Pastoral Staff

"An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain." Titus 1:6-7

Steve Froehlich, Pastor, Elder

Steve has served as Pastor of New Life Presbyterian since 1998. In his prior position, he served as Executive Vice President of Reformed Theological Seminary and as Assistant Pastor to the congregation of Highlands Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS. Pastor Froehlich completed undergraduate studies in theatre, and graduate studies in theology and pastoral ministry. He currently serves as board president of Chesterton House center for Christian Studies at Cornell University, on the board of the PCA Foundation, and previously as a member of the Ithaca City School District's Key Communicators Team. His interests include the intersection of Christianity and the arts, especially literature and film. He and his wife Sheryl have three sons and two grandsons.

Gary Villa, Pastoral Assistant, Elder

Gary followed his wife Kira to Ithaca in the summer of 2006, when she began graduate studies in Applied Economics at Cornell University. In 2008, he accepted an invitation to come on staff with New Life, ministering to college students in conjunction with the Coalition for Christian Outreach. Gary earned his BA in International Ministries from the Moody Bible Institute in 1996, and later obtained his MA in Interdisciplinary Studies (Church history/spiritual formation) from Wheaton College in 2006. Gary's interests include baseball, poetry, jazz and gluten-free baked goods. He and his wife Kira have one son, Aidan.

Karl E. Johnson, Elder

Karl is the Founding Director of Chesterton House, a Center for Christian Studies at Cornell University. Since arriving as a student in 1985, Karl has been very involved in the Ithaca community. During college, he started Cornell Outdoor Education Trail Maintenance class, a partnership with the Cayuga Trails Club that allows students to get Physical Education credit for service work. After college, he ran the Ithaca Youth Bureau's Outings Program and led summer Youth Conservation Corps projects. In 1996, Karl started Cornell Outdoor Education's Team and Leadership Center, and designed Cornell's Hoffman Challenge Course. More recently he started and became the full time director of Chesterton House. Along the way Karl worked for twelve years as Ithaca High School's assistant soccer coach, and completed a Ph.D. in the history and philosophy of recreation. Karl's interests include conservation and human relations with the natural environment, and some of his favorite authors include Wendell Berry, Eugene Peterson, and the so-called British literary converts (C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton and company). Karl and his wife Julie, also a Cornell graduate, have five children and have been featured in the Ithaca Journal.

David Williamson, Elder

David received his Ph.D. in computer science from M.I.T. in 1993. He joined Cornell University in 2004 with a joint appointment with the School of Operations Research and Industrial Engineering and Computer and Information Science (CIS). Before joining Cornell, Williamson was the Senior Manager of the Computer Science Principles and Methodologies Department at the IBM Almaden Research Center. From 1995 - 2000 he was a Research Staff Member at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. He was also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and Cornell University in 1998, as well as a lecturer at MIT in 2000 and at Stanford in 2003. His primary research interest has been in the design and analysis of polynomial time algorithms for the approximate solution of hard problems in discrete optimization, especially problems arising in network design, scheduling, facility, location, and routing.

Matthew Tiscareno, Elder

Matthew Tiscareno received his Ph.D. in planetary science from the University of Arizona in 2004, at which time he came to Ithaca to join the research staff at Cornell University's Department of Astronomy. His research focuses primarily on Saturn's rings in association with the imaging team of the Cassini spacecraft, which is currently orbiting Saturn, in addition to a more general interest in the orbits and rotations of objects in the solar system. He has a strong interest in communicating science to the public, and especially in helping Christians understand and positively engage the intersection between natural science and religious faith. He lives in Ithaca with his wife and three children.

 DEACONS

A lay diaconate assists the Session in providing support and attending to needs within the congregation. If you have or know of a need you would like to make known to the deacons, please send them a confidential note: deacons@newlifepc.net