About Our Church

J.C. served the Presbyterian Church (USA) as pastor, educator, and leader at every level of the denomination for nearly twenty years before receiving his call to First Pres Bethlehem.

A lifelong Presbyterian, he was ordained to serve as Associate Pastor for Evangelism and Stewardship at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, where he helped lead a historic but declining congregation into its first experience of significant growth in vitality, resources, and size in several decades.

Following that experience, he was a vice president at Auburn Theological Seminary where he built a national reputation as an expert on innovative congregational leadership for the 21st century, conceiving and establishing a range of new initiatives to build personal resilience, entrepreneurial spirit, and practical wisdom in pastoral leaders.

For the five years before coming to Bethlehem, J.C. served as a Parish Associate at
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, where he preached, taught, and provided pastoral coverage on a regular basis. In the Presbytery of New York City, he chaired the Presbytery Cabinet, task forces on the Presbytery’s mission statement and strategic plan, and the Grants Committee of the 9/11 Disaster Relief Commission following the September 11 attacks. At the General Assembly level, he was appointed to the Assembly’s Special Committee on the Belhar Confession.

J.C. received his Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1998, with concentrations in New Testament Studies and Homiletics. At graduation, he was awarded several prizes including the prestigious Graduate Study Fellowship in Parish Pulpit Ministry, which allowed him to spend a year as a Visiting Fellow at the University of Cape Town, studying the theological dimensions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in post-apartheid South Africa.

Lindsey is a self-proclaimed nerd who enjoys life’s simple pleasures: hammocks, a good book, playing outside, Vietnamese iced coffee, laughing until it hurts, kayaking, board games, ice cream, and writing liturgy.  Before being called to serve as the Associate Pastor of Formation and Justice at First Pres in March of 2021, she served as Co-Pastor of Forest Hills Presbyterian Church in High Point, NC.

She was born and raised in Greensboro, NC, and is an alum of Elon University (B.A., 2009) and Wake Forest University (M.Div. 2016).  Her faith journey has been rather ecumenical (ask her about it sometime), so she has served as a lay leader and staff person in a few denominational traditions.  She also taught high school English for four years (and loved it!) before going to divinity school.  These experiences have taught her the value of curiosity and openness, humility and playfulness.

Since her ordination in 2017, Lindsey has served on the Executive Council and the Committee on Representation in Salem Presbytery.  She was a planning team member and primary worship leader for the Southeast Regional Festival of Young Preachers (Academy of Preachers) in 2018 and the Presbyterians for Earth Care Annual Conference in 2019.  Lindsey also had the privilege of being a Teaching Associate for the Introduction to Homiletics course at WFU’s School of Divinity in 2018.

Lindsey is happily getting to know the Lehigh Valley with her wife, Laura, and their sweet, goofy dogs, Maggie and Harvey.  She enjoys learning about new spiritual practices and exploring them with others.  Lindsey is passionate about creative intergenerational ministry and community engagement, faith formation and missional outreach. She loves worship planning and preaching, and she finds joy in helping folks of all ages connect to the life of the church – both within the congregation and in the wider community.  And she’d love to have coffee or lunch with you sometime!

Serving the church as a Pastoral Associate, Sue lovingly visits members who are in the hospital, homebound, or living in nursing facilities.  In addition, she works closely with the Deacons Ministry that includes Hospital and Prayer Ministrants.  Together they reach out to our church family, providing compassion and a listening ear through phone calls and visits.

Sue is no stranger to our church.  A member since 1986, she has always used her pastoral care skills to minister to the congregation.  She completed her Stephen Ministry training and served as a member of Session and the Congregational Life and Care Ministry.  She was the Program Director for The Center for Christian Ethics, led new members classes, and worked as Gareth Icenogle’s assistant.

Sue attended Moravian Theological Seminary, graduating with a Master of Divinity Degree in 2011. One of the highlights of her seminary experience was a two-week trip to Israel where she was part of an archeological dig; she also took a memorable trip to Nogales, TX, where she was part of the group Borderlinks, a non-profit organization that studies the immigration issue.  An ordained minister in the PC(USA), Sue is a member of The Shared Gifts Committee for the Lehigh Presbytery.

She was born and raised in Bethlehem, PA, and has three grown children and ten unique and wonderful grandchildren.  She was married to Brad Bennetch for 32 years until his death in August, 2016. She lives in Bethlehem Township with her miniature schnauzer, Buddy.

Psalm 51:6 – You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

David serves as the Director of Music Ministries and Choirmaster at First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem.

He leads our Chancel Choir and directs the music for both traditional and contemporary services.

A founding member of the faculty at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School of the Arts, David is vocal department artistic director, conducts three of the school’s five choral ensembles, and teaches classes in advanced placement (AP) music theory, music history, keyboarding, and applied vocal techniques.

David holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in music education, vocal performance and choral conducting from Westchester University. He minored in piano and organ performance and graduated magna cum laude.

While at Westchester, David was awarded numerous merit and performance scholarships. In 2013, he achieved the American Guild of Organists Choir Master certification, ranking third nationally among that year’s applicants.

In 2015 David was awarded a choral conducting fellowship with the Yale School of Music Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, studying advanced choral conducting under Simon Carrington.  He has conducted choral ensembles at such world-class venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall, the National Cathedral in Washington, DC., King’s Chapel, Boston, and the Dome Cathedral, Riga, Latvia.