Our Church Staff

Interim Pastor

 

The session is excited to welcome Reverend Anne K. Apple as our Interim Pastor, starting on December 1, 2022. Reverend Apple has most recently been the Executive Associate Pastor and Acting Head of Staff at Idlewild Presbyterian Church, a historic church located in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee. Before that she served Idlewild in several capacities as well as serving as Theologian in Residence at Balmoral Presbyterian Church in Memphis and Pastor at Grace Presbyterian Church in Mobile, Alabama. A graduate of Rhodes College and Columbia Theological Seminary, she also has doctoral course work in instructional design which guides and informs her ministry. She has served in numerous denominational offices, on the Board of Directors of the Montreat Retreat Association, and as a member of the Columbia Seminary Strategic Planning Task Force.

Anne is married to Jim Apple, and they have three young adult children. Anne and Jim are both avid runners and enjoy the outdoors.

 

Eleanor Cleveland – Interim Christian Education Coordinator

Eleanor Cleveland is the Interim Christian Education Coordinator. She grew up at First Presbyterian Church with her family and has worked for the church in many roles including summer camp counselor, Christian Education assistant, and weekly assistant in the children’s Sunday School class. Eleanor has a BA in Creative Writing and a Master’s in Library Science from Florida State University. She currently works at Florida State University’s Strozier Library as the Strozier Service Desk Manager.

Jacqueline Cruz – Christian Education Assistant

Jacqueline Cruz is serving as the Christian Education Assistant and working with our older children on Sunday mornings. Jacqueline has served with the youth group, attended Montreat summer youth conferences, and was a member of the previous pastoral search committee.

 

Elizabeth LaJeunesse – Organist

Elizabeth Landrum LaJeunesse, a Tallahassee native and Leon High School alumna, holds degrees in Choral Music Education (B.Mus.Ed.) and Organ Performance (M.M.) from Florida State University, where she studied with André Thomas, Carolyn Bridger, and Michael Corzine. Over nearly three decades as a church musician, she has served as organist for Fellowship Presbyterian, Trinity United Methodist, and St. John’s Episcopal Churches. Elizabeth is staff accompanist for both the choral and band programs at Leon and has collaborated with the TSO chorus, Tallahassee Civic Chorale, the FSU Chamber Choir, University Singers, Men’s and Women’s Glee, Vocal Jazz ensemble, and FSU summer music camps, as well as other schools in Leon County. She frequently joins the Tallahassee Community Chorus and FSU choirs as a continuo harpsichordist and accompanies an All-State Chorus annually for the Florida Vocal Association. She maintains an active schedule as a freelance collaborative pianist and organist, particularly enjoying her frequent collaborations with the FSU saxophone studio.

 

Ethan Murphy – Interim Choir Director

Ethan Murphy recently completed his M.M. in Choral Conducting at the University of Minnesota, where he was also the choir director at Bethlehem Covenant Church. Before moving to Minnesota he taught high school choir in northern Virginia and served as Director of Music at Regester Chapel United Methodist Church. He and his wife Abby moved to Tallahassee in 2022 so that Ethan could pursue a PhD in Music Education and Choral Conducting at FSU. The Adult Choir meets at 7:00 on Wednesday evenings to rehearse, and all are welcome!

Lori Touchton – Office Administrator

email: office@oldfirstchurch.org

 

Fran Owens – Financial Administrator

We are delighted to welcome Fran Owens as our Financial Administrator. Fran will work part-time starting on May 17th. Her varied background in accounting and finance includes, most recently, seven years maintaining the financial records of Deer Lake United Methodist Church. Originally from Pennsylvania, Fran lives in Tallahassee with one of her granddaughters; she also has a son in Pennsylvania, and a daughter and two grandchildren in Virginia. Fran enjoys the symphony, theater, and downhill skiing.