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Senior Pastor.....................................................Rev.
Peter Loughman
Associate Pastor............................................................Karlin
Bilcher
Director of Youth Ministries................................................Tim
Baker
Interim Dir. of Christian Education..............................Katie
Loughman
Children's Ministry Program Director.......................Katrina
Zimmerman
Office Manager.............................................................Gary
Jackson
Finance Secretary.........................................................Nicole
Brown
Chancel Choir Director.....................................................Janet
Stiles
Handbell Choir Director................................................Marie
Matetich
Organists.........................................................................Jan
Gruhn
Marie Matetich
Pianist.........................................................................Larissa
Melnik
Sound Technicians.........................................................Gary
Williams
Arthur Johnson
Librarian.................................................................Dorothea
Lovejoy
PW Moderator................................................................Joan
Morgan |
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Staff Bios |
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Rev. Peter Loughman
Senior Pastor |
Rev. Peter Loughman has been the
senior pastor at First Presbyterian Anchorage since 2003.
Originally from Denver Colorado, Peter grew up in the San
Francisco Bay area and has been a pastor in Oklahoma and San
Antonio, (remember the Alamo) Texas before arriving in Alaska.
Peter and his wife Katie have two children, Spencer and Emily –
they just love Alaska.
Peter received his M.Div. and
M.A.C.E. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a B.A. in
Rhetoric from California State University, Hayward.
The Scripture verse that drives
Peter in him ministry is 2 Corinthians 2:15, “For we are to God
the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those
who are perishing.” |
I think of this verse in terms of movie popcorn; you go out to
dinner and eat so much you don’t even want to think of dessert.
Yet, after dinner, when you sit down in the movie theater, the
aroma of movie popcorn surrounds you, overwhelms your senses –
it doesn’t matter how full you are, you have to have it. You
get up and buy a big tub with extra butter. Now the movie
experience is complete.
In the same way, I believe we can
live our lives in such a way that we draw people to the
irresistible grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. People around us
fill themselves with so many things trying to fill that
spiritual void never thinking that Jesus Christ is the one who
will complete their lives. Imagine, being used by the Holy
Spirit to enrich and change everyone you come in contact with,
how wonderful the grace of God is!
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Karlin Bilcher Family
Associate Pastor |
Karlin Bilcher comes to us from
Northern New Jersey via Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. As an
undergraduate at Messiah College, Karlin sorted out the major
questions of the Christian faith while dividing his time between
the golf course and the trout streams of central Pennsylvania.
A background in campus ministry, youth ministry and
cross-cultural urban ministry, combine to form the foundation of
his call to ordained ministry.
The first day of an intensive
Biblical Greek course in the summer of 2004, Karlin met his
future wife. After being rebuffed several times, Emily
eventually agreed to a date, he |
took her fly-fishing and they were
married ten months later. Two months after relocating to
Anchorage in October 2009, Karlin, Emily and their spirited
daughter Finley moved into their new home in Mountain View.
Emily, Finley, God’s Holy Word
and serving others in Christ’s name are the source of
Karlin’s joy and strength. “Saints cannot exist without a
community, as they require, like all of us, nurturance by a
people who, while often unfaithful, preserve the habits
necessary to learn the story of God." - Stanley Hauerwas.
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Tim Baker
Director of Youth Ministries |
Tim has been
serving as the Director of Youth Ministries at First
Presbyterian Church Anchorage since August 2008. He grew up
outside of Boston, MA where he has lived his entire life before
coming to
Alaska
to serve. He attended Suffolk University in Boston and received
his B.S. in Biology. Tim then pursued his calling to ministry
entering seminary, turning down a medical field career to serve
youth. He graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in
Hamilton, MA with a M.Div.
Tim’s
theology of ministry is one built on relationships. He feels
relational ministry is the key to reaching teens in this
generation. Teens are lacking the person who will be there for
them, someone who will model God’s words in Joshua 1.5, “I will
never leave you nor forsake you,” someone who will stand up and
say, “I’m going to love you unconditionally. No matter
how many
times you mess up, no matter how many times you fail, I’m going
to be right there with you, and accept you, and there’s nothing
that would ever be able to break that.
I look
forward to see where God is leading the youth of this church,
and to see them reach new heights in their faith! |
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Katie Loughman
Christian Ed Director
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Jan Gruhn
Organist
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Jan Gruhn has been an organist and
accompanist at First Presbyterian Church for over 18 years. She
has degrees from the University of Montana and the University of
Alaska Anchorage. Now retired from the Anchorage School
District, where she taught English at the secondary level, she
spends her time at the organ and with her family, which includes
two grown sons and two young grandchildren, all of whom live in
Anchorage.
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Marie Matetich
Organist
Director of Handbell Choir |
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Janet Stiles
Choir Director |
Janet was born and raised in southern
New Jersey where she started playing organ for a small country
church at age 12 and, for more years than she cares to think
about, has served as organist and/or choir director at various
churches. She did her undergraduate music studies at Gettysburg
College and received a B.S. degree in music education from the
University of Wisconsin Madison. After teaching classroom music
for 25 years, Janet retired from the Anchorage School District
and is currently working part time as staff accompanist for the
music dept. at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She has 2
grown children and, in addition to her music, enjoys quilting
and spending time with her special grandson in Palmer. |
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Gary Jackson
Church secretary |
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Nicole Brown
Finance Secretary |
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Dorothea Lovejoy Librarian
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