Staff

My earliest memories (aside from biting my best friend when we were 3 years old!) include a vivid awareness of the presence of God in every moment of my young life. I used to wonder whether the neighborhood kids I was playing with knew Jesus was there. That experience has informed who I became and how I have responded to God’s call throughout my life.

After graduating from Westfield Sr. High in Westfield, NY, I earned a BA in Social Work from Spaulding University in Louisville, KY. Life brought me to WNY where I worked at Goldome Bank in mortgage servicing, information services, and leadership development from 1977 until 1987. I loved being a stay-at-home mom while our children were young, serving in a variety of ways as a volunteer at Zion Lutheran Church in Clarence Center. Once our youngest son was in kindergarten, I worked as a special ed teaching assistant at Clarence High School where I attended classes to support students in the integration program. During that time, God’s strong presence again spoke to me, calling me to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. I fought the call and tried to ignore it until the still, small voice calling in the night became a persistent roar. With the blessing of my husband, Bob, and our 4 children, I left my job and began a 4-year seminary journey. My first call was as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in East Amherst followed by a call as Pastor/President of Lord of Life Lutheran Church and Adult & Child Services in Depew. I retired in January 2023.

Retirement has proven to be a blessing as I have been able to devote significant time to leading a nonprofit I helped found in 2017, learning to play golf, and continuing to serve as the Secretary of the Upstate NY Synod. Bob and I joined St. John in 2023 and have found the congregation to be warm and welcoming. I am thrilled to serve as interim pastor while Pastor Scott is on sabbatical this summer and look forward to preaching the Word and loving God’s people through all the joys and challenges that life brings. 

I grew up in Jamestown, NY. As a child I had an imagination that was out of control... No tree couldn't be climbed. Every shadow had to be conquered. And all activities were treated as though they were life and death.

After high school I attended Jamestown Community College. After two years, I transferred and graduated from the University at Buffalo with a bachelor's degree is Sociology. While at U.B. I met Kate - a Classics Scholar and a track athlete. On the last day of class (after four semesters together), I asked her out. She said yes. Now, we're married.

After college I attended seminary in Columbia, SC. Upon graduation, I was blessed to be called back to NY to serve God's people at St. John. More recently, I went back to school to really focus on preaching. I graduated from United Lutheran Seminary in May of 2018 with a Doctor of Ministry degree with a focus in preaching.

Kate and I have four kids: Molly, Delaney, John, and Matthew. We live in East Aurora, NY and on most days settle for doing our best. On occasion, we excel at all things. Sometimes, we struggle. Through everything and on every single day we turn to God for grace and guidance along the WAY.

For fun I play guitar and golf. The guitar is always fun. Golf, not so much.

Pastor Scott can be reached directly via email to pastorscotthannon@gmail.com.

I grew up in Greece, New York, and attended Barnard School through 8th grade and then graduated from John Marshall High School in Rochester. From there, I went to Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Then, I was on to the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia for 3 years before receiving the Bachelor of Divinity Degree.

My first call was as an Assistant Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in New Hyde Park, Long Island. After a year there, the senior pastor resigned and the Synod required the staff to resign. One month later, I was called to be the Associate Pastor at St. David's Lutheran Church in Massapequa Park, Long Island. While serving there for nearly 9 years, I was responsible for ministry to and with at least 525 7th-12th graders each year who were members of the congregation as well as a significant number of other young people who hung out on street corners.

In April 1971, I was called to be the Director of Youth Ministry for the Niagara Frontier Conference and served in that capacity until June of 1989 when I became Pastor of Amherst Lutheran Church in Amherst, NY. My retirement began on June 1, 2001.  

I have 2 adult children and 4 grandchildren.

While in Buffalo from April through October, I serve as the Visitation Pastor at St. John in order to support Pastor Scott and to provide ministry to senior citizens like myself and younger folks who are hospitalized or confined to their homes. My wife and I live in West Melbourne, Florida from November through March. While in Buffalo, I am a full-time volunteer working with 2nd graders at School 80 and while in W. Melbourne, I am a full-time volunteer working with 6th graders at Meadowlane Intermediate School.

I am an almost life-long baseball fan having attended my first Rochester Red Wings game at the age of 8 and having served as the President of the Buffalo Bisons Booster Club from 1999 through 2019.

Pastor Greene can be reached through the office at stjohnamherst@gmail.com.

My family immigrated from Taiwan to the US when I was 12. I would like to say that I learned English at the ESL program at school, but I really learned to speak from watching many hours of American sitcoms. 

I went to a music elementary school in Taiwan where I learned both piano and violin simultaneously; however, I did not consider music as a career until I received a personal phone call from a famous violin teacher from New York, inviting me to study with her as the only undergraduate student in her 5 person studio. I eventually chose violin as my major when I went to Manhattan School of Music in New York City. 

While in New York, I met two friends who were also passionate about chamber music, so we formed a piano trio. We performed in various venues in the city and it’s surrounding areas, culminating with a concert at the Weil Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall as a winner of the Artist International Competition. After that, our pianist got married. I went to Cleveland Institute of Music to pursue a Master degree in Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy. 

I got my first full time orchestral job in Nashville Symphony after my master’s degree. Then I moved to Buffalo after I married David, who is a cellist at the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Currently I am a frequent substitute with the orchestra, in addition to performing regularly at Shea’s and teaching privately. David and I have two children, Peter and Lilyanna. In my spare time, I like to cook and bake. 

I have been a member of St. John since 2011 and have always enjoyed the music of the church. When Pastor Scott first approached me about the position of accompanist/organist, I thought he was nuts! I have played piano my entire life but have never played the organ. After much thought and prayer, I accepted the position. I am now enjoying this new venture and am having so much fun learning to play the organ. God has a way of making things work! 

Cindy can be reached via email to stjohnlcmusic@gmail.com.

As the youngest child born into a large and loving family, I was raised and educated in Western New York. I attended the high school around the corner, on Park Club Lane, which closed the year after I graduated. I guess the school couldn’t survive without a Clonan in attendance. From there I completed my undergraduate work at SUNY Fredonia with a BA in Technical Theatre, as a costumer, once they figured out I could sew. I worked in the Bridal industry for a while and managed a costume shop until the owner decided to move it to Texas. 

The next major landmark in my life came when I married Mark Monica on the feast of St. Monica in 1983. We refurbished the home he owned in the city and when the children started to arrive, we moved out to North Collins. We raised Gary, Meghan Jane and Donald in farm country with many happy and sometimes challenging experiences. One by one the children moved into their lives starting with college and never really wanted to move back to rural America, so my husband and I sold the property and resettled in West Seneca, a more central location for our work, the children’s homesteads and the growing crew of grandchildren that followed.

Professionally, I completed a master’s degree in library science while working and raising kids when it dawned on me that they would need to attend college. My part time jobs in food service and retail evolved into full time positions in education at various schools in the area south of Buffalo. The last 15 years of my working career was at Canisius High School, the all-male Jesuit school on Delaware Ave. As I was leaving Canisius I was saying goodbye to a wonderful security guard who told me that I would love retirement, but he was sure I would be looking for work after 3 months. He was right. Grateful for the opportunity to serve in such a loving community at St. John, I am open to new challenges and appreciate the sense of purpose that working here provides.

Personally, family, faith and music have always been the core of my life. I play a 12-string guitar and can turn any camping trip into a hootenanny. Sewing has been a joy as I have created many special occasion garments for women, including my daughter’s wedding dress and altered some men’s wear. Our home has become the go-to place for family gatherings as I learned a long time ago how to cook for a crowd. Ever blessed and grateful.