Meet Our Elders

George gress

George grew up in Reinholds and attended Swamp from birth until high school. He was baptized and confirmed here at Swamp, and was a member of the youth fellowship and junior choir. His family attended Swamp for several generations, and are descendants of Rev. John Waldschmidt. George graduated from Cocalico high school and Brownstown Vo-Tech. He and his wife, Patti, married in 1982, and lived in Lebanon for over 35 years, before moving back to Reinholds. George worked with his dad as a carpenter for several years before his employment with the Pennsylvania chapter of The Nature Conservancy, where he has worked for the last 26 years.

Scott Lied

Bio to come.

Tim Forsyth

Tim is the newest Elder, ordained and installed Sunday, May 5, 2024. Tim was born and raised in Denver, and began attending Swamp in 1999 at the age of 7. There he met his future bride, Felicia. They both went on to graduate from Cocalico, and Tim continued his education graduating from Saint Joseph’s University. Tim and Felicia were married in 2014 in Swamp’s sanctuary, soon after that they started their family and now have two young children, Hannah and Ryan. Growing up, Tim served in the choir, attended youth group, was confirmed, and baptized as an adult at Swamp. Tim has been involved with the worship team since 2008, and in 2017, he stepped into the role of Praise Leader. Later in 2020, Tim also accepted the position of Youth Director. Tim has given his life to God and believes in the totality of the Bible, beginning to end. He feels called to discover and understand Christ more daily. Tim wants to follow Luke 10:27 the best he can - loving the Lord our God with all his heart, soul, strength and mind, and his neighbors as himself. He feels God has called him to be an elder at Swamp to do exactly that.

Michael Messner

Mike was born and raised in Denver. He began attending Swamp in 1980 when he married his wife, Chris, who is a lifelong member of Swamp. They have two children, Julie and David, and five grandchildren. Mike was ordained as a Deacon in 1982 and later as an Elder. In 2022, he returned to the Board of Directors. Mike professes that Jesus Christ is the true Son of God, that He died for our sins and rose again from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and will come again to take believers with him to Heaven. He believes that the Bible is the infallible word of God and is to be used to guide our lives. Mike is looking forward to continuing to serve Jesus Christ and His church here in Reinholds.