Staff and Officers

Meet the Presbytery Staff and Officers
Rev. Deanie Strength

Stated Clerk / Director of Administration
Director of Pastoral and Ecclesial Care (Interim)
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Deanie has been active in Savannah Presbytery since becoming a member in 1999 when she was called to St. Simons Presbyterian Church and was ordained to serve as its Associate Pastor.  She has served the presbytery as Moderator and as Chair of the Presbytery Council, the Stewardship & Finance Committee, the Nominating Committee, and the Christian Education Committee.  She has been an active member of the presbytery’s Transition Team and MK Pentecost Ecology Fund Committee as well.  Deanie was employed by Skidaway Community Church (Presbyterian) as a Parish Associate and enjoys being a volunteer musician in the chancel and bell choirs of First Presbyterian Church, Savannah.  She is a graduate of the University of Alabama and Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.  She lives in Savannah with her family where she has also been an active supporter of the fine and performing arts within the community.

Rev. Andy Meeker

Associate Stated Clerk/Parliamentarian
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Rev. Andy Meeker, pastor of Wilmington Island Presbyterian Church, has served on various Committees, Teams, and Task Forces in his almost 20 years as a member of the Presbytery.  After serving as Interim Stated Clerk during a short time of transition, Andy now serves as Associate Stated Clerk/ Parliamentarian. 

Before coming to Savannah in 2004, Andy served churches in Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio.  He also worked as the Director of Alumni/ae Relations and the Annual Fund at his alma mater, Louisville Seminary.  He has been married to Jeri Lyn for 31 years, and they have two adult children, Abby and Alex.

 
Marty Susie

Director of Mission and Program Advancement
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Marty Susie is from Pittsburgh, PA and is a life-long Presbyterian. Her first career was in the Culinary Arts field for about 30 years beginning as a cook in Pittsburgh and ending as a multi-unit restaurant manager in Savannah, GA. As God would have it, her second career began in 2007 as the part-time Director of Christian Education at Wilmington Island Presbyterian Church adding Program Coordinator of the Savannah Presbytery in 2016. She has been serving the presbytery as the Director of Mission & Program Advancement since 2021. Marty is also a graduate, Class of 2012, of the Savannah Presbytery School of the Laity. Marty is married to Jack and they share three adult children and all are members of Wilmington Island Presbyterian Church.

Rev. Ben Beasley

Interim Associate Director of Pastoral and Ecclesial Care
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Ben Beasley was born in Atlanta, Georgia on December 21, 1964. He received his BA in English in 1997 from Georgia State University where he studied creative writing under former Poet Laureate of Georgia, David Bottoms.  His love of the Arts carried him to Savannah, Georgia where he received an MFA in photography from The Savannah College of Art and Design in 2001.

Feeling called to ministry, Ben received his Master of Divinity (M.Div) in 2010 from Columbia Theological Seminary.  While at Columbia, Ben did a yearlong pastoral internship at Ormewood Park Presbyterian church in East Atlanta, and completed his Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) unit with the homeless at Central Presbyterian Church’s Outreach and Advocacy Center in downtown Atlanta.

 After graduation Ben served as the summer pastoral intern at First Presbyterian Church in St. Mary’s Georgia before being called to serve as the Pastor of Allenhurst Presbyterian Church in Allenhurst, Georgia. He was ordained on November 7, 2010 at his home church, First Presbyterian Church Savannah, and was installed as the Pastor of Allenhurst Presbyterian Church December 12, 2010.

Ann Henderson

Treasurer
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Ann Henderson is a member and elder at FPC Statesboro. She has been an active member of the Mission Committee and currently serves as cochair of the Administration Committee. Ann is a cofounder and active board member of Rebecca’s Cafe, a local soup kitchen in Statesboro that just celebrated their 11 year anniversary. Ann is a Lecturer for the School of Accountancy in the Parker College of Business at Georgia Southern University and a CPA. Ann and her husband Allen are the parents of four young adult children.

Christelle Giovannini

Accountant
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Christelle was born in France but grew up in North Carolina. She is a graduate of Meredith College in Raleigh, NC where she earned her degree in Accounting. She has done accounting work full-time and part-time for businesses large and small, including nonprofit organizations including Wilmington Island Presbyterian Church.

Cathy Douylliez

MK Pentecost Ecology Fund Coordinator
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Cathy Douylliez has been a member of First Presbyterian Church in St. Marys since 1995. She was ordained as an Elder in her home church of Green Cove Springs, FL in 1986. While in Saint Marys, she has served in Presbyterian Women, Stephen Ministry, Christian Education, and the Music Ministry. She enjoys sewing, quilting and riding bikes. Cathy recently retired from teaching and has been looking for something to do in her spare time. She is excited about serving as the Coordinator for the M. K. Pentecost Ecology Fund.

Marlo Harris

Hybrid Meeting Coordinator
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Marlo coordinates the live streaming technology for presbytery events.  He is a member of Washington Street Presbyterian Church.  In his home community of Dublin, he is an instructor with Southeastern Technical College and works in customer service for Dudley Funeral Home including the production of memorial service videos and obituaries and maintenance of the  company’s computer systems. He is the vice-chair of the Dublin-Laurens Landbank.

Rev. Dr. Jon Hauerwas

Council Chair
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Jon was born in Alabama and raised in South Carolina, where he graduated magna cum laude from the University of South Carolina. During Jon’s college career, he studied History, was received into membership of Phi Beta Kappa and served as Moderator of USC’s Presbyterian Student Association.

Following graduation from college, Jon served for a year as an International Young Adult Volunteer commissioned by the Presbyterian Church (USA), when he met his wife, Kara. His service in Edinburgh, Scotland included work as an assistant project manager at Bethany House, an emergency, short-term Christian-based homeless hostel.

Following this overseas experience, Jon attended Princeton Theological Seminary, in New Jersey, where he graduated with a Master of Divinity degree. He also completed Clinical Pastoral Education at New York-Presbyterian Hospital: The University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell in Manhattan.

Following this overseas experience, Jon attended Princeton Theological Seminary, in New Jersey, where he graduated with a Master of Divinity degree. He also completed Clinical Pastoral Education at New York-Presbyterian Hospital: The University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell in Manhattan.

Jon’s first call to ordained ministry was as an Associate Pastor of Mission at Worthington Presbyterian Church in Worthington, Ohio. In time, he also provided pastoral leadership to Presbyterian Campus Ministry at The Ohio State University. Jon’s second call was as Pastor at Saint James Presbyterian Church in Bellingham, Washington. His third call was as Pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Akron, Ohio.

Jon currently serves as Pastor of Skidaway Community Church in Savannah. In 2025, he completed the Doctor of Ministry degree with a focus in Church and Ministry at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. Jon and Kara have two sons named Will and Nate and a dog named Apple.

Marti Stein

Moderator
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Marti Stein is a native of Kansas City, Missouri. She holds B.S. in Industrial Relations and an MBA from Rockhurst University and is also an Executive Fellow at Rockhurst. Marti has been married to Doug for 27 years and they have taken turns following each other’s corporate careers. When Doug transferred to Savannah, Marti retired from manufacturing management and started a new career in real estate. More than fifteen years ago, she formed Realty South where she is the broker and managing partner. She has two daughters, one living in St. Louis and the other in Kansas City, and a son, Scott Atchinson of Savannah. She also has three grandchildren, one works as a U.S. Senate staffer, another is a college student and the third, is a high school Junior.

After arriving in Savannah, Marti and Doug joined Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church and were later founding members of Christ Presbyterian Church in Pooler. After its closure, the family has joined First Savannah Presbyterian Church.

Ordained an elder in the Presbyterian church in the 1980s, Marti has served in a variety of areas of the church’s life including mission, finance and Presbyterian Women. She has been a church treasurer and serves the wider church on Savannah Presbytery’s Finance Committee and the Steering Committee for Presbyterian Women. At First, she is a recently elected member of the Session and is on the Congregational Care Committee, the Finance Committee and the annual Stewardship Campaign Committee and a regular at Wednesday night dinners.

Marti is a student of the Bible and lists several favorite books of the Bible, as for a beloved Bible passage, she mentions Romans 8:38-39, that nothing can separate people from God’s love in Jesus Christ. Another is Jeremiah 29:11, the assurance of God’s good plans giving us “a future and a hope.” 

Rev. Dr. John Ruehl

Moderator-Elect 
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Born in Long Island, New York John was raised in DeLand Florida along with three sisters by his mother. In 1999 John received his BA in Social Science and Philosophy from the University of West Florida (Pensacola).  Moving back to DeLand after college he met his now wife, Chrissy, while he was working as the Youth Director at his home church.  They both discerned a call to ministry, got married and began seminary in 2007 – she at Emory, John at Johnson C Smith (Presbyterian Constituent at the ITC).  After a full year at the ITC, John received a full scholarship from Columbia Theological Seminary, where he completed his MDiv in 2010.

Upon graduation, Chrissy accepted an Associate Pastor position at her home church in Parkersburg WV. 

John started a nonprofit organization working with people in poverty in 2010, and was ordained to that organization and in service to Beulah Humble Presbyterian Church in 2012.  Parkersburg is where the Ruehls had their daughter, Remy in 2013.

John received a call in Thomasville, GA while Chrissy was taking family leave.  This is where their son Ethan was born in 2014.  John then received a Call to Montgomery Presbyterian in Savannah in 2016, where he served for two years as Solo Pastor.  Chrissy, meanwhile held an associate position at Isle of Hope UMC.

Since moving to Savannah, John and Chrissy have made deep and wide connections in the community.  John has received a graduate certificate in Community Organizing and Pastoral Leadership from Johnson C Smith and Next Church. He has also completed his DMin in Courageous Leadership from Drew University.  

 

John is now serving at White Bluff Presbyterian Church, where he has been since 2022.  He is a baseball fan, enjoys good food, and has played both guitar and percussion in bands.

Savannah Presbytery Council

Savannah Presbytery Council Chair: Jon Hauerwas
Presbytery Moderator: Marti Stein
Presbytery Moderator-Elect:  John Ruehl
Committee on Ministry Chair: Ben Beasley
Committee on Preparation for Ministry Chair: Stephen Robertson
Education and Training Ministry Team Chair: Linda Nelms
Mission Committee Chair: 
Nominating Committee Chair: Omar Douglass
Personnel Committee Chair: Jon Hauerwas
Stewardship & Finance Committee Chair: Doug Craven
At Large: 
Presbyterian Women Moderator: Barbara Riddle, ex officio

Teams and Task Forces of the Presbytery Council:

Racial Justice Ministry Team Chair: Mary Simpson

 

Other Entities

Permanent Judicial Commission Chair: Laurel McKeith

Committee on Representation Chair: Odet Douglass

M.K. Pentecost Ecology Fund Committee Chair: Catherine McCrary

Savannah Presbytery Representatives to the Synod of South Atlantic

Ruling Elder Commissioner: Allison Shearouse

Teaching Elder Commissioner: 

Presbytery Commissioners to 227th General Assembly of the PC(USA)

Ruling Elder Commissioner: Marti Stein, First Presbyterian, Savannah

Teaching Elder Commissioner: Rev. John Ruehl, White Bluff

Young Adult Advisory Delegate: Bailey Chambless, Wilmington Island Presbyterian