Meet Our Staff

Sue Bryant, our administrative assistant, began working at Forest Heights in May 2024. Sue has a background in Quality Engineering, a career she enjoyed for many years. In fact, a job in that area brought her and her husband, Don, to Jackson from Iowa in 1988, and she’s been here ever since. Sue was married to Don for 52 years, and they had two girls who are now grown in careers of their own. Now, in a new stage of life, Sue decided to dust off those organizational skills and go back to work, and we at Forest Heights are the beneficiaries. You will find Sue in the church office Monday through Thursday, 9 AM – 2 PM, and in the choir on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. We are so happy to have Sue as part of our staff as well as part of our church family.

Elaine Jones began as music director at Forest Heights UMC in 2008 following a full career as a church and school musician. She began her college work at Union University, received her BS in Music Education from Tennessee Tech, and completed her MS in Music Education at Delta State University. Elaine taught music in school systems in Mississippi, Georgia, and Arkansas before returning home to Jackson where she retired from the Jackson-Madison County school system after 25 years as a middle school band director and elementary school music teacher. She is an accomplished instrumentalist, currently playing saxophone in the community jazz band. In addition, Elaine has worked with several churches, directing both adult and children’s choirs, helping others worship God through music. Currently, Elaine leads the chancel choir and invites anyone interested in serving the church through music to become active in the music ministry at Forest Heights.

Delores Smith joined the staff at Forest Heights in May 2024 immediately after retiring as administrative assistant at the district office. After 12 years working in the district office, Delores can tell you pretty much anything you need to know about how things are done in the United Methodist Church! If she hasn’t held a position herself, she has been responsible for the training. In addition to being employed by our church and two other area United Methodist churches as financial secretary, Delores is a faithful member of Trenton First United Methodist Church. You may have also known Delores through her work as an officer in United Methodist Women (now United Women in Faith). She is a past president at both the district and conference levels and is currently serving on the jurisdictional planning team for the 2028 conference. Delores is in the office at Forest Heights most Tuesdays and Thursdays in the early afternoon. We welcome her to this position and are grateful to have someone with her experience as part of our staff.

Every Sunday morning, Sandy Thomas provides beautiful music as part of the worship experience at Forest Heights. She introduces each service with a specially prepared prelude, leading us into a time of worship. Sandy accompanies the Chancel Choir and the Tapestry ensemble in addition to offering her solo pieces. She gives generously of her talent and time as she selects and practices her music, but, if you compliment her on her gift, you will usually hear, “It’s not me, it’s God.” We are fortunate at Forest Heights that Sandy allows God to use her and her God-given talent to praise Him through music.

Carol Bryant has been working at Forest Heights as our custodian for 8 or so years, becoming a staff member soon after joining Forest Heights as a member. You will find her cleaning, straightening, and maintaining the building with care. But Carol does so much more! She is a behind-the-scenes type worker. She delivers our Blessing Box donations to various Blessing Boxes around town so that our donations are where they are needed most. She also reaches out to our homebound members, assisting them in whatever way they need her. And have you wondered who decorates the bulletin board by the office? That’s Carol, too! Even before she was on staff as our custodian, Carol taught for 20 years at our preschool…and she’s still there, although now it’s on a part-time basis. Carol is a servant/helper in every sense, and we benefit weekly from her willingness to serve our church – as custodian, member, and caretaker.

Brian Bond is our church jack-of-all-trades. Even if you haven’t seen Brian, you have seen his work. When you see the sermon title on the sign out front, when you notice the new light bulbs, when you realize the sidewalk has been power-washed, you know that Brian has been at work. Those are just a very few of the many jobs we count on him to do! Brian worked for 30 years as an engineer in local industry before becoming his own boss. He now does landscaping, lawn care, home repair, and small remodels, in addition to his part-time job at Forest Heights. We appreciate all Brian does to keep our facility is excellent shape.

Jeff Stephens has been a valuable member of the staff at Forest Heights UMC since March of 2020. Jeff’s expertise allowed us to share our worship service when in-person attendance was not possible during COVID…and he’s been with us ever since! Jeff has been in the video production business for over 25 years through his company, Jeff Stephens Video Productions. He brought his own equipment with him to Forest Heights every Sunday morning until we recently purchased and installed our own. Jeff is a member of Englewood Baptist Church and participates as a musician in both the Community Concert Band and Community Jazz Band. (That’s how he got to know our music director, Elaine.) Many thanks go to Jeff for helping us use technology to spread the Good News!

Early in 2025, Jordan Mathenia became the newest staff member at Forest Heights when he joined us as our sound technician. He wasn’t totally new to our congregation as he had shared his gifts of singing and playing the clarinet with us previously as a guest musician. Jordan is a native Jacksonian and a graduate of Union University where he received a B.A. in music with a minor in art. His proficiency in music certainly is an asset as he manages the sound system and sound production for our Sunday morning worship service. Jordan is the youngest of four children in a musically talented family and the grandson of our own Margaret Harrison. In addition to his work at Forest Heights, you’ll find Jordan during the week at his primary job at Pinson Mounds State Park, welcoming visitors to the museum. We are so glad to have Jordan as part of our Forest Heights staff!