Leadership

Since 2017, Pastor Jay has served as the sixth Pastor of Good Shepherd. Originally from Chile, he studied in Argentina, Germany and Philadelphia and has served in various capacities in several congregations as: Youth Director, Contemporary Worship Leader, Mission Developer and Pastor. He serves the wider community leading worship at Crane’s Mill Retirement Community and writing for the denomination. Pastor Jay sees the Christian life as an opportunity to worship, bless and proclaim; as we worship God together, we bless the world with our gifts and proclaim that Jesus is Lord to all the world. 

He is married to Caroline, a Presbyterian pastor, and together they raise their children, Isabel and Sebastian, in the church. You can find Pastor Jay at the Glen Rock Inn leading Bible study, picking up his kids at school, or at the Glen Rock Fire Department where he volunteers as firefighter and Chaplain. An avid musician, Pastor Jay can often be found playing his bagpipes on Sunday afternoons.

John comes to Good Shepherd after a career that has included Minister of Music positions at several ELCA churches in New Jersey and California, including Trinity Lutheran  (Dover), Faith Lutheran (New Providence) and First Lutheran (Pasadena).  While at Faith, Dr. Girvin developed many innovative worship services that reflected the considerable variety of music in the Lutheran Church. His advanced degrees in Keyboard and Collaborative Arts are from New York University and University of Southern California, where he was voted Outstanding Graduate of the Thornton School of Music by the faculty.  John has taught music at University of Southern California, Chapman University, and the County College of Morris.  He is currently on the Performing Arts faculty at Morristown Beard School, in Morristown, NJ, where he directs the Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and gives courses in studio recording and electronic music composition.  Dr. Girvin also serves as a National Music Education Consultant for Yamaha Corporation of America, preparing young musicians for national and international competition.  John is a member of the Gramercy Brass Orchestra of New York, and his arranging talents can be heard on their latest Christmas CD “A Gramercy Brass Christmas”.  Other CD credits include a recording of the Sebastian Gluck Opus 13 pipe organ entitled “Dances and Dialogues”.  He resides in Annandale, NJ, with his wife Christina and their college-age daughter, Seromi.  

As Church Office and Communications Manager, Amy's role includes marketing and administrative responsibilities. You can find her in person at the church office Monday through Friday from 9:15-1:15 or by email, Amy received her Bachelor of Arts degree as a double major in English and Psychology from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania where she graduated cum laude. She is passionate about playing a behind-the-scenes role in keeping organizations running smoothly. Her background spans senior living, retail, and mental health services. As a woman of faith, Amy feels especially blessed to have the opportunity to work in a church environment. She lives in Hawthorne with her husband Jim and their two children (6 year old James and 3 year old Mackenzie) and a dog named Mo. In her free time, Amy especially loves to be with family, garden, read, and do projects around the house. Her favorite Bible passages are Lamentations 3: 21-23 and Psalm 91.

As the church council president and property committee chairman at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Ernie Pastor is deeply committed to serving our community and nurturing our congregation's spiritual and physical home. Raised in the Lutheran faith, he holds dear the same values of fellowship and service, that he works to instill in his own family.

Outside of work, Ernie values the time spent with his wife, Sarah, and their two boys. In particular, he enjoys fishing and lending a helping hand within the church family where they have been members for 15 years. In that time, Good Shepherd has become an extension of his home and family; a place where he feels at ease, surrounded by a loving community that shares his passion for serving others and praising the Lord.

Ernie is proud to serve a congregation whose motto says "Come and see, we have a place for you." He believes in the importance of welcoming all people of faith and sees it daily in this congregation. Whether you are a youth, a person who wishes to share their talents, or someone who wishes to serve during worship, Good Shepherd offers you an outlet for those gifts and passions.  Ernie is grateful for the opportunities to collaborate with his brothers and sisters in Christ, working together to fulfill God's calling by doing His work with our hands.

Michael currently serves Good Shepherd as vice president, after having previously been the secretary during the 2022-2023 church year. He and his family first began attending Good Shepherd in 2019 and officially became members in 2020. In addition to his place on the council, Michael sings in the choir and assists as a liturgical assistant. His school-aged children, Sophia and Matthew have both begun to follow his example by becoming acolytes and helping the church wherever they can. One of Michael’s great hopes for the church is to build a vibrant program around its youth. This summer he is helping to lead a delegation from Good Shepherd to Eastern Tennessee as part of the Appalachia Service Project. He looks forward to other opportunities to involve the church’s children and young adults in Good Shepherd’s call to “Worship, Bless, and Proclaim”.  Michael retired from a career in marketing & communications to dedicate himself to community service. In addition to his roles with Good Shepherd he volunteers as an EMT in Wyckoff.

Chris and his wife, Anne Marie, have been members of Good Shepherd since they moved to Glen Rock in 2001. They were immediately attracted by the quality of the services, the welcoming atmosphere of the congregation, and quality of the music program. Their daughters, Emily and Rebecca, are currently in college. Both received their First Communion and Confirmation at Good Shepherd and are happy to call it “Our Church”. Chris spent several years coordinating the Communion Assistants, as well as teaching Sunday School. In 2019, Chris officially joined the Church Council as Education Chair, before serving Vice-President in 2022.

Hello, my name is Susan Melz, and I have been the Financial Secretary since 2018. I was born and raised in Maywood, NJ and attended Zion Lutheran Church with my family. My husband Peter and I were married there, and our daughters were baptized there. We moved to Glen Rock in 1994 and joined Good Shepherd soon thereafter. Our daughters, Katie and Erica, received their Communion and Confirmations at Good Shepherd, and have both taught Sunday school here. Peter served as Stewardship chair for six years, I was the Sunday school chair when our girls were younger, and we both have been Communion Assistants for over 18 years. I enjoy traveling with my family, hiking, and taking my dogs on long walks.

I am currently the CARE Ministry and Evangelism chairperson on council.  I have been on the council now for more than 17-1/2 years.  I became a member of the church council when I was hired in 2006 as the Director of Parish Ministries.  Pastor Spencer was my mentor.  I have served continuously on council, even after I retired in 2019.

My husband, Lou, and I were married at Good Shepherd by Pastor Hergenhan in 1981.  My three grown daughters, Beth, Katie and Jackie, were baptized at Good Shepherd, and also received their First Communion and Confirmation here.  They were all active in choir, youth group and serving in other capacities.  Beth and Katie attended the National Youth Gatherings.  Katie also traveled to Namibia, Africa, with the NJ Synod team.  Our family hosted a young man from Namibia, Saltiel Heita, who stayed with us for two weeks and also attended the National Youth Gathering with the youth from Good Shepherd. 

Over the years, I have attended many NJ Synod Assemblies, where it was fun to see some of our previous interns (now pastors), and clergy friends from other churches in Bergen County.  It was also incredibly interesting and informative to see how the Synod functions and all the decisions they need to make as the overseer of the Lutheran churches in New Jersey.

I have been blessed and honored a thousand times over to be a member of Good Shepherd, to have worked here for 13-1/2 years, for all the friends I've made and ministered to, and for the opportunities that I have been given.  God is good!!

In 2016 when my husband, baby daughter and I moved from Hoboken to Bergen county it was important to me to find a Lutheran Church fior my family to grow, love and worship in.  I was lead to Good Shepherd in the summer of 2017. Immediately I felt a strong connection to the community, Pastor Jay and the congregation.  Over the years through the birth of another daughter, family illness and Covid-19 I have turned to Pastor Jay and the Good Shepherd family for support, love and friendship. I am honored to be on council and help to guide the younger generation of Good Shepherd in Christian Education program. I look forward to many more years as a member of this loving community and continual growth for the congregation.

Vin, our two sons, and I moved back to New Jersey from Atlanta in 2012. We took our time choosing a church and ultimately settled on Good Shepherd because it just ‘felt right’. Since joining, we have been part of a wonderful church family that truly does worship, bless, and proclaim. As social ministry chair, I look forward to working with the congregation to continue to bless those in our community and beyond.

Having been a member of Good Shepherd as a child and then returning to raise my own children here some years later, I have witnessed many changes in the congregation, the church buildings, and church activities. The events of the past few years have been especially challenging for our sense of community. As I return to the Church Council as chair of the Congregational Life Committee, I look forward to joining you all in creating and reimagining activities and events that promote and extend the concept of community at Good Shepherd. What would you like to see? Let's make it happen!