Officers
Pastor
Dr. Pete Smith
Pete has a BA in Political Science from Geneva College, a Masters of Divinity from Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando FL. For twenty years he served as a church planter and pastor in the greater Washington DC area. Currently, Pete teaches American Government and Economics at Trinity Christian School.
Email: pastor@covenantfellowship.org
Hometown: Wilkinsburg, PA
Hobbies: Eurogames, movies, discussing politics & theology
Fun Fact: I was in my high school’s first graduating class. I own over 100 board games.
Elders
Timothy Buck
Timothy grew up in the Reformed Presbyterian Church on the West Coast (Los Angeles and Seattle). He came east for college, and graduated from Geneva College with a B.S. in Biology and an M.S. in Health Science and Electrophysiology. In 2017, Timothy moved to Pittsburgh from Northern Virginia and joined Covenant Fellowship. Currently, Timothy works for Johnson and Johnson as a cardiac cartographer—he builds 3D maps for heart surgery. He is married to Fiona Buck, and they have two daughters: Julia and Zion.
Hometown: Formerly Seattle, WA, now East Pittsburgh.
Hobbies: Board games, hiking, and reading.
Fun Fact: Timothy once found a live snake in a desk on his first day at a new job.
Joel Butler
Joel has a M. Div. from Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Pensacola Christian College in Pensacola, FL. He serves as Director of Youth Ministry for Covenant Fellowship and its KidZone Ministry. Professionally, he designs HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical systems for commercial, educational and residential buildings.
Hometown: Wilkinsburg, PA
Hobbies: Camping, Family recreation such as playing tackle and building models with the boys, Outreach to Cults.
Fun Fact: Joel has traveled to England, Japan, Israel, Switzerland, and Bahamas. During his college years, he visited a cabin in Switzerland previously owned by a man named Ulrich Zwingli, without knowing the importance of the Reformer.
Jordan Feagley
Jordan has a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Geneva College, a Masters of Divinity from the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and a Masters of Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh. Born and raised in Central, Pennsylvania, he spent two years living in Seattle, Washington, where he served in the Seattle RP Church. After returning to Pittsburgh, Jordan began attending Covenant Fellowship and quickly made his church home there. Jordan is a licentiate of the Presbytery of the Alleghenies and currently serves as the Seminary Librarian at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh. Jordan is married to Elise, a professional cellist and cello teacher in the Greater Pittsburgh Area.
Hometown: Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.
Hobbies: Music, cooking, exploring nature, and spending time with my friends and church family.
Fun Fact: Jordan is a bit of a coffee snob and enjoys trying coffee from various world regions.
Drew Gordon
Drew has been an editor for 35 years, including over 30 years with Crown & Covenant Publications. He earned a B.A. in English from Geneva College and has completed several seminary courses. Drew has written several Bible studies for Faith Alive Publications. He is past board president of Trinity Christian School in Forest Hills, Pa., and currently serves on the Interchurch Committee of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America. Drew is married with three grown children.
Hometown: Williamsport, PA. Has lived for the past 32 years in Wilkinsburg, PA.
Hobbies: Reading, dabbling in sports, tinkering with computers.
Fun Fact: Drew didn’t gain any individual accolades for his high school and college basketball career, but he did have the opportunity to play some future pro basketball players, including one who dunked on Drew so many times during one game that his fingers bled.
Deacons
Amanda Adams
Amanda was born into the Covenant Fellowship family. She has been married to George for 22 years. All three of their children (Caden, Simon, and Lily) were baptized at Covenant Fellowship, even when they lived out of state during Amanda’s Air Force service. She is a Family Physician with Butler Health System, and her kids attend Pittsburgh Urban Christian School (PUCS), Allderdice High School, and Marietta College. She has a heart for Wilkinsburg as she has lived next to it for most of her life and has a desire to help people in need.
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Hobbies: Rowing, and reading
Fun Fact: I am related to two other deacons at Covenant Fellowship
Art Byers
Art has a Ph.D. from Purdue University in Analytical Chemistry and a B.S. from Westminster College. He has worked for Westinghouse Electric for over 30 years, where he specializes in nuclear crud, sludge, and corrosion. He and his wife Carol came to Covenant Fellowship by way of the Gilmore Avenue Area Fellowship group.
Hometown: Art grew up a PCUSA PK in New Castle, PA, and now resides in Murrysville, PA.
Hobbies: Biking, skiing, basketball, and especially Ultimate.
Fun Fact: Art started working with Covenant Youth in 1992, and at Laurelville, he has never refused to go into the mud.
Lois Claerbaut
Lois grew up in Grand Rapids, MI and graduated from local Christian Schools and Calvin College with a BA in Elementary Education. She taught first grade, kindergarten, and pre-school for 20 years while also raising a family of six children. After working at Crown & Covenant Publications for 15 years, Lois retired. She enjoyed talking to customers and shipping orders all over the world.
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Hobbies: Knitting, Scrapbooking, and Reading
Fun Fact: I have 21 grandchildren including a set of quadruplets and twins. It's fun to be together as a family although we miss my husband, Dale, who went to be with the Lord in February, 2019. God has truly blessed me throughout my lifetime.
Jim Copeland
Graduate of Wilkinsburg High School & Geneva College. Worked as a construction laborer, carpenter, self-employed contractor and construction project manager. Most recently employed by the Garfield Jubilee Association as a Construction Manager and a construction and carpentry instructor.
Hometown: Born in Cyprus and grew up from the age of 10 in Wilkinsburg.
Hobbies: Jim enjoys being with and watching his grandchildren grow up, woodworking and renovation projects, reading a variety of books, listening to music especially jazz and watching sports now that he can’t play sports.
Fun Fact: Jim and his wife, Sandy, have 10 grandchildren.
Carol Edgar
I have a BA from Geneva in Political Science and a MPA (Master in Public Administration) for Syracuse University. I worked for the Penn in the library for a year and in the Model Classification Program in the Philadelphia Prison System for 2 years. Since moving to Pittsburgh, I served on the board of the RP Home for 13 years and have worked at the Reformed Presbyterian Seminary since 1988, and as secretary to the president since 1994. I have been married to John for 41 years, we have 4 children and 4 in-laws and 8 grandchildren.
Hometown: Syracuse, NY
Hobbies: Skiing, walking and being with my children and grandchildren.
Fun Fact: Three of my grandchildren live next door.
Sean McPherson
Sean moved to Pittsburgh in 2019 with his family. They have previously been members of Atlanta RP Church and Covenant RP Church (Meadville, PA). Sean graduated from Edinboro University and works as a software engineer at Khan Academy. He lives in Wilkinsburg with his wife Anne and two sons, Samuel and Ezra.
Hometown: State College, PA
Hobbies: Shared meals, family walks, fellowship, and soccer
Fun fact: I put this website together!
Josh Meneely
Josh works as the Circulation Librarian and Financial Aid director at RPTS. He recently bought a house in Penn Hills. He covers the Technology of the live stream.
Hometown: Penn Hills, PA.
Hobbies: Reading, listening to music, trying to become more handy with projects.
Fun Fact: He is 6 foot 8 inches tall. "Yes the weather is fine. And probably overly warm in the church."
Staff
Administrator: Vicki Smith
Vicki has a BS in Music Education and a BA in Vocal Performance from Geneva College. After raising her four children who are now adults, as well as teaching in her private music studio for many years, she went to work full time as the Executive Assistance at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary for six years, followed by almost four years as the Administrative Assistant at Trinity Christian School. Having previously filled the role, Vicki returned to the position of the church's administrator by special request of the pastor - her husband! Vicki brings important skills of organization and information management to assist in the life of the congregation.
Email: administrator@covenantfellowship.org
Hometown: Mechanicsburg, PA
Hobbies: Vicki is an avid crocheter and is learning to knit.
Fun Fact: Vicki performed solo concerts throughout high school and college. She has sung in several choirs and now enjoys performing with the city's Women of Song.
Treasurer: Scott Stewart
Scott grew up in Kansas and migrated east to PA for college, settling in Pittsburgh. He works in broker-dealer accounting at PNC Bank and enjoys the never ending challenge of how to better communicate about money and finance. He graduated from Geneva College with a degree in business. He and his wife Anneke have 2 young children, Hudson & Noa.
Email: treasurer@covenantfellowship.org
Hometown: Manhattan, KS & Lawrence, KS
Hobbies: (Following, but rarely playing) basketball & football, conversing about personal finance.
Fun Fact: A number of years ago, Scott won a knockout basketball tournament, besting 650 participants (read more)