Session Ministries & Deacons
Most of our ministries fall under the guidance of one of our six Session Ministries or the Ministry of Deacons. Our Circle of Connections shows how these programs connect to one another and to the people of Forest Hill Church.
Ministry of Worship
The Ministry of Worship collaborates with the pastors and the music director to envision and present dynamic worship services throughout the liturgical seasons.
These are the people that design our beautiful communion table arrangements for special services. They also arrange all the decorations and handle the behind-the-scenes details that add so much to the celebration of worship. And they coordinate the ever-faithful teams of ushers that show up to greet and hand out bulletins every Sunday without fail.
The Ministry of Worship members are:
Elder Kurt Haas (2011 Session member)
Elder Melody Obery (2012 Session member)
Elder Jeanette Nemcek (2013 Session member)
Ministry of Vocation & Leadership
This ministry works to help people live out their faith the body of Christ at Forest Hill Church. The Ministry coordinates the work of 3 teams:
The Nominating Committee
—led by Elder Joanne Shaner (2012 Session member)
—Members: Barb Cloud, Amy Davis, Christina Hidek, Kermit Lind, Ellen McChesney, Elizabeth Shaw, Joy Stang
The Lay Leadership Development Team
—led by Elder Laurie Muller-Girard (2013 Session member)
—Members: Kate Burleigh, Ed Gemerchak, Jeannine Gury, Keith Logan, Ron Polderman, Peg Weissbrod, Todd Webster
The Church Growth Committee
—led by Elder Peg Weissbrod(2011 Session member)
— Members: Barb Cloud, David Peterjohn, Diana Woodbridge
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Ministry of Education & Spiritual Formation
The goal of this Ministry is to support the needs of the adults, youth and children of the church in the areas of education and spiritual development.
This Ministry includes the Children’s Ministry Committee, responsible for our children’s Christian education classes, the Adult Education Committee, responsible for the Sunday morning adult education classes, and the Youth Core Team.
The members of the Ministry of Education and Spiritual Formation are:
Elder Mark Chupp (2011 Session member)
Elder Laurie Logan (2012 Session member)
Elder Barry Hartz (2013)
Also under the Ministry of Education and Spiritual Formation are the Child Protection Policy Coordinators: Elder Carolyn Vrtunski, Elder Mollie Secor, and Liz Wollaeger.
Ministry of Justice & Mission
The Ministry of Justice & Mission supports programs and activities that address local and global social justice issues.
The members of the Ministry of Justice and Mission are:
Elder Dick Obermanns (2011 Session member)
Elder Laura Steiner (2012 Session member)
Elder Ron Register (2013 Session member)
Ministry of Stewardship
The Stewardship Ministry coordinates a year-round program to enlist and equip our congregation for the work to which we have been called by Christ.
Their focus is on taking care of the things we have been entrusted with: our time, our talents and our treasure, as well as the natural resources of the world we live in.
One of the ways they help the world we live in is by supervising Forest Hill Church’s recycling program and ensuring that we are good stewards of our natural resources.
The members of the Ministry of Stewardship are:
Elder Brett Himes (2011 Session member: 2-year term)
Elder Clayton Minder (2012 Session member)
Elder Dale Dannefer (2013 Session member)
Ministry of Trustees
Trustee Work Day
The Trustees are the legal arm of the church, serving as officers of the Forest Hill Church Corporation and insuring that the assets of the corporation - the building and grounds - are used appropriately and legally.
Generally, they run the corporate side of the church. They file annual reports with the Ohio Secretary of State and they keep all the legal stuff straight, like contracts and sub-contracts and sub-sub-contracts. They handle all of our employment and personnel matters. They keep track of the finances.
But the Trustees also act as stewards of everything physical that’s connected with the church. Whenever something needs fixing, they’re the responsible grown-up types who make sure it’s fixed right and without costing an arm and a leg. And they don’t let any space go to waste. When they find a room or two that’s not in use during the work week, they rent them out to worthwhile organizations such as community school programs. They’ve even found a way to rent out part of our steeple.
Of course, all these Trustees are still members of the church and are just as committed to following Jesus as the rest of us. They take a very spiritually-connected approach to maintaining the building–seeing it as Sacred Space–and work to make sure the spaces in our building reflect the glory of God. The Ministry of Trustees strives to ensure that every member and every soul touched by our church knows and trusts that their contributions will be used not only to pursue our spirit-led goals, but will be used wisely and with respect for the purposes for which they are given.
The Trustees are:
Elder James Roosa (2011 Session member)
Elder Chuck Smith (2012 Session member)
Elder Chessie Bleick (2013 Session member)
Elected Trustees:
2011 Class: Marcia Grant, Consuelo Heineman
2012 Class: Ron Polderman, Mary McMillan, Chris Henry
2013 Class:
Treasurer: Graham Peters
Legal Counsel: Tom Zych
The Trustee’s Building and Grounds Committee includes co-opted members Roger Heineman, David Hunter, Dick Secor, and Lora Smith.
The Garden Committee members are Jim and Pat Seeders, Carol Scott and Carolyn Vrtunski.
And the Church Computer System is supervised by member Dan Shaner.
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Ministry of Deacons
The Elders run our church ministries, the Trustees manage the financial, legal, and property issues, but the Deacons are the folks who actually CARE for the physical needs of the congregation.
CARE means Christ-like Attention Reaching Everyone with Empathy. It means coffee, donuts and friendly welcomers and helpers on Sunday mornings. It means delivering meals, arranging child-care, and hospital visits. It means providing cards you can send to a friend or neighbor. But most importantly, it means prayer.
If you know someone in need of prayer, let us know. These can be short term needs (surgery, rehab, illness, job or family difficulties) or ongoing (long illness, homebound, or loss of a loved one). To see who needs a special prayer, check the weekly bulletin and monthly Tower. Then remember these members, friends, and family by calling, visiting, sending a card and including them in your prayers. Read more about CARE here.
Of course, since most of us don’t have many emergencies during the year, the Deacons do things for the rest of us too. They know we like to get together with the whole church and just kick back and relax. So they arrange social events all year round to keep us connected as one big body of Christ. See photos of past Deacon-sponsored Fellowship events here.
Deacons:
2011: Janet Kickel, Cindy Newton, Joy Stang
2012: Mary Ball, Robin Mervine, Daryl Musick
2013: