Pastoral Transition

The Pastoral Nominating Committee, consisting of Donna Barber, Barbara Busharis, Ruben Diaz, Sue Scribner, Ann Westall, and Stan Williams, presented a candidate to the congregation on May 17, 2026. We now have the happy privilege of announcing that Rev. Mark Phillips was elected to be the next installed pastor and will join us on Sunday, August 2. His installation service will take place on Sunday, September 13 at 4 PM. From July 12 through July 26, Rev. John Cole and Rev. Tai Cole will be leading worship, and Rev. Matt Frease will be available for pastoral care needs that might arise.

A letter from Rev. Phillips to the congregation is available here. Rev. Phillips was born and raised in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. He is currently serving as the pastor of First & Franklin Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland, a congregation that traces its history back to the year 1761. He earned his Master of Divinity from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and was ordained at the Riverview Presbyterian Church, where he had been a student assistant minister. In 1994 he was called to First Presbyterian in Mineral Ridge, Ohio, where he served for 16 years. In 2010 he was called to be the pastor of “The Old Whalers Church” in Sag Harbor, New York, and went from there to Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church in Dearborn, Michigan.

In 2021, Rev. Phillips and Larry Cereso were married in a ceremony held at Cherry Hill Church. Larry is a native of Toledo, Ohio, and currently works as the Director of Facilities and Operations at Second Presbyterian Church in Baltimore. They share their home with two cats, Russell and Robert, and enjoy community activities, theater, and concerts.

We look forward to welcoming Mark and Larry to Tallahassee!