The Rev. Mary Beene, Pastor
Windsor Presbyterian Church welcomed our pastor, The Reverend Mary Beene, on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020.
Pastor Mary and her family relocated from Georgia, where Mary served a small church outside of Savannah and started a spiritual direction practice, Openings: Let the Spirit In, in 2015. Her husband, Eric, also a pastor, now serves as General Presbyter with the Presbytery of the Redwoods. Her son, Isaac, is in the arts program at Windsor High School, with a special love for theater and west coast swing.
Mary grew up near Detroit, attended college in Pennsylvania, majored in environmental science and German at Allegheny College, served in the Peace Corps in Hungary, earned a Masters in Public Administration at American University in Washington DC and worked for over 12 years for environmental non-profits in DC and Boston with an emphasis on board training and fundraising. She attended seminary at Boston University, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr earned his doctorate.
The family lived for fourteen years in Savannah, before making the move to California. In addition to church work, Mary is a Soroptimist, enjoys community work, and loves board games of all kinds. Challenge her to a game of Scrabble if you really want to get to know her better.
Karen C. Russell, WPC Choir
Our choir rehearses every Tuesday during the school year from 7 to 8:30pm in the sanctuary to prepare special anthems to present in worship several times each month. The group meets at the beginning of the year to provide input on music choices and identifies areas of learning and growing. At the end of each year, the group gathers for a pot-luck meal, reviews how we did on the goals, reflects on our learnings, and shares ideas for the upcoming year.
Singers are welcome to give choir a try. If a year-long commitment is too much, consider joining the group for a shorter term, for example during Lent/Easter or Advent/Christmas. It is helpful, but not necessary, if you are able to read music.
WPC Choir is led by volunteer director Karen C. Russell. Karen has been singing in choirs since 3rd grade and truly embodies music. She has sung with many groups, large and small, in Louisiana (her home state) and California, and brings those experiences and her joy of music to ‘the other side of the music stand.’
WPC Chime Choir
Karen Russell also directs our Chime Choir which is a group of volunteers who join together on special occasions to work on chime accompaniment or feature pieces to present during the worship experience. Rehearsals are usually on 1-2 Sundays and occur right after the worship service. The group plays on a 2 octave set of Malmark handchimes and has provided chimes for Christmas Eve and in the summer.
If you can count to 6 and work a hammer, you can participate! Watch the website or e-newsletter for the next Chime Choir session, or contact Karen Russell to express your interest.
Peaches Davenport, Pianist
Windsor Presbyterian Church has enjoyed Peaches’ musical talents in worship since 2000. She also serves as organist for a small congregation in Sebastopol, teaches music privately at home and is a music instructor at Summerfield Waldorf School in Santa Rosa.
Lonnie Hardage, Praise Team
Lonnie joined WPC in 2022 and jumped in to play guitar with and now lead our Praise Team. This group practices on Sunday mornings at 9 am and leads the congregation in gathering songs and other contemporary music throughout the service. Singers are welcome to join in on any Sunday, and music is chosen to be easy enough for the congregation to join in right away.
Elders
Our Session is a faithful group of Elders (elected by the congregation for 3-year rotating terms) who meet monthly to prayerfully direct the path of Windsor Presbyterian Church. Church members are welcome to attend Session meetings; please contact Clerk Karen Russell for more information: call 408-316-0174 or email here.
- Richard Dow
- Karen Russell
- Tanya Gjerman
- Pam Geiss
- Charles Metz
- Tom Mansell
Deacons
Deacons are “the caring arm of the church.” Representing God’s love and concern, Deacons support members of the congregation in any way needed, helping to endure pains and share joys
Our current Deacons are:
- Peggy Fritschen
- Sharon White
- Nancy Pieraccini
