2022 Leadership Team & Committee Assignments:
Dave Stong - Leadership Team Chair - Oversees all of Church Disciplines - Specializing in Building Maintenance/Use, Pastor Relations Committee Chair
Lorna Davis - Vice Chair - Building Maintenance/Use, Staff, Stewardship, Finance, & Fundraising
Jan Stong - Secretary - Meeting Minutes, Community Outreach & Hospitality
Jonathan Bell -Treasurer - Finance, Technology
Tim Conrad - Finance, Building Maintenance/Use
Virginia Fleck - Community Outreach & Hospitality
Dan Hottenstein - Building Maintenance/Use, Stewardship, Fundraising
Beverly Patton - Community Outreach & Hospitality
Staff:
Rev. Christina M. Fidanza
The Rev. Christina M. Fidanza holds a B.A. in Biological Sciences granted by Rutgers – The State University of New Jersey (1996) and an M. Div. from Lancaster Theological Seminary (2015).
Pastor Christina was ordained into Christian Ministry in 2016 by the Gettysburg Association. Her first call was as a licensed associate pastor to the Cashtown-McKnightstown Charge of the United Church of Christ. After the retirement of their lead pastor, she went on to serve a two-year designated pastor at the Charge. Her second call was to Emmanuel UCC in Freysville, where she served for two years. During the pandemic, she provided the Freysville congregation with a worship opportunity each week, using various formats including Zoom, Facebook Live, YouTube, worship at the church park, and adapted services in the church sanctuary. She assumed her role as Redeemer’s settled pastor on June 21, 2021.
Pastor Christina is a self-taught artist, usually working with mixed media/found objects. During the stay-at-home order, she ventured into the medium of acrylic pouring. On learning about the environmental impact of this technique, she decided to transition back to her first love – printmaking. She sees her eclectic artwork, and the process that it entails, as a reflection of the intersections of our lives, revealing hidden beauty. She looks forward to utilizing her artistic skills in parish ministry and serving the Redeemer Family. She can be reached at pastorchristina@redeemerchurchucc.org.
Kira Merkert, Office Administrator
Kira joined the staff as our Office Administrator in October 2021. She is also a passionate member of the church, especially interested in Music & Worship. She enjoys singing in the choir and composing music. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with her three daughters and wrangling her two very energetic lhasa poo puppies.
Dr. Michael Wojdylak, Choir/Music Director
Dr. Michael Allen David Wojdylak, who also composes and performs music, leads a busy life as the choir/music director for Redeemer and as a dentist in his own private practice. He recently retired as the Lebanon Valley College Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music. He is also the music director for Voices of Palmyra, a forty-voice community choir that offers several concerts annually.
Dr. Wojdylak earned his B.S. degree at the Pennsylvania State University, 1977; M.A.G.R., 1983; D.D.S.,University of Maryland, 1987; B.A., Lebanon Valley College, 1997; and M.M., Marywood University, 2003.
Michael has created compositions for performances at Church of the Redeemer as well as various churches across the country. He is an accomplished pianist, organist, director, composer and vocalist.
In his spare time, Dr. Wojdylak enjoys the outdoors, especially gardening and taking care of his menagerie of pets. He is always looking for musicians to write for and people for his choirs.