Pastor John hails from a suburban Pittsburgh community in southwestern Pennsylvania where he was raised in the Presbyterian Church and educated until late high school in public schools. After a transfer, he spent his last two years at a private, Catholic school from which he graduated.
He earned a bachelor degree in Developmental Psychology from West Virginia University, a Master of Divinity Degree - with a Minor in Pastoral Counseling - from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma and a Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. After his Master's degree, he attended Duquesne University's Institute of Formative Spirituality for post graduate work. Following his doctorate, he completed a dozen courses in Advanced Pastoral Psychotherapy at Pittsburgh Pastoral Institute.
Pastor John brings a passion for discerning church vision and development of church leaders, as well as engaging persons in discovery of their gifts for ministry. His heart’s desire is to lead persons in a life-changing experience with Jesus Christ that results in spiritual growth and personal transformation.
Beyond the local church, he has served on District Committees on Ministry in both the Eastern and Western Pennsylvania Conferences and has served on several Conference teams and committees – including the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry. He has also been involved with local ministeriums where he has been influential in initiating local ordinance changes, and a local school board strategic planning and vision committee.
In his spare time, he enjoys running, karate, skiing, photography and music. He is married to Betsy, and they are the parents of two adult children – Stevie and Rachel. Oh… and he’s a Steelers, Pirates and Penguins fan.
Mary arrived in Philadelphia from Glasgow, Scotland in 1970. Before coming to Elam she worked as a legal secretary both in Scotland and in Philadelphia.
Throughout the years Mary has adapted and grown with the various changes that have taken place at Elam- including its growth from a small country church, working hand-in-hand with five pastors, and coordinating the administrative aspects of two major construction projects.
Over the years, she’s been indispensably connected with the ongoing development of the church office to assist and support the ministries of Elam. She especially enjoys working with committee chairpersons and reaching out to meet the needs of the congregation. Mary’s organizational abilities and compassionate nature make her the ideal office administrator.
Mary enjoys reading and spending time with her two young grandson Daschel & Braxton.
Andrée has an extensive background in managing a wide variety of responsibilities. She has been the head of many volunteer committees at the Garnet Valley School District, has sat on a number of boards and continues to provide service to religious and community organizations. As the Connections Coordinator for Elam United Methodist Church, Andrée has been tasked with making sure our message gets out into the community with a consistent look and tone, no matter which platform it appears on.
Andrée has been a member of Elam for many years and has worked on committees within the church, including Sunday Coffee Hours, co-founder of the Caring Card Ministry, and member of The Leadership Council. Prior to coming to Elam, Andrée was a long time member of Hillcrest-Bellefonte UMC in Wilmington, DE, where she also served as Sunday School Teacher, Trustee member and was the church secretary for over 7 years.
Personally, Andrée lives in Garnet Valley, enjoys time spent with her husband, three children, mother and two cats. Favorite passtimes include handcrafts, gardening and cooking.
Janet was a member of the first Graduating Class of Garnet Valley. Upon graduating from high school Janet worked at two different companies as a bookkeeper. While being a stay at home mother, she also helped her husband with bookwork as a way of assisting him with his business. Janet has been a faithful member of Elam UMC for 48 years and a member of the Jubilate Choir for 47 years. She has taught Sunday school and acted as coordinator of Elam’s Vacation Bible School for 19 years. When Elam began the search for an Assistant Secretary, Janet felt that she might bring her office skills to the church where she grew up. Janet also brings her office skills to Christ United Methodist Church in Brookhaven. Janet has served on many different committees at Elam over the years. She is currently acting as Co-treasurer and is a member of our Finance Committee and Leadership Council. Janet has used her love of music in the past to assist her husband Steve with Elam’s Kid’s in Christ Choral group. Steve and Janet have 2 adult sons, Kevin and Neil, a grandson Neil,Jr. as well as beloved family dogs, Jasmine , Lola and Frisco Janet enjoys computer games, checking out friends via Facebook and can be considered a true sports enthusiast.
As Director of Music & Arts, Angela leads the Jubilate Choir, serves as Organist/Pianist, sings with the worship band, coordinates music groups and soloists, assists in planning worship services and special events, and is a founding member of GROW (God Renewing Our Women). She joined Elam in 1993, transferring membership from her home town church, Saxton United Methodist Church, Saxton, PA. Angela describes her job at Elam as "work of the heart," where she can empower herself and others to prayerfully and joyfully praise God through music.
Angela is a graduate of West Chester University (B.S. Music Ed 1992; M.M. Music Ed 2002), and of Gratz College with a Master’s degree in education. She teaches music classes to third, fourth and fifth graders at Garnet Valley Elementary School, Glen Mills, PA. In addition to her classroom duties, Angela accompanies the Bethel Springs Elementary, Garnet Valley Elementary, and Garnet Valley High School choruses in concerts and public appearances, and teaches private piano lessons.
Angela lives in Boothwyn, PA, with her family. She is an avid reader, dog lover, hobby baker, and loves to walk, ride her bike, and take road trips with her husband.
Kelly Forwood, as Director of Elam Hearts and Hands, oversees our Preschool, Children’s Day Out, Kinderbunch and summer Kids Camp programs. As well as acting as Director, Kelly teaches a 4’s/Pre-K classroom. Kelly’s passion for working with young children and her desire to focus on the uniqueness of each child as they grow daily in God’s grace, creates a nurturing and loving atmosphere within each of our programs.
Kelly graduated in 1992 with a B.S. in Elementary/Early Childhood Education from Millersville University. Upon graduating she taught for three years in a preschool program at a day care center. She taught seven years in the Children’s Day Out program before becoming the director of Elam’s newly created Preschool in 2005. She considers it a privilege to care for and teach the children in these programs.
Kelly’s family relocated to this area when her father was appointed as Elam’s Pastor. When Rev. Pierce passed away, Elam dedicated the Pierce Family Life Center to his memory. Kelly has two grown children, Cassie and Steven. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading, and time at the beach.
Pastoral Assistant
Clint Amoss
Clint Amoss grew up in Bucks County PA, and graduated from Council Rock High School, Newtown, PA in 1965. He graduated from Juniata College with a B.S. in Chemistry, and from Duke University with a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry. During a 39-year career as a research chemist, Clint worked at five industrial chemical companies. At these companies, he supported research and development that progressed through the energy, chemical, polymers, and pharmaceutical industries.
At the time of his retirement in December 2014, he was the Manager of Technical Support at Chiral Technologies, Inc in West Chester, PA. During this time Clint was a member of the American Chemical Society, and the Chromatography Forum of the Delaware Valley, of which he was a longtime member of the executive committee and a past president.
During the Vietnam War era, Clint served 2 years as a Correctional Specialist in the US Army, assigned to a Military Police Company in Fort Dix, NJ.
He and is wife Peggy were married in March 1970 and have lived in Delaware County since 1978. They have two married adult children and four pre-teen age grandsons who all reside in the area. They have been members of Elam United Methodist since 1985.
He and Peggy served as co-Sunday School Superintendents at Elam for a couple of years in the late 1980s. They also were adult leaders for numerous Elam Youth Missions trips to the Appalachian Service Project and to a North Carolina Disaster Relief Project. Clint has twice served on the Elam Board of Trustees. During his second term of service, he was chairperson of the Trustees during the time of a major Sanctuary Renovation project.
Beginning in 2012, Clint developed an interest in preaching, and he became a UMC Christ Servant Minister. To date he has delivered over 30 messages at Elam and other local United Methodist Churches. In 2018, Clint embarked on a rigorous yearlong training program which enabled him to become a UMC Certified Lay Minister in May 2019.
Since September 2018, Clint has been a member and Secretary of the Eastern PA Conference South District Committee on Ordained Ministry (DCOM). In recent years Clint has served several times as Elam’s lay representative to the UMC Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference.
Since 2012 Clint has also served as a volunteer instructor for the Delaware County Thresholds Decision Making course that is taught at the George W. Hill Delaware County correctional facility in Concord Township.
Clint is currently serving as a volunteer Pastoral Assistant in which he schedules liturgists for worship services and assists in and coordinates other lay assistants for Communion services.
He also serves as an at-large member of Elam’s Leadership Council, and as a member of Elam’s Finance Committee. As part of his required Certified Lay Minister training, Clint attended a workshop on Changing Racism, and he has developed a primary focus on combatting racism in all forms as part of his ministry. He also anticipates that he will lead bible or book studies at Elam UMC in the future.
