Rick Stein | Transitional Pastor | Email

OurWe welcome the Reverend Rick Stein.Pastor Rick has gladly accepted the assignment to be the Transitional Pastor for Avon Lake Presbyterian Church.  He is the former Covenant Pastor at First United Presbyterian Church in Elyria.  Rick served First United from October, 2006 until his retirement on December 31, 2019. His wife, Mary, is also retired from Baldwin Wallace University where she worked for 46 years.  They have two daughters (and son-in-laws), five grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. They are enjoying retirement and spending time with their family.  They also enjoy gardening and going to their small “getaway home” in Marblehead, Ohio.  Please feel free to call him with any pastoral needs.  He is looking forward to serving our congregation and helping us begin the next chapter that God has called us to embark on.  

Kenzi Roberts| Office Administrator | Email

Kenzi grew up in Avon Lake, graduating from Avon Lake High School in 2000. She and her husband are raising four wonderful children here in town, along with their many family pets. Kenzi enjoys chatting with the members of the church who often like to stop by the office for a visit. The open arms of ALPC and the small-town feel the church offers has made for a wonderful experience that feels less like work and more like home.

Rick Fortney | Director of Music & Arts Ministries | Email

Rick grew up in Avon Lake, one block from the church on Cherry Lane, graduating from Avon Lake High School in 1977. He went to Bowling Green State University earning both his Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts. Before moving back to Avon Lake he spent the 80s in New York City pursuing music, theatre and arts administration, serving as the Director of Student Affairs at Manhattan School of Music while being a musician in the off-hours. In 1990 he moved back home and served as the Director of Worship, Music and the Arts at Bay Presbyterian Church, resigning from there in 1999 to begin TrueNorth Cultural Arts in which he is the Founder, Executive & Artistic Director.  

Rick, his wife Joan, and their ‘Mighty Four’ (cats Luna & Ellie and dogs Sophie & Clyde), live in Avon Lake. They love music, animals, the outdoors (especially the lake!), and sports (primarily following the Indians and Cavs!). Joan is a Full Stack Developer, Business Systems for the Cleveland Indians and a musician, playing cello in the TrueNorth Chamber Orchestra.

Julie Erker | Director of Cornerstone Preschool | Email

Julie believes in educating the whole child and giving every child the best opportunity to learn and grow in an effective and loving environment. Every day is exciting and fun. As a young child, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. When you love what you do, the rewards are endless.

I hold a BA in Early Childhood Education and I am currently working on my Ohio Administration Certification. I began my career working as a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade teacher in the Cleveland School System. I was then fortunate to stay home and raise my three children, Tyler, Makenzie, and Nicolas. Once my children were in school, I had a longing to go back to teaching. I became a Lead Pre-K Teacher at Cornerstone Preschool in 2008 and in 2012, the Director of Cornerstone Preschool.

Hobbies include golfing, decorating, and spending time with my family.

Marcy Uhl | Treasurer | Email

Marcy has been the treasurer at ALPC for over 30 years. She has seen the church transition from the days of posting a monthly journal by hand to using current computer technology. Marcy has an accounting degree from BGSU.  It continues to be Marcy’s pleasure to serve the church as treasurer and to work with this wonderful church staff! 

Emilee Oliva | Director of Christian Education | Email

Emilee has been married to her best friend, Kyle, for 9 years. They have two awesome children: Everlee and Leo. Emilee currently resides in Amherst and has 2 dogs and five cats! In my free time, I love to explore the outdoors, read books, take pictures and travel when we can.

Emilee comes to Avon Lake Presbyterian Church with 12 years of education experience. She specializes in and has been trained in developmental and behavioral management with children. Emilee also owns and operates a photography business called Our Journey Home Photography, where she specializes in Maternity, Newborn, and Lifestyle photography and has been doing it for the past 4 years. 

High School is where Emilee’s journey and relationship with God developed after attending the high school youth group at Grace Missionary and Alliance Church in Middleburg Heights. This is where she found the true understanding of Jesus, which led to her being baptized on September 17th 2007, giving her life to him so that she could be born again. From there, she helped to teach a church class called Divorce Care for Kids (DC4K) helping to guide teens through the hardships of their parents’ divorce. In 2008, Emille was privileged and honored to be able to go on a mission trip to Trujillo, Peru to take part in building an orphanage. During that trip, she experienced the strongest form of God’s love through missions; she was introduced to families and children who had such passionate relationships with the Lord, but had nothing, no shoes, an outfit for the next day the list goes on but their strength and love for the Lord was undeniable.