Nominees for the 2023 Class of Elders May 2020

Nominees for the
           2023 Class of Elders
               May 2020

Called to Ordained Ministry
“The call to ordained ministry in the church is the act of
the triune God. This call is evidenced by the movement
of the Holy Spirit in the individual conscience, the ap-
proval of a community of God’s people, and the concur-
ring judgment of a council of the Church.”

Ruling Elders:
The Ministry of Discernment and Governance
“As there were in the Old Testament times elders for
the government of the people, so that New Testament
church provided persons with particular gifts to share in
discernment of God’s Spirit and governance of God’s
people… Ruling elders are so named not because they
“lord it over” the congregation (Matthew 20:25), but
because they are chosen by the congregation to discern
and measure its fidelity to the Word of God, and to
strengthen and nurture its faith and life.”
                       Excerpts from the Book of Order

Bart Barlett and his wife, Leigh joined SVPC in
June 2012. They have two identical -TEENAGE-
 twin boys, Louie (13) and Lawton (13). Bart is a
native of Columbia, South Carolina, graduated
from Spring Valley High School, earned his BA
Degree from the University of South Carolina
and his JD Degree from the University of South
Carolina School of Law. Bart is in private practice
at the Bartlett Law Firm, located within Wood-
creek Farms, where he enjoys providing legal services including
real estate, probate, estate planning and family law. Bart special-
izes in Collaborative Law.
When not working, he enjoys golf, spending time at home on the
lake, boating, time at the beach, working in the yard and enter-
taining. Bart, of course, enjoys spending time with his wife, boys
and their 10-year-old Standard Poodle Annie. (Who wouldn’t?)
“It is an honor to be nominated as a candidate to serve my
church family as an Elder at SVPC.” - Bart
                Brian Clark and his wife Erika have four kids and
                have been members of SVPC since 2013. During
                this time, their kids have attended SVPC Pre-
                school, attended Kid’s church, and have sung in
                the Youth choir. Brian has served as a Deacon,
                attended Sunday school, and helped out with
                the Kairos ministry.
                 Brian grew up in Atlanta but has lived in Colum-
bia since 2002. Brian met Erika while both were in college in
Spartanburg, SC. He has spent his career in the tennis industry,
coaching at local clubs in the area and at the collegiate level. He
enjoys the chance to work with people of all ages and hopefully
have a positive impact on their growth and development. Prior
to becoming apart of the SVPC family, he and Erika were mem-
bers at Eastminster Presbyterian Church and helped start New
Kirk Presbyterian Church. Brian was grateful to have had the op-
portunity to serve as a Deacon at the church and is now very ex-
cited to serve as an elder. Our family is blessed to be a part of a
loving and caring church. In his limited spare time, Brian enjoys
exercising, traveling, and attending sporting events.

Brian Hall has been a member of SVPC since
2009. Brian along with his wife Kellie, and their
children Wellslee and Hampton have enjoyed
the SVPC community for several years. You can
find the Halls mostly during the morning service,
but they do still love to attend the traditional
service to visit with friends and families. Brian
has been an usher for the traditional service for
many years and has recently joined the building
and grounds committee. Brian has a special privilege that he
shares with his daughter Wellslee, and that is they were Baptized
on the the same day in SVPC by Reverend Jack. It is with this Bap-
tism that sealed the Halls family relationship to this church
where they have grown and brought in their second child Hamp-
ton into this beautiful community. Brian looks forward to doing
his part and helping the church to be successful in the years to
come.
                Deb Lybrand is an “Army Brat” and her family
                lived throughout the Southeast and Germany
                before her father retired at Ft. Jackson. Most of
                her life has been spent in the Columbia area.
                She was in the first graduating class of Spring
                Valley High School and is a graduate of the Uni-
                versity of South Carolina.
                 Debbie retired from the State of South Carolina
after 46 years. Most of her service was spent in the Environmen-
tal area of the Department of Health and Environmental Control
where she served as the Administrative Manager of the Accounts
Receivables, Accounts Payable, Budgets and Grants sections.
Debbie and her husband, Doug, joined Spring Valley Presbyterian
Church in 2017 and have a grown son. At their former church,
Debbie served on various committees and helped co-lead several
Bible studies. Her hobbies include reading, working in the yard
and being a “gym rat”. She looks forward to serving SVPC as an
Elder.

Lizzie McCallum has been going to Spring Valley
Presbyterian Church her entire life. She grew up
going to strikers and is now an active member of
the youth group and youth council. She loved
attending the 2019 Belize mission trip and hopes
to attend the 2022 trip as well. She loves spend-
ing time in the mountains, and is currently serv-
ing on the 2021 Montreat Youth Conference
Planning Team. She is attending the Discovery
program at Spring Valley High School. She also enjoys running
cross country, playing ultimate frisbee, and is really looking for-
ward to being a youth elder.
                 Laura Shah grew up at Spring Valley Presbyteri-
                 an Church. Her parents, Pete and Linda Griffin,
                 joined the church in 1984.
                 Laura was part of the 1991 Confirmation Class
                 and a very active youth. She enjoyed working
                 on the Souper Bowl of Caring, singing in the
                 youth choir and trips to Montreat. She was in-
                 volved as a Sr. High Youth Advisor and was part
of one of the Mission Trips to Mexico. Currently, she is the Wed-
ding Director for SVPC Brides and is part of Circle One. She has
served on the nominating committee for associate pastor, the
nominating committee for Deacons and Elders, 6-7th grade Sun-
day school teacher, helping with Vacation Bible School, Meals
Ministry and Presbyterian Women Moderator.
Laura and her husband, Keith, were married at SVPC in 2006 and
all three of their children Olivia, Sydney and Ethan were baptized
at SVPC.
Matt Sherman began attending Spring Valley
Presbyterian when he married Wendy Dunbar
Sherman in 2001. Wendy grew up at SVPC and
they both quickly realized that they wanted to
join this community of believers and church fam-
ily. Matt and Wendy are the parents of Will (15)
and Molly (13) and can often be seen enjoying
service with Michele Dunbar, also known as “E”.

Originally, from Mount Pleasant, Matt moved to Columbia after
finishing his degree in Special Education at Presbyterian College.
Matt and Wendy have served as Junior High Advisors and Matt
currently teaches the Confirmation Class. Matt is the proud prin-
cipal of Blythewood High School and an active member of the
Blythewood Community. Matt has previously served on Session
as the Moderator of Buildings and Grounds and is honored to be
nominated to serve again on Session. Matt enjoys working out-
side, fixing things (that he breaks), and making memories with
his family.
Jane Staines and her husband Bill both grew up
in the “Frozen North,” Jane in NE Ohio and Bill
in Western New York. This is a second marriage
for each of them, and they share 5 married chil-
dren and 9 grandchildren. Jane is a retired Rich-
land 2 middle school teacher and Bill a retired
engineer.
Jane has been a member of Spring Valley Pres-
byterian since the early 1990’s. She has served on numerous
committees through the years, including two terms as a Deacon.
She occasionally teaches in the Genesis Sunday School class, and
greatly enjoys the caring and fellowship that is so much a part of
our congregation. She is looking forward to a new opportunity to
serve our church as an Elder.

Nominating Committee:
Andrew Cain; Tom Caviness; Karen Coker; Chip Collins, Moderator;
Dianne Meadow; Lance Roper; Ina Smith; Normand St. Onge

Current Elders:
2020 Joel Atkinson, Tim Bostick, Amy Cassibry, Chip Collins,
     Michael Hogue, Jane McCallum (Youth Elder), Susan
     Moore, Jim Nyland
2021 Becky Coulter, Natalie Hogue (Youth Elder), Andrea
     McCallum, Chris McMenemy, Ruth Queen Seigler, Kristin
     Simmons, Nick Sipe, Normand St. Onge
2022 Robin Brackett, Liz Campbell, George Foard, Ronnie
     Johnson, Jennifer Raley, Marjie Roper, Ron Swinson

125 Sparkleberry Lane • Columbia, SC 29229 • 803-788-3589 • svpc.org