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.

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.

Rev. Dr. John Ruehl

Moderator 
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Elder Elaine Griffin

Moderator Elect
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A fourth-generation Presbyterian, Elaine Griffin is the great-granddaughter of Grant Chapel’s (Darien) founding pastor, Rev. J.D. Taylor, an 1891 graduate of Stillman Institute in Tuscaloosa, AL. She officially joined her home church, Brunswick Second, as a 12-year-old communicant in 1976. Elaine has served as an elder and Clerk of Session at Brunswick Second since 2016.

She returned to her native city of Brunswick in 2015, following decades spent in New York City and Paris, France. Elaine is a nationally-recognized interior designer, contributing editor, and author of Design Rules: The Insider’s Guide to Becoming Your Own Decorator. Her first nine professional years were spent as a publicist. Elaine is a graduate of Yale University with an honorary PhD from the New York School of Interior Design

Ada Owens

Director of Communications 
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Ada is first and foremost a mom to three awesome boys, a role that shapes the way she approaches both life and ministry. Since 2018, she has served as the Director of Communications at Saint Simons Presbyterian Church, where Ada shares the life of the church through storytelling, design, and connection. Her work includes website updates, video creation, promotional materials, and helping communicate the church’s mission in clear and engaging ways.

Ada holds a degree in Marketing with a minor in Philosophy from Georgia State University. Before joining the church staff in September 2018, she and her husband, Graham, worked together as owners of CJ’s Pizza in the Village, an experience that strengthened her love for community and connection. In April 2026, Ada also joined the staff of Savannah Presbytery, expanding her communications work in service to the wider church.

Outside of work, Ada enjoys learning new skills, reading, traveling the world with her family, volunteering in the community, tackling small home improvement projects, and spending time with good friends.