Our Interim Pastor, the Rev. David C. Lee arrived in Ashland on Shrove Tuesday. He has previously served pastorates in California, Colorado, Utah and Oregon, and Wyoming. His service with our congregation marks his fifth interim pastorate.

David is a graduate of Lewis and Clark College (BA, International Affairs, ‘67), and of San Francisco Theological Seminary (M Div, ’73). He studied at the University of California at Santa Barbara, the Asian Center at the University of the Philippines, and earned a certificate from the Paralegal Institute of Denver. His formal training for interim ministry was provided by the Interim Ministry Network.

David has a son, Joshua, who resides and works in Portland, where David’s two sisters also live; and a brother, who is a long-time resident of Santa Barbara, California.

“I believe an ‘interim time’ can be the most challenging, enriching, and enlivening of chapters in the story of a congregation; a time for discernment, visioning and rededication. I celebrate the opportunity to partner with members and leaders to discover what new ventures God’s Spirit is leading this congregation to embrace.”

          Nikki has been at our church since 2004, moving to Oregon from Richmond, Virginia where she grew up.
Nikki has a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University, as well as her Master of Divinity degree and Master of Arts in Christian Education from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. She has also worked as a youth director for a Southern Baptist Church, served as a ministry intern at First Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee, Florida, and has preached, taught, and led music for several ecumenical communities throughout the state of Virginia.
What Nikki enjoys most about her job at First Presbyterian is working closely with the children and the youth of the congregation, and the surrounding community. “Children have a very unique understanding of who and what God is that gets lost as we get older. Their vision of God is a treasure that should be used to measure the priorities in our life, as well as our adult perspectives on who or what we believe God is.”

          Linda has been a member of First Presbyterian since 1979. She first served as financial secretary and then church treasurer in the early 80’s (in the days before computers!). She began her work as office manager on May 20, 1988.
          Linda graduated from Sonoma State University in California. She has worked in many positions over the years, including head bookkeeper for the University of Idaho Dormitory Food Services and accounts receivable clerk at San Francisco Theological Seminary when her husband Gary was a student there.
          The Brewers moved to Ashland in 1979 so that their two children could live closer to their grandparents.
          Linda enjoys being with her family and traveling to places unknown. She likes working in a positive environment and getting to know the people who attend Ashland First Presbyterian.

      
          Wendy McAninch-Ruenzi has been with First Presbyterian since 1988 and on staff for the last five years or so. She is a graduate of Seattle Pacific University and Harvard Divinity School.
          Wendy served as Campus Minister at SOU for 11 years, which is what originally brought her to Ashland. Prior to that, she served a UCC congregation in Corvallis and worked on the staff for the Presbytery of the Cascades.
          Wendy’s role at our church is to step in and fulfill any pastoral duties Scott is unable to attend to, from serving communion to visitations to running session meetings in Scott’s absence. Wendy has also been the driving force behind the successful Small Groups program for the last few years.
          According to Wendy, the best thing about working at First Pres is the creative people and their willingness to put their faith into action.

          Bill and Caroline Kirkman have been part of First Presbyterian since 1984. Bill says, “My call as Parish Associate is to do whatever the pastor wants. I’m at his beck and call.” Bill can often be found visiting church members in the hospital, welcoming early risers to the 8 o’clock service, or filling in when Scott is out of town.
          Bill was born and raised in Madera, California. He went away to college on a Navy ROTC scholarship to the University of Washington in Seattle. Upon graduation, he was commissioned in the Navy and served in the Korean War. After returning to the Fresno area and working for awhile in a bank, Bill felt called to attend seminary, and in 1960 began his studies at Princeton Theological Seminary.
          After serving as pastor of a church in Lemoore, California, Bill decided to become a missionary. It was during his training in Stony Point, N.Y. that he and Caroline met Bill and Sue Sager and became life-long friends. Over the next eleven years, they were overseas most of the time, first in Korea for five years, then a break in Berkeley for a year, followed by another five years in Singapore.
          When they returned to the United States, Bill’s next assignment was a church in Henderson, Nevada. Over the next ten years, he gradually did more and more counseling and went back to school to earn his Master’s degree in that field. At the urging of the Sagers, Bill and Caroline finally made the move to Ashland, where he set up his counseling practice. He also served as an interim pastor at a church in Talent and has been our Parish Associate ever since.
          We are blessed to be the spot the Kirkmans chose to “land” after traveling the world.

Jason is our high school youth assistant, and lives right across the street from First Presbyterian with his wife, Kaela Marie. They both attend SOU. Kaela is majoring in Early Childhood Development and Jason is majoring in Health with a minor in Philosophy. Jason has more than eight consecutive years of experience in Christian Youth Ministry and “loves to create learning experiences that help youth apply Biblical principals in their daily lives.” Jason has led teams on mission trips to Mexico, taught Sunday School and led Bible studies, delivered sermons, served as a Christian Camp counselor, and also served as a mentor for new counselors in training.
He is very excited to be serving here and states, “I am looking forward to see what God does through this Youth Group.”

Music

          Dianna and her husband Mike have been members of First Presbyterian Church since 1989. Along with their daughters, Jerusha and Kaitie, they have been a vital force in the musical life of this church, providing contemporary music for the 9:30 service, for combined services, and for various other events
          Dianna is a teacher at Ashland Middle School, where she teaches language arts, social studies and drama. For years, Dianna has given middle schoolers their start in musical theater, as she directs the annual productions, always finding a part for everyone who tries out for the show.
          Dianna says she couldn’t do the Calvin Hall Musicians Coordinator job without the tireless efforts of her husband Mike, who plays the guitar, sings and composes. She is “always surprised at the hidden talents of those in our church” who come forward to participate in the music week after week.

         Bernie has been a member of First Presbyterian Church since 1975. After completing his PhD at Stanford, he came to Ashland with his wife Helga in search of a job at a small college. He taught chemistry at SOU for 30 years (1968-1998) and also served as chemistry department chair and Dean of Sciences. His son Dirk and daughter Heidi were born and raised here.
          Bernie believes that “the supportive and understanding people in the First Presbyterian community are true assets, instilling hope and joy.”

          Lori has been working here for four years. She is a graduate of Western Oregon State College, where she studied Business Management. She has her own bookkeeping service.
          Lori is a grandmother of two. She thanks the people of First Presbyterian for all the prayers and support while her son has been in Iraq.
          She thinks the best thing about this church is the people.

          Dianna is a single mother of five children, who make her very proud. She started working at our church in the spring of 1993. She is a graduate of SOU, where she received her degree in psychology in 1992.
          Dianna believes that Ashland is a good place to raise children, and she enjoys working at First Presbyterian because “we have a great staff and a caring congregation.”