Our Church

Jonathan grew up in a small town in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York but quickly adapted to southern living when he moved to Columbia, SC after graduating college in 1998. He taught seventh-grade English at Crayton Middle School for three years, then felt called into youth ministry, serving Shandon UMC as Youth Director from 2001-2006. It was during his time at Shandon that he joined the United Methodist Church, met Rebecca Neal, who grew up at Shandon and who would later become his wife, and where Jonathan ultimately felt God’s call into ordained United Methodist ministry.

Two weeks after their wedding, Rebecca and Jonathan moved to Atlanta, GA, where Jonathan attended Candler School of Theology, Emory University from 2006-2009. He was ordained an Elder in Full Connection with the SC Annual Conference in June 2011. Jonathan served as Associate Pastor of First United Methodist Church in Myrtle Beach from 2009- 2013 and then went from the coast to the mountains, serving Travelers Rest UMC since June 2013, after ten years, is excited to be back on the coast.

Jonathan has a passion for worship, preaching, teaching, and equipping others for ministry, and enjoys running, biking, fitness, reading, music, strong coffee, and doing all of these things along with Rebecca and their family: Edward, Mary Elizabeth, and Penny, the dog.

Rev. Frank Lybrand, “retired” in June 2019 as Senior Pastor of Carteret Street United Methodist Church in Beaufort. In September 2019, he joined St. Andrew as an Associate Pastor, assisting in worship and providing weekly congregational care and other support functions of the church. Frank has spent more than 39 years serving churches in the South Carolina Conference. We were so grateful that Frank also served us as our interim senior pastor after Rev. Dr. Robin Dease was elected Bishop and before Rev. Jonathan Tompkins joined us in July 2023.

Frank was born and grew up in Union, South Carolina, the youngest of three boys. His parents worked in the textile mills most of their lives. After graduating from high school, Frank served in the US Air Force as an air traffic control operator. When his four years of service were over, he returned to Union where he sensed a call to pastoral ministry. He graduated from Wofford College in 1983 while serving a local church. Frank’s Master of Divinity degree was earned at Erskine Theological Seminary as he continued to serve local congregations. In 1986, Frank was ordained as Elder in the South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. For most of his ministry, he served as pastor of congregations in the upstate of South Carolina, until being appointed to Carteret Street UMC, Beaufort in 2015.

Frank is married to Sherry, his wife of 42 years. They have two children: Torey, who lives in Conway, SC, and Taylor, along with his wife, Caroline, who lives in Greenville, SC. Sherry is a retired public school teacher with 35 years of experience. In retirement, Frank decided to give his time to watercolor painting. He also enjoys reading and watching movies with Sherry.

What he likes best about his role at St. Andrew is the interaction with the people. Says Frank, “I believe ministry is always people-focused. Whether leading worship or the Healing and Wholeness Service, videotaping the Praying Together Online sessions, participating in the administration needs of the church, or visiting persons in need, people and their connection to God stand at the center of ministry. If we forget that, our work, however good, will be in vain.”

Lois Chandler serves as the Director of Administration and joined St. Andrew’s staff in October 2018. Prior to coming to the area, Lois worked with Calvary Church of Santa Ana, California for more than 30 years.

Lois is originally from Canada, to where her Mennonite ancestors immigrated to from Holland and Ukraine in the early 1800s, fleeing religious persecution, and settling in Manitoba to farm. Her grandfather owned a heavy construction company that built roads and dams, and the Corp of Engineers contracted them to build in Nebraska in the early 1960s. She and her family came to the U.S. when the company moved, and eventually made their way to Southern California, where she attended Point Loma University in San Diego and Irvine Valley College in Irvine, California. According to Lois, “Like most things we do, our family moved in a pack and my sister and her husband, and my parents moved here to the Lowcountry to retire at the same time, joining our eldest son who has lived in Bluffton for about 20 years. We left our younger son and his family behind in San Francisco.”

Lois has been a devoted reader since childhood, a trait two of her granddaughters, her mother, and her sister share, “we love to talk books!” With the daily commute to work from Bluffton she has the chance to listen to many audible books. Until recently, when her husband’s health required a big dietary change, she loved to cook and bake. She continues this “hobby,” but now has the challenge to do so with a healthier spin.

She has wanderlust running through her veins from generations back. Her family often travels and vacations together, and for many years they enjoyed a family villa in Kauai. She and her husband of 48 years, Alvin, have five grandchildren: 2 boys and 3 girls, ranging in age from 21 to 9 years old.

When asked what she likes best about her work at St. Andrew, she says, “It’s very diverse. I get the chance to be creative, administrative, and relational, sometimes all at once! It is never dull and is very fulfilling. It’s satisfying knowing that the supportive work I am a part of furthers the gospel: the ultimate goal for all of us as believers.”

Bruce Gale has been Director of Music at St. Andrew By-The-Sea since June 2022. He has been a church musician for over 30 years, both as an organist and music director. Before coming to St. Andrew he served as the Minister of Music at the Gilead Congregational Church in Hebron, CT.

Bruce was a hospice volunteer for 12 years. He would take a keyboard and play music for hospice patients and their families. He also volunteered at the Harry and Helen Gray Cancer Center at Hartford Hospital where he would play piano while patients received chemo and radiation.

Bruce graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University with a Bachelor’s and Masters’s +30 degree in Education with minor degrees in music and reading. He taught first grade for 24 years. Bruce is a member of the American Guild of Organists (AGO), the Connecticut Education Association (CEA), and the National Education Association (NEA).

Bruce lives in Sun City and enjoys music, gardening, travel, and volunteering in his spare time.

Paula Refice is St. Andrew’s Financial Administrator. She came to us by way of its bookkeeping company, Island Financial. St. Andrew was one of her clients and quickly became her favorite client. She felt a gentle nudging when the in-house position became available, she applied and got the job. She has been working full-time here since March 2018.

She is a graduate of Ohio State University, with a bachelor’s degree in art and education (K-12). After graduation, she was a permanent sub for a couple of years and then left that field to go into accounting. Early on, she worked in a few doctors’ offices as an office and finance manager, as a certified X-ray tech, and as a CPA. In her last position before moving from Columbus, Ohio to the Lowcountry, she worked for 24 years as a Senior Escrow Accountant for Chicago Title/Fidelity National Title & Trust.

What she loves most about being at St. Andrew is getting to know and interacting with the parishioners. Her main role may be finance, but she strives to serve St. Andrew in whatever the needs may be in any way she can. She and her husband, Michael, live in Hilton Head, and although she doesn’t have a lot of time for hobbies when she does, she enjoys gardening, biking, and art projects.

Bryan and his family, Kristal, Peyton, and Mason, moved to Hilton Head from Athens, GA in 2015. Bryan is the Owner/Executive Director of two Brain Balance Centers (Lexington and Greenville) and brings with him over 25 years of leadership experience, including building and leading volunteer teams.

Video production has been a hobby of Bryan’s for several years and he’s excited to join our Tech Team. His responsibilities for St. Andrew include production and management of our streaming services, AV support for special events and services, coordinating and training our volunteer tech team, and equipment maintenance.

Diane Bollerman has served as the Nursery Coordinator at St. Andrew By-The Sea since 2000. She enjoys the children and has made life-long relationships with many of the children and their families. She’s been here long enough to have gone to graduation ceremonies and weddings of children she cared for in the nursery. She has also babysat some of the children and continues to babysit and provide elder care when she’s not working at the church.

Diane grew up in New Jersey and moved to Hilton Head Island in 1997 on St. Patrick’s Day with her late husband, who had been a policeman for 30 years. In the early years on Hilton Head Island, Diane also worked for 10 years at a jewelry store in Coligny and part-time at Brooks Brothers.

When she’s not working, she is active at the gym, playing tennis, biking, participating in Bible studies and book clubs,
and reading. She also is a volunteer with the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina and Sandlewood Food Pantry.

Her family is an important part of her life, and she is so proud of her three children. Tom is a graduate of Furman University and retired from the Army after 20 years; Jennifer, received her master’s from Columbia University and teaches; and Jeffrey, Jennifer’s twin is a lawyer and graduate of Furman. Diane is also proud of her eight grandchildren.

When asked what she likes most about what she does at St. Andrew, Diane says, “I am a people person and I love the children, they are simply magnetizing. The children and their parents are like my family and I’m so honored to be able to spend time with them.”