Staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hemet, Ca. (Click on name to email)
Dr. Larry Thorson
Senior Pastor
I came to First Presbyterian in August of 2005 from the Grace Presbyterian Church of Plano, Texas, where I served as Associate Pastor, overseeing growth, missions and pastoral care. A native of San Jose, California, I experienced the presence of God in a personal way while recovering from a sports injury in high school and gave my life to Christ at that time.
My education includes graduating from Santa Clara High School in 1974, Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia with a BS in 1978, Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California with an M.A. in Theology in 1982, Union Theological Seminary in Virginia with an M. Div. in 1983 and Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia with a Doctor of Ministry degree in 2004.
When I graduated from Union Theological Seminary I was called as pastor of the Kentuck and Williamson Presbyterian Churches in Danville, Virginia where I was ordained in 1983. Next we moved to the suburbs of Washington D.C., where my pastor wife Martha and I served as co-associate pastors of the Little Falls Presbyterian Church in Arlington, Virginia from 1986-88. Afterwards I served as church development consultant for CityTeam Ministries (www.cityteam.org) in San Jose, California and was the head track and field coach at Milpitas High School. Together we started the Chino Hills Presbyterian Church in southern California before moving to Dallas, Texas.
Martha and I have two children, Kari, a 2007 graduate of Cal State University at Long Beach and Eric, who graduated from West Valley High School in Hemet in 2008 and now attends Mt San Jacinto Community College.
I enjoy running daily with our collie, reading and working on house projects. My passion is to tell as many people in my lifetime the good news that in Jesus Christ we are forgiven of our sins and can live forever with our Creator.
Dr. Martha ThorsonCounselor and Spiritual Director
I am the Director of Renewal Resources (www.renewal-resources.org) which offers counseling and spiritual direction and is housed in the Family Center at First Presbyterian. I am also a counselor on staff of Christian Counseling Service in Redlands (www.christiancounselingservice.org) and serve as part time pastor of the Winchester Community United Methodist Church near Hemet.
My education includes a B.A. in education from Lynchburg College in 1978, Master of Divinity from Duke University in 1985 and a Doctor of Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia in 2005. I was ordained by the Presbyterian Church USA to serve the Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church in Turbeville, Virginia in 1985, served as co-associate pastor of the Little Falls Presbyterian Church in Arlington, Virginia, associate pastor of the West Valley Presbyterian Church in Cupertino, California, co-organizing pastor of the Chino Hills Presbyterian Church in southern California and as associate pastor of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas.
Melvin “Coach” Carter
Activities Director
I came to First Presbyterian in 2006 from my hometown of Jackson, Mississippi where I was the founder and president of Community Opportunity Services, a non-profit organization aimed at developing after school programs for children including organized team sports, conflict resolution for adolescents and tutoring. Prior to that I served in the United States Army from 1977 to 1990.
Sharon Desgro
Bookkeeper
I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona and moved to Long Beach, California in my teens. Being of Catholic parents, I was brought up Catholic, and attended church regularly for many years. I have recently spent six years going to a Lutheran Church.
After graduation, I went to work for Bank of America and spent over twenty-five years in banking. After I left banking, I volunteered for Valley Restart Shelter in Hemet and was hired as Director of Shelter for the Homeless. Later I became involved with Habitat for Humanity and was a founding member of the localaffiliate. www.hemetsanjacintohfh.comI spent fifteen years with Habitat and continue to volunteer my services as a consultant.
Javier Gamón
Facilities Manager
I was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and came to the United States on July 4, 1984. In October of 1999 I became a U.S. citizen. My wife Margarita and I have three children, Maria, Hector and David. For 15 years I was the custodian at Villa Del Sol Mobile Home Park in Hemet and came to First Presbyterian in January of 2005. On Saturdays I do home maintenance jobs, tile work, reset toilets, replace windows and small carpentry jobs. My family and I attend the Roman Catholic Church and I’m glad to serve our Lord at the First Presbyterian Church.
Rev. Jim Karcher
Parish Associate
I was born in Canton, China of missionary parents of the United Presbyterian Church, USA. My first language was Cantonese and learned English during my parents’ first furlough home to the U.S. between the ages of 3 and 4. When my family returned tolive in the U.S. we settled in the Mt. Lebanon surburb of Pittsburgh where I graduated from high school, University of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary then known as Western Theological Seminary.
My first call out of seminary was as assistant minister in Canton, Ohio in 1953. Two years later I went to Scotland to study in Edinburgh where I met my wife Eileen who is a native of Scotland. Together we returned to the U.S. where I served three years as assistant minister at the Presbyterian Church in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania. Then followed ten years as solo pastor at Hebron Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, ten years as solo pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Duquesne also in Pittsburgh, six years as associate pastor in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania at the Bethel Presbyterian Church and finally retired as associate pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Valparaiso, Indiana after six years of service.
My wife and I moved to Hemet to be near family, brother Joe Karcher and his wife the Reverend Sylvia Karcher, former associate pastor at First Presbyterian, Hemet. My responsibilities at First Pres is to visit the sick and shut-in, sing in the choir, lead the pastoral prayer at the 10:30 Sanctuary Service, lead an adult discussion group on Sunday mornings and assist the deacons in their care ministries. For hobbies, I enjoy playing tennis and golf as well as spending time with our son and daughter who elsewhere in California.
Mary Ellen Van Ostenbridge
Music Director
I was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia until my parents moved to California in 1963 when I was in junior high school. I became a Christian on the first day of spring in 1977 and first became involved in a church music ministry when my daughter became involved in the Kids of the Kingdom choir at Magnolia Avenue Baptist Church in Riverside, California when she was in the third grade. I volunteered with the kids’ choir and in 1991 began directing a fourth grade choir.
In my years of service to the Lord to date, I have directed children’s, youth and adult choirs. I became the Interim Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church in November of 2007 and was hired for the permanent part time position in March of 2008. I also direct the community chorale, the Happy Harmoneers.
Joe Smayda
Accompanist
I was raised in a small coal-mining town in western Pennsylvania. My family regularly attended the only Protestant Church, the Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB) where I played the piano for Sunday school and was the only teen in the Adult Choir. I began college at Penn State in 1953, sang in the local EUB church. They were planning a new Sanctuary, so during the four years I organized benefit concerts by students I solicited from the campus.
Arriving in Los Angeles in 1957, I joined the Immanuel Presbyterian Church on Wilshire because it was next to my workplace. I was active with the choir there and the Los Angeles Master Chorale for over 25 years before moving to Denver in 1984.In Denver I attend the Central Presbyterian Church and joined the Wellshire Presbyterian Church Choir taking two trips with them overseas. I also sang wit hthe Opera Colorado chorus and Denver Symphony Orchestra chorus.
I retired to California in 1992 and immediately joined the First Presbyterian Church of Hemet choir but kept active with larger groups to bring back ideas to our choir. Among these have been the Pacific Chorale in Orange County, Inland Mater Chorale in Redlands, and presently Raincross Chorale in Riverside. I have been involved with church choirs and choral music for over 60 years.
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Jeanette Simmons I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. I graduated from Erasmus Hall High School for Business and Technology in 1999. I attended college at Johnson & Wales University and majored in Baking & Pastry Arts and Entrepreneurship. I met my husband in 2002 and we began our lives together. We are now the proud parents of three children. I formally worked at Health Care Chaplaincy in New York City and had the pleasure of learning how fulfilling it can be to work for a faith based organization. It would seem God has a plan for me that includes supporting those seeking to serve God. We made the decision to move to Hemet this summer when we started looking for a better place to raise our family. It has been a whirlwind experience and I couldn’t be happier. I look forward to getting to know everyone. |
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Virginia Weems (Annie) Youth Intern My name is Virginia Weems but I go by Annie. I was born in Denver, Colorado on September 14, 1988. While I was a baby my biological parents’ were addicted to drugs and alcohol. When I was 18 months old my paternal grandparents took me in into their home and raised me. I believe that God intervened to get me away from my biological parents’ horrible lifestyle. Now, I attend California Baptist University in Riverside. I am Majoring in Criminal Justice and Minoring in Psychology. I plan to become a Parole Officer after I graduate next spring. I am really excited to be here working with the youth. I think that there is amazing potential to help these youth have a stronger relationship with God. |
The youth ministries here at Hemet First Presbyterian are changing. We have great plans for our youth programs, and hope to start growing in the near future. On Sundays we start our youth service with a worship service to allow the children to feel the presence of God. Then the children go to the different classrooms based on grade level. We have three levels: kindergarten through second grade, third grade through fifth grade, and middle school through high school. In the classrooms each grade learns a lesion about different Bible stories and how to build a relationship with Christ. On Wednesday nights we have our middle school and high school clubs, where we play games and have Bible studies. These nights are really important to our youth because it gives them a chance to learn more about God and to help them build a stronger relationship with Him.