by Dave Andersen, elder for the Nominating Committee

Every year, a new class of elders is elected to assist in leading the church. We thought you might enjoy reading a short “introduction” to each of the new elders. Stay tuned next month for part two.

Jan Beriault, who will serve as Prayer Elder, was born to Danish immigrants in Nebraska. Her parents were strong believers, and her first memory of hearing about Jesus was in Sunday School. Jan’s mother was the biggest influence in Jan’s life because of her strong and active faith. Her mother encouraged her to grow in her faith, and, indeed, in the 1970’s Jan renewed her commitment to Christ through the ministry of St. Luke’s in Ballard.

Jan is married to Lee; she has 4 children, 11 grandchildren, and 1 grandchild. She recently retired from a career as a realtor and, when commenting on retirement, says she most enjoys the peace and absence of stress in her life. As elder of prayer ministries, Jan’s goal is to help us grow in our understanding and experience of God’s inner healing grace and power. She says that Jesus is there to carry the cross of our pain; we don’t have to carry it alone.

Ken Windus, our new Adult Christian Education (ACE) elder, has a natural bent towards education. After getting a graduate degree in engineering while working in that field, Ken realized that he and his wife Bobbie were spending most of their free time ministering to teens at the S.F. church they attended. So he put his math skills to use in a profession where he could spend even more time with youth! Ken is now a math teacher at Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, where he most enjoys getting to know the kids.

Most influential book: Lord of the Rings. He now enjoys reading the Eragon series with his two boys. As ACE elder, Ken wants to build on the vision and strength of the ACE team already in place.

Adele Drummond is our New Members / Newcomers elder. Born in Seattle to parents with a real and vital faith, Adele also first heard about Jesus in Sunday School and she was active in church growing up. However, to use her own words, by the time she was in graduate school she realized that her Sunday faith was not really congruous with the other days of the week. Adele soon came to the epiphany that the strength to deal with life’s stresses and challenges are found in Jesus, as she brought her life under His love and power.

She says her husband, Fred, is currently the greatest influence in her life, though she also points to two teachers (one from high school and one from college) as being the most influential in the past, because of their encouragement, friendship, and the godly model of their lives.

Adele says that there is a very good new members/newcomers team in place, and that her goal is to add to what it is already doing by helping a ‘welcome team’ become consistent and visible.

Dan Wickline is our elder for Finance / Buildings & Grounds. He recalls first hearing about Jesus and God from a kindergarten classmate named Andrew. Andrew’s parents were also influential in bringing Dan’s family to Highland Covenant Church on the Eastside. There, Dan grew in his faith and particularly points to the influence of his youth pastor, Mark, as formative. Dan’s connections to his old friends runs deep; every Thursday morning he meets with Andrew and Mark for Bible study and fellowship.

Dan and his wife, Mihkai, have two young children. And during the day, Dan plays with space, light, and form. He is an architect, and he loves the creative process of making new spaces for people to enjoy and experience. His prayer is that he will be aware of, and open to, how God wants to use him in his new elder role.