospital rooms. At gravesides and ballparks. In conversations that begin casually and end up carrying more weight than expected.

For many years, Marty served as a United Methodist pastor, walking alongside people through moments of joy, loss, doubt, and deep faith. That calling didn’t end when he retired from congregational ministry. It simply found new ways to show up.

Today, Marty’s work lives at the intersections. As a celebrant, he helps families mark life’s most meaningful moments with honesty, warmth, and room to breathe — from weddings full of laughter to memorials wrapped in memory. As a licensed final expense specialist, he helps families prepare for the financial realities of death with compassion and clarity, believing that planning ahead is one of the quietest and kindest ways to leave love behind.

Theologically, Marty is a grace-soaked Wesleyan who trusts that God shows up in sacraments, in community, and wherever the margins are honored. He believes love is love, that laughter belongs in sacred spaces, and that faith is most credible when it makes room for real life.

Marty is the proud father of two sons, Connor and Zachary, and “Papa” to three grandchildren (Myer, Kara and Charlie) who are growing up too fast. When he’s not writing, leading a service, or helping a family plan, you’ll likely find him cooking his legendary meatballs, biking Houston’s trails, caring for foster dogs, or yelling at the Mets — always with love. And yes, he still insists that even zombies have something to teach us about resurrection.

Breathe Peace is Marty’s way of gathering all of this into one place. A reminder that the sacred isn’t confined to churches or chapels, but hides in plain sight — in grief and gratitude, in laughter and leftovers, and in the small, ordinary moments where heaven brushes up against earth.

Pull up a chair.

Stay a while.

Let’s look for the holy together.