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Let me introduce you to our two newest staff members for Savannah Presbytery who will fill the position held by the Rev. Rick Douylliez these last three years –
- Rev. Matt Rhodes, Interim Director of Pastoral and Ecclesial Care (DPEC)
- Rev. Ben Beasley, Interim Assoc. Dir. of Pastoral and Ecclesial Care (ADPEC)
The Presbytery Council approved the hiring of both candidates to provide greater support to our 55 pastors (33 active, 22 retired) and 32 churches.
Two-thirds of our churches have had some kind of pastoral transition in the last three years. We currently have eight churches relying on interim pastors or weekly pulpit supply while their sessions discern future leadership. 75% of our churches are considered “small” by the PCUSA since they have less than 100 members. Some of these have decided not to call and install pastors but rather to hire stated supply pastors with temporary contracts to adjust to changes in financial resources and membership numbers.
Matt will coordinate the care of the diverse needs of our pastors and churches with the help of Ben and the Committee on Ministry. Ben has been asked to be on call for our small churches and their pastors.
Matt and Ben officially began their work on June 1. Rev. Rick Douylliez, our retiring DPEC, will support their training and transition through June 15. Matt and Ben can be reached by calling our presbytery phone line (800) 616-3671 (Matt – Ext. 701 and Ben – Ext. 704). Please reach out to them to welcome them and let them know how Savannah Presbytery can support your ministry at this time!
Blessings,
Deanie Strength
Director of Administration/ Head of Staff
Stated Clerk
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Meet Rev. Matt Rhodes
Interim Director of Pastoral and Ecclesial Care
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Matt is excited to serve as Director of Pastoral and Ecclesial Care for Savannah Presbytery and hopes to serve as a connector, consultant, and equipper for fellow presbyters and our congregations in the presbytery so that we can thrive in ministry together.
Matt has experience with our presbytery's team model of leadership, having previously served as Co-Chair of CPM for New Brunswick Presbytery, Co-Moderator of the Search Committee for Executive Presbyters for Presbytery of the Coastlands, and Co-Moderator of the Special GA Committee to Study the Future of Christian Education in the PC(USA). A Presbyterian Minister, Matt's primary work has been in healthcare administration, clinical pastoral education, bio-medical ethics consulting, non-profit leadership, and as a parish associate.
Currently, Matt works as a Clinical Pastoral Educator with healthcare systems in New York and Jacksonville, teaching chaplain residents and future chaplain educators. Along with his kids, MJ and Ben, Matt moved to St. Simons Island and joined Savannah Presbytery in 2024 when his wife, Rachel, accepted the call to be Senior Pastor at St. Simons Presbyterian Church. Matt is a native Arkansan and attended Davidson College and Princeton Seminary, where he and Rachel met.
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Meet Rev. Ben Beasley
Associate Director of Pastoral and Ecclesial Care
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Ben Beasley was born in Atlanta, Georgia on December 21, 1964. He received his BA in English in 1997 from Georgia State University where he studied creative writing under former Poet Laureate of Georgia, David Bottoms. His love of the Arts carried him to Savannah, Georgia where he received an MFA in photography from The Savannah College of Art and Design in 2001.
Feeling called to ministry, Ben received his Master of Divinity (M.Div) in 2010 from Columbia Theological Seminary. While at Columbia, Ben did a yearlong pastoral internship at Ormewood Park Presbyterian church in East Atlanta, and completed his Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) unit working with the homeless at Central Presbyterian Church’s Outreach and Advocacy Center in downtown Atlanta.
After graduation Ben served as the summer pastoral intern at First Presbyterian Church in St. Mary’s Georgia before being called to serve as the Pastor of Allenhurst Presbyterian Church in Allenhurst, Georgia. He was ordained on November 7, 2010 at his home church, First Presbyterian Church Savannah, and was installed as the Pastor of Allenhurst Presbyterian Church December 12, 2010.
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From the Presbytery Moderator
Ruling Elder Marti Stein, First Savannah
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On selecting “Hope” as the theme of her year as Presbytery Moderator…
When I was in college, I had a composition professor who advised us at the beginning of the semester if we ever used the word ‘hope’ in any of our writing, it would be returned to us with a severe point deduction. She hated the word hope. She said hope was an overused and weak word. Often, it is.
However, in the context of scripture, hope is a powerful word, a word full of promise.
Jeremiah 29:19 For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.
I have relied on Jeremiah 29:19 during the three worst times in my life: 1) when my brother was diagnosed with late stage color cancer 20 years ago; 2) when my grandson, who suffered from clinical depression, died by suicide at the age of 18; and 3) and when my son’s life was nearly taken in a random hate crime.
Each of these events strengthened my belief that events can only be viewed in hindsight because God promised us a future and a hope. My brother miraculously survived and is an activist on the value of a colonoscopy. My daughter now speaks at school assemblies about suicide and is on the Suicide Prevention Board in St. Louis. My son-in-law leads grief support groups. My son believes God spared his life for a specific reason and is in prayer to listen for what God is calling him to do now with his spared life.
My brother, my daughter, my son-in-law and my son believed in God’s promise of a future and a hope and so do I.
Troubles of all kinds abound. Troubles of all kinds will always abound. However, God has promised us a future and a hope. We can act on that promise and become the living embodiment of hope for others.
| | Highlights of the Spring Stated Meeting | | - Butler Memorial PC provided warm hospitality and a delicious lunch!
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Rev. Rachel Rhodes, St. Simons, inspired our hope in God reminding us that Jesus is always moving closer to us through the Easter gift of resurrection.
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- We celebrated the retirements of Rev. Jann Briscoe, Rev. Dr. Ricky Porter, and Rev. Rick Douylliez and gave thanks for their ministries. Revs. Briscoe and Douylliez have completed their service. Ricky’s final Sunday at Washington Street PC in Dublin will be Sunday, June 30.
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The meeting’s voting members approved all of the 226th General Assembly’s proposed Book of Order amendments except 24C. Nevertheless, by May 13, enough presbyteries had voted in the affirmative to pass all amendments. They will go into effect July 4. We will seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we live into new practices that are now part of the constitution of the PCUSA.
- https://pcusa.org/sites/default/files/2024-10/GA226_Proposed_BoO_Amendments_Ecumenical_Agreement_0920_2024.pdf
- A request from the Skidaway Community Church passed for approval to sell acreage to neighboring Marshes of Skidaway (Senior Living).
- It was a LONG meeting! Share suggestions about how to enhance our agenda and gatherings. Please contact Stated Clerk Deanie Strength.
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If you ever receive an email that says it is from any presbytery staff member or any pastor in our presbytery asking for money or gift cards PLEASE IGNORE IT! Do not respond or click on anything in these emails, they are scam emails.
No member of the presbytery staff will ever ask for money or gift cards!
| | Montreat Youth Conference | | Our Savannah delegation will spend a week at the Montreat Youth Conference in North Carolina in June. Twenty-nine youth and five adults from eight of our congregations will experience this amazing conference! | | |
The newest School of the Laity Cohort will begin the two-plus year deep dive into the Bible, Reformed Theology, Worship & Sacraments, History, Mission and Polity as well as Practical Ministries to enrich both their own faith journeys and that of their congregations.
| | Savannah Presbytery has 26 campers and two adults from seven of our congregations traveling to Montgomery Conference Center for Summer Camp this year. We are excited to announce that two youth are participating in the Leaders in Training Program and they will stay two weeks! | |
- White Bluff Presbyterian Church hosted a panel discussion; Community, Peacemaking & Repair to highlight cultivating community partners as work of the church celebrating their 280th Anniversary. Panelists included Dr. Amir Jamal Toure; Rev. Dr. Paul Roberts, President of Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary; Rev. Dr. John Ruehl, Pastor of White Bluff Presbyterian Church; and Rev. Dr. Victor Aloyo, President of Columbia Theological Seminary. A great witness to the connected church!
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Some Savannah Presbytery members in the St. Simons and Jekyll Islands area are participating with Robert S. Abbott Race Unity Institute building a network to support immigrants in Brunswick/Glynn County. About – The Abbott Institute
One way to engage with us as a Matthew 25 Presbytery is to participate in educational events and celebrations that you may consider outside of the groups you identify with. Here are some Juneteenth events in June:
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Savannah's 2nd Annual Walk to the River
In honor of #Juneteenth, join us for the 2nd Annual Walk to the River, a community walk celebrating freedom, unity, and the ongoing journey toward justice and equity.
Thursday, June 19
8:30 AM
Starts at Wells Park (MLK Blvd & W. 38th St.) and ends at Plant Riverside
Walk alongside neighbors, community leaders, and local organizations as we reflect on the past and move forward together. Whether you joined us last year or are walking for the first time, all are welcome.
Let’s walk with purpose. Let’s walk to celebrate freedom.
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Celebrating the Retirement of the Rev. Jann Briscoe
Rev. Jann Briscoe was the first woman reared in Savannah Presbytery to pursue ordination as a Minister of Word and Sacrament. She served as an associate pastor in the New Orleans area, as a supply pastor in North Carolina and Georgia, and as a hospice chaplain in Winston-Salem, NC. In Winston-Salem, she met and married the Rev. Page Shelton (PCUSA) in 1993.
Upon moving to St. Simons in 2000, Jann served as a supply pastor and was trained in spiritual work at the Shalem Institute. She combined this training with her Master of Counseling and facilitated counseling work with individuals and led spiritual groups. She served as Parish Associate at St. Simons PC under Rev. Bob Brearley where she led spiritual groups and the Stephen Ministry program.
Over the years, Jann found that the labyrinth helped her and others to focus on their spiritual journey. Through devoted study, prayer, and commitment, she always sought to serve God and others in all that she did as well as to share God’s love with all humankind.
| | Celebrating the Retirement of the Rev. Rick Douylliez | | Pulpit Supply & Communion Administrators | | |
Churches looking for Sunday morning help may access the Committee on Ministry’s approved “Pulpit Supply List” - https://directory.in-c.net/savannah/ (Please contact Stated Clerk Deanie Strength for password.)
The list includes 6 Ministers of Word and Sacrament and 9 Ruling Elders, many of whom are also approved to administer communion. The Presbytery now has a Trained Ruling Elder program which permits elders approved by their church session and trained by the Presbytery to administer communion within their home church and beyond, on a case by case basis. Interested persons should reach out to Rev. Stephen Robertson, Chair of the Committee on Preparation for Ministry.
| | The Rural Ideas Conference | | |
Have you ever wanted to be part of a gathering where every single person lives and works in a rural area or small town? This is your place!
What is the Rural Ideas Conference?
Hosted by the Town Square Collaborative, this event is designed to help your church:
- Embrace its role as an anchor institution in your community.
- Reclaim its identity in Jesus Christ.
- Focus on the unique opportunities and challenges of rural ministry.
What to Expect
To support these goals, we’re bringing together:
- Leaders from across the country who specialize in rural congregations.
- Non-profit partners who can help churches better engage with their neighbors.
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A space dedicated entirely to the rural areas and small towns you love.
The First Annual Rural Ideas Conference
July 16-18, 2025
in Clarksville, AR
on the campus of the University of the Ozarks
Once you reach campus, all your expenses will be paid through the generosity of the Lilly Endowment for Religion.
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Small and Mighty
A Time to Connect and Equip Leaders in Small Membership Churches
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Remember the mustard seed? The yeast? The shepherd boy? God choses small things to make a big difference! Our small churches make a big difference in the lives of their members, in their communities, and in the beloved community!
Leaders of small membership churches in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina are invited to the Association of Smaller Congregations (ASC) Inaugural Zoom Conversation, Tuesday, June 3 from 7:00 – 8:00 pm EST.
Please register to receive the Zoom info using this link.
What can you expect when you Zoom in with us? Expect to meet other small church leaders (pastors, CREs, elders, educators). Expect to share some of the mighty things God is doing in and through your small membership congregation. Expect to share some needs you have as a leader of a smaller congregation that could be met by future Zoom and in person gatherings of the small and mighty churches of the Synod of the South Atlantic. Expect to leave encouraged, equipped, and connected!
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Rev. Larry Kennon, June 1, 1962 - 63 years
Rev. John Law, June 1, 1960 - 65 years
Rev. Stephen Williams, June 1, 1980 - 45 years
Rev. Chris Noyes, June 6, 1993 - 32 years
Rev. Rick Douylliez, June 18, 1995 - 30 years
Rev. Matt Rhodes, June 20, 2013 - 12 years
Rev. Rick Hays, June 23, 1974 - 51 years
Rev. John Bressler, June 24, 1978 - 47 years
Rev. Bob Morgan, June 25, 1969 - 56 years
Rev. George Brink, June 26, 1981 - 44 years
Rev. Don Dilley, July 9, 1969 - 56 years
Rev. Michael Jinkins, July 12, 1981 - 44 years
| | Where can I find the information I need on Savannah Presbytery? | | See what’s happening at the denominational and synod levels by clicking on the logos below. | | Print the above PDF to hand out to members or mail to them | | | | |
