Music is a powerful element of worship. Making music with the purpose of praising God, while here on earth, joins us to the angelic community of praise. I have dedicated my life to this purpose. As Psalm 105:2 encourages us: Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!: I have been blessed not only as a musician, but as a composer. There was a poster that stated:” Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.” I have lived my life sharing my gifts of music. And I am honored to be able to share music with First Presbyterian Church now as the music director. I have been asked the following questions to introduce myself. School: I graduated from Delta High School. I then studied music education at Adams State College. I did graduate work in music composition at the University of Denver and Colorado State University. Family: I am married to the love of my life, AliceJean Smith. We have nine children, and many foster children we have been a part of raising who now live all over the country and even one in Germany. Favorite Movie: Somewhere In Time starring Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeves is my choice for this question. It is a beautiful expression of the power of love. Hobby: I spend much of my time composing music. I am not sure if that is a hobby of a personal obsession. I also do fine woodworking specializing in furniture. Career: After college I began teaching at Montrose Junior High School (Columbine Middle School). I moved to Delta High School and spent 25 years as the choir director and Department Chairman of Fine Arts at the school. After retiring I returned to Delta to help them out with an employment situation for one year. I returned to teaching again to help Montrose High School out in and employment situation that needed a quick resolution. I now work as a clinician doing honor choirs, judging large group choir contests and teaching private voice lessons. Favorite Music: There is beautiful in every style of music if you look for it deep enough. I honestly can’t say there is one particular song I would consider a favorite. Favorite Book: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. This book is a beautiful expression of loving and caring for others. Prior Work: I began doing church music in 1975 here in Montrose. I worked for various churches during this period, The United Methodist, Lutheran Church, and St. Mary’s Catholic Church. I am a published composer of church music and love to write special numbers and Cantatas for our church. I consider working here at First Presbyterian to be a great honor and I love the staff here and how well we all work together. I hope if you would like to participate in our musical groups during our worship you would contact me.

My name is Ryan Fields and I am the 15 month intern at First Presbyterian Church (FPC). I started working here in May of 2016. After graduating from Grand Canyon University in 2015 with a B.A. in Christian Studies and Bible and getting married to my lovely wife Brittany, I started my journey here at FPC. Having a desire for pastoral ministry and/or teaching the Bible at a University, this Church is helping me meet those goals. It is always encouraging to be surrounded by a loving and supportive community who has a desire to follow Christ. Being a nerd, I enjoy reading books and my favorite one right now is Knowing God by Packer. But I also love fishing, camping and going outdoors, which is one of the reasons I love Montrose. I am a fan of all types of music, from rap to metal, and too classical. Right now I have been enjoying Kings Kaleidoscope. My all-time favorite food is enchiladas with homemade chili and an egg on top. I am currently perusing my Master of Divinity at Fuller Seminary. I am happy that God has lead me here to FPC. All for His glory -Ryan

Hey, My name is Brittany Fields and I am 23 years old. After completing a Bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies with a minor in Business Management from Grand Canyon University I was hired as the Children’s Ministry Coordinator here at First Presbyterian Church, Montrose, and I love it. Working at this church is a huge blessing as in it I have been welcomed into an amazing community of Christ-centered, loving people. In addition, there is the huge benefit of waking up every morning to the snow caped mountains which reminds me of my upbringing in Eastern Colorado. My favorite part of my job here is that each week I have the opportunity to share the love of Christ with eager children, parents, and our volunteers. Part of the beauty of what God is teaching me as I pursue His work in ministry here, is just that, this is His work and ministry and not my own. This has become evident to me specifically through Jesus’ teaching on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapter 6 where Jesus encourages his followers to not be anxious about their lives. Why? Because God is the sustainer of life, and this is true about ministry as well. There are a lot of fun facts I could share about myself but I’ll just share some snippets. First, I recently had the joy of marrying my best friend Ryan Fields in 2016, and what a blessing that marriage is for us. Second, on my days off I like to go with Ryan on walks and then go to a local coffee shop and read a good Dee Henderson book. After that, I like to go home and watch a good movie. My favorite right now being “When in Rome,” or any good musical. My three absolute favorite hobbies are: coloring (which is great since I work with children), cooking, and crocheting. While I do these hobbies I like to listen to my new favorite band Kings Kaleidoscope, who sing modern versions of hymns, or One Republic. Finally, just for fun, if I could have any super power it would be to fly. That way I could easily fly to see my family in Maryland and travel all around the world and see all the amazing cultures and beauty that God has created.