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

Scott is currently serving as an Elder for the second time here at Swamp, the first time being more than ten years ago. He has been serving as an Adult Sunday School teacher for many years, and he previously served as Treasurer and as a member of the Stewardship committee. Having had a career in the world of finance, Scott recently retired after working over thirty years in banking, with controller and CFO roles. His career also included stints in accounting and tax preparation, both prior to and after his banking years.

Scott grew up in Reamstown, where he was baptized as an infant and later confirmed as a youth at Salem UCC, a church very similar to Swamp, which was UCC at the time. When Scott married his wife, Anita, in 1988 he transferred his membership to Swamp. As a young couple, Scott and Anita attended Discipleship courses at Swamp, where they both learned what it really meant to commit their lives to Christ.

In his retirement, Scott is enjoying more quality time with family, church family, and friends. He and Anita raised their three faithful daughters here at Swamp and have been blessed with three godly son-in-laws, as well as six grandchildren at this time.

Scott feels strongly about prayer life and learning the Word at Swamp. Both are very powerful spiritual tools that we need to be equipped with and quick to use. We are to pray without ceasing, in good times and bad. We should be in constant prayer for each other. Prayer in terms of seeking God’s will for each of us in our daily walk. The Word provides the peace, the understanding, and the assurance of Christ and can be leaned upon for every need. The Bible contains God’s inspired words that represent the truth and are without error.

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.