STAFF
Roberta Kearney, Transitional Pastor
Welcome to our Transitional Pastor, Roberta Kearney (pronounced Carnee). Roberta has a broad range of life and ministry experience.
The oldest of six children, Roberta’s family moved many times in her childhood. She was born in Wisconsin, then lived in Seattle and ultimately her family moved to central Pennsylvania. As an adult she has lived in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Atlanta, Georgia, Madison, Wisconsin, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Moving and living in lots of different kinds of places, Roberta, appreciates getting to know people and understanding what life is like in each new place.
After ten years of working on public policy issues, Roberta went to seminary, and has been a pastor for almost thirty years. She has served in both installed and interim positions. Serving in churches ranging in size from 500 to 2,300 members, and leading churches with 125 to 280 members. She is excited to get to know the people of First Presbyterian Pottstown.
In the course of her ministry, she has covered every facet of church life and leadership and has also addressed some surprisingly new aspects of ministry, from helping a church sell its building to developing devotional videos and other online offerings during COVID.
Roberta loves the wonder of how God works in people’s lives as they change and grow spiritually. She has a heart for faith formation and discipleship for herself and others as we each grow to trust Jesus Christ more and love our neighbors more generously.
Reading, walking, and playing board and card games are some of the things she does to relax.
Jo Ann Bathurst, Director of Childrens Music
Jo Ann (better known as “Mrs. B”) is a church member for over 50 years. She is a pre-school music teacher at HENS Nursery School at First Pres as well as The Goddard School in Pottstown for almost 20 years. She was classically trained with 12 years of private voice lessons as well as many years of experience as a soloist with the former Pottstown Symphony and in many local churches. She brings a love of performance and her goal is for all of her choir members to have a lifetime love of singing. She considers it both a privilege and a blessing to interact with the youth of the church, through the Cherub Choir, Celtic Singers and the Christmas Eve Pageant.
Jaylee Ferreri, Director for Children, Youth and Family Ministry
With an extensive background in education, Jaylee has worked in management, marketing, enrollment, teaching and coaching. She is a graduate of Lock Haven University with a degree in Early Childhood Education and holds a certificate of business from Ursinus College. Jaylee and her husband, Mike, were married at First Pres and raised their two sons at here. They were also youth advisors for 15 years. An avid Philadelphia sports fan, Jaylee also loves to try new restaurants and enjoy a good crossword puzzle.
Cynthia Foust, Music Director
Cindy has a B.S. in Music Education and a B.M. in Choral Conducting from the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut. She received her Masters of Music degree from West Chester University. Cindy retired from the Pottsgrove School District in 2015 after serving as the MS/HS Choral Director for the past 35 years. Cindy has two grown children, and loves to read, garden, walk, travel, and spend lots of time seeing concerts, theatre and being at the beach.
Marie Kayati, Administrative Assistant
Marie and her husband John moved from South Jersey to Pottstown in 1999. They adopted their daughter, Mischa, in 2007. After working as an Administrative Assistant in the legal field for more than 20 years, Marie has been serving as the Administrative Assistant at First Pres since June of 2016. Marie enjoys decorating, organizing, traveling, and most importantly, spending time with family.
Dawn Skelly, Nurse
Dawn received her BSN at the University of Delaware in 1988. She served as a clinical nurse and manager at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for 13 years. Dawn has spent time working as a home health care nurse and a certified school nurse. Dawn grew up in Montgomery County and lives in Collegeville with her husband and three boys. She enjoys spending time with her family including her two active dogs, time at the beach, and taking photography lessons.
Thomas Spitko, Sexton
Tom has been at First Pres for over 10 years. He and his wife Cindy have four children and four grandchildren. Tom served 4 years in the Coast Guard and retired from the U.S. Postal Service after 31 years. Tom loves spending time with his children and his grandchildren and playing golf every chance he gets! Tom loves his work at the church and interacting with the congregation.
Deb Voytko, Organist
Deb has been organist at four Presbyterian churches in Pennsylvania since 1975, and has had the privilege of playing the piano and organ here since 2008. Deb and her husband David have two grown children and a granddaughter, Viviana Rose. In her free time, she loves to travel, cook, read and embroider.
