LPC STAFF
Rev. Danie de Beer
Rev. Dave Johnson, Associate Pastor
David was born and raised in the north, growing up in suburban Chicago, the grandson of Swedish immigrants who followed other Scandinavians to settle in the northern Midwest.
He received his B.A. from Hope College in western Michigan, and remained in Michigan after graduation, working in ministry with youth as a Young Life Area Director.
Feeling called to seminary, David moved to the north shore of Boston where he received his M. Div. from Gordon-College Theological Seminary. Not yet sensing a call to church ministry, he stayed in New England after completing his degree, guiding church and school groups on adventure wilderness programs throughout the Appalachian Mountains. Some 15 year later, David found his calling to parish ministry. He was ordained into the United Church of Christ where for the last 25 years, he has served churches in Massachusetts, Illinois, and Florida.
Over the course of David’s ministry, he has seen tremendous changes in society and in the church. Yet he remains passionate in his belief that the gospel message of Jesus Christ, and the ongoing work of the church, remains critically important for individuals and for our world as a whole. Although he is ordained in the United Church of Christ, David’s journey has included worship, study, and ministry in numerous settings and denominations. Now, as God has called him to Lowcountry Presbyterian Church, he considers it a privilege and joy to serve God and God’s people here in Bluffton.
After living in Michigan, New England, and Chicago, David moved south to the tropics where he met and married his wife, Rev. Elizabeth. Together they have made a home with Loiza, their Puerto Rican rescue dog, Buster, and Mr. Squeakers. In his free time, David needs to be outdoors where he seeks out adventure. Currently, he and Elizabeth are learning to sail “At Last,” their Rob Roy canoe yawl.
Rev. Dr. Danie de Beer, Transitional Pastor
Danie de Beer has been serving as an intentional transitional pastor since 2016. In the past 9 years, he has served congregations in Chicago, IL, Iowa City, IA, Vancouver, WA, Mt. Pleasant, SC, and Savannah, GA. He has also served as acting executive presbyter in the Presbytery of Great Rivers and Chicago. Before being called to intentional transitional ministry, Danie served the First Presbyterian Church in Lewistown, IL, and the Ipava Presbyterian Church in Ipava, IL, for 12 years as solo pastor.
Danie was ordained to ministry in November 1981 in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, serving in different capacities in ordained congregational ministry, as chaplain in the South African Defense Force, and as lecturer in Biblical Hebrew at Pretoria University. Most of his theological education was done at the universities of Pretoria and Stellenbosch in South Africa, with a D. Min awarded in 2010 by Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, VA, (then known as the Union Presbyterian Seminary and School of Christian Education) focusing on the role of the sacraments in congregational life and “death.”Danie has been married to Annette since 1978. They both like meeting people, travelling, and spending time together. They have two children – Danielle and Lourens (who is married to Katie), and a grandson, who lives in the St. Louis area in Missouri.
Dr. Robin Lind, Director of Music
After 40 years of directing choirs, teaching choral music education and private voice at the public school and college levels, Dr. Lind retired in 2014 from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, where she was the Director of Choral Activities and co-director of Music Education. Upon retirement, she and her husband, Ralph Peters, moved to Sun City, in the Lowcountry, where she has found a world of musical opportunities. Besides serving as the Music Director at Lowcountry Presbyterian Church, she sings in the Mary Green Chorale, the Beth Yam Synagogue Choir on Hilton Head Island for High Holy Days, and the Lowcountry Jazz Band. She received her Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Utah, her MM in Vocal Performance from the University of Oregon, and her BA in Music Education from the College of Idaho. Choirs under Dr. Lind’s direction have toured Spain, Italy, Great Britain, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria and the United States.
Dr. Karen M. Ball, Organist/Pianist
Dr. Karen Ball comes to LPC as Professor Emeritus at Olivet Nazarene University where she served as full time faculty for eighteen years. In her previous faculty position at Wheaton College, she taught in the Community School of the Arts as well as the Conservatory of Music for fourteen years. Her career has spanned decades of performances, teaching positions, and composing and arranging music for vocal, choral, piano, and orchestra. Karen received a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition from Temple University, the Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Northern Illinois University, and the Doctor of Music Arts degree in Piano Performance from the University of Illinois. She began playing organ for the church service at the age of 14 and has consistently held music positions in the church to the present. Dr. Ball performs regularly with the Mary Green Chorale, the Hilton Head Symphony Chorus, and the Congregation Beth Yam Temple Choir for High Holy Days. She is a member of the American Guild of Organists, and is currently serving as President of the Performing Arts Council of Sun City Hilton Head.
Christy James, Church Administrator
Christy came to Lowcountry Presbyterian Church as the church administrator in January of 2011. She has worked in a PCUSA church for 25 years. She first started working at her church, New Lisbon Presbyterian, in her hometown of Lisbon, Ohio as secretary and treasurer. Christy and her husband Ed, live in Bluffton. They have 2 grown children and 4 grandchildren. Christy feels blessed to work in the ministry of the church and we are blessed to have her.