Our Senior Pastor 
           
Randolph T. Riggs, D.Min.  ("Randy") 

Randy is a native Californian who confesses a love affair with the City of Lancaster and its surrounding country side.  He came to Lancaster in June of 1996, and he has been a promoter of the city ever since.  He goes to Central Market every Friday, and every Christmas makes a commitment to avoid the malls by doing all of his Christmas shopping in downtown Lancaster.

Randy is a graduate of University of California at Santa Barbara (B.A. in History), Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and San Francisco Theological Seminary (D.Min.).  His doctoral dissertation was entitled: Preparing Couples for Marriage as a Covenant  Commitment: a Program of Clergy/Lay Cooperation. 

He and his wife, Cherie met while they were at Princeton (Cherie has her M.A. in Christian Education).  They have been married since 1970 and have two grown children: Holly and Tim.  Randy and Cherie have one granddaughter whose name is Emma and she is the delight of their lives. Both wonder why you have to wait so long to become grandparents. If they had known it was this much fun, they would have done it before becoming parents. 

First Presbyterian is the fourth church which Randy has served.  The others were: Associate Pastor for Youth and their Families at the United Church of Fayetteville, New York (a suburb of Syracuse); Associate Pastor of Parish Life at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Portland, Oregon; Pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Jenkintown, PA (a suburb of Philadelphia).

Little known facts about our pastor: he has completed four 26.2 mile marathons and loves to go to the movies almost every week with his wife.

You may reach Randy at randy@fpclanc.org

Associate Pastor
 
Don Hackett, D.Min. 

Don came to Lancaster from Bethlehem (Pa) where he had been pastor for youth Ministries at First Presbyterian Church since 1983. Though a military dependent who has lived in seven different states and two foreign countries, Don considers Pennsylvania his home.

After graduating from Penn State, he attended Princeton Theological Seminary and received his Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Later, in 1997, he received his Doctor of Divinity degree from Fuller.

Don and his wife, Rila, have three young children (Ian, Brynn and Colin) and enjoy walking, reading, travel, music and connecting with friends.

You can reach Don at Don@fpclanc.org

Director of Worship Ministries 

Timothy Sidebotham

You can reach Tim at tim@fpclanc.org

Associate in Worship Ministries 

Alisa Bair

A native Lancastrian with a double degree in music education and music therapy, Alisa has a rich, ecumenical background in church ministry. Most recently, she served as Minister of Music and Worship at Hempfield United Methodist Church from 1993-2000, and as interim Chancel Choir Director at the Lancaster Church of the Brethren in 2004. She is a published writer and composer, and an avid proponent of all of the arts.

Alisa made a major career turn out of church ministry to study at New York University’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, where she received her M.F.A. in 2003. Upon graduation, she returned to Lancaster and, not planning to resume ministry employment, worked various jobs while continuing to write and compose. Fifteen months into her attendance at First Presbyterian Church, however, she began to sense a second calling into church ministry, just prior to learning that the leadership was searching to fill a part-time music position. She was particularly thrilled to learn its emphasis was on the arts and with children and youth, for whom she has had a lifelong passion.

She lives with her husband, Rob, who works as a counselor at Hempfield High School. They have two adult daughters, Lauren and Leslie – and another, Kelly, whose faith journey through illness and up to her death at the age of eight is chronicled in Alisa’s book, A Table for Two (Good Books, 1998).

A lover of words, Alisa lives by the quotes posted all over her studio walls. Her latest favorite is one by singer/songwriter Sara Groves: "In the everydayness of the Kingdom we are invited to be brilliantly beautiful, all of us moons with no light of our own, invited to shine."

You can reach Alisa at alisa@fpclanc.org

Director of Youth Ministry/Youth Outreach 

Dale Marx

With a degree in Art from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a masters degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Dale Marx looks at ministry from a creative perspective.

Dale has served as an Associate Pastor for Youth Ministry at the First Presbyterian Church of York and most recently as the Minister for Youth at Highland Presbyterian Church where he served for ten years. His passion for ministry has always been focused on youth.

Besides ministry, Dale has had the opportunity to develop his artistic nature by creating and selling his own art, painting murals and developing Web sites. Dale grew up in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and he and his wife, Tracey, have made Lancaster their home. They have two small children, Gabriel and Laurel, and Dale has an older son, Christopher, who lives and works in York. Some of Dale’s other interests include construction, backpacking and mountain biking.

For Dale, Youth Ministry is about creating room for the Holy Spirit. It is about relationship. It is about action. Through relationship we experience the heart of faith and through action we experience the power of faith. Dale believes that when we create positive God-memories for our youth, we give our young people a great gift a heartfelt understanding that living life as a Christian makes a difference.

You can reach Dale at  dale@fpclanc.org