Matt is a father of two beautiful and gifted girls, a husband to his companion Alyssa, and has been a pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA) for almost fifteen years now. He grew up in the Pacific Northwest, immersed in nature from when he was young, playing for hours in the woods behind his home, hiking and backpacking every summer with his family, exploring tidal pools and the mysteries of nature. The heart of who he is as a pastor, speaker, writer, and artist is deeply rooted in this enchanting and astonishing world that reveals the sacred and mysterious presence of God. Years ago, Matt studied culture and mission at Fuller Theological Seminary and traveled to England and West Africa to work with Mercy Ships. Many years later, he was influenced by a nature-based model of human development and spiritual formation through the Animas Valley Institute, where he trained to be a wilderness guide. More recently, he started a new worshipping community along the Front Range called “Church of Lost Walls” for those seeking community and reconnection with God and the natural world. Matt is currently engaged as a co-founder of a school for spiritual leaders, who gather from around the world, called Seminary of the Wild, offering a yearlong eco-ministry training program to help leaders re-engage within their communities and watersheds in innovative ways.

Heather was born and raised in a small town in eastern Ohio. After graduating from Ohio State with a BS in Business Administration, she moved to Southern California where she received a MS in Organization Behavior and Human Resource Management from Chapman University. Heather finally relocated to Colorado. In 1994 she spent most of the year living in Moscow, Russia which proved to be one of the most spiritual experiences of her life. Heather answered God’s call to ministry late in life, after working as a human resource director in the corporate world for many years. She attended Iliff School of Theology and while a student there, she served as an intern at St. Paul Presbyterian Church in Aurora, Green Mountain Presbyterian Church in Lakewood, and Church of the Hills in Evergreen. Heather graduated from Iliff School of Theology in 2010 and spent the next five years working as a hospital chaplain with Centura Health. She also served as the pastor at Bennett Presbyterian Church until June 2014 when the church closed. She continue to minister to that congregation, meeting in various family homes in Bennett. Heather currently serves as Parish Associate at SOTH, ministering to those who are in need of pastoral care. She leads the grief group, serves as staff to Stephen Ministers, the personnel committee and The Care Team.

Sandy Safford is a Colorado native who has served as a Faith Formation Leader for 25+ years across three presbyteries. For the last 20 years she has served in a variety of positions in churches within Denver Presbytery. Sandy served as Interim Director of Children Ministries at Wellshire Presbyterian Church for 2 years and Children, Youth & Young Adult Ministry Coordinator at First Presbyterian Church of Littleton for 5 years. Sandy currently serves as the Commissioned Lay Pastor & Educator at Byers Community Church on the eastern plains. While she will continue to serve as Lay Pastor part-time and on Sunday mornings, she will share her time and serve as Children & Family Ministry Coordinator at Shepherd of the Hills beginning January 3rd. Sandy looks forward to stepping back into Children, Youth & Family ministry again and is excited to be a part of supporting Intergenerational ministries at SOTH. While she will not be present on Sunday mornings to Worship, the hope is that we will get a chance to connect outside of Sunday morning in a variety of programs & ministries. Sandy looks forward to meeting everyone and walking alongside the ministry of Faith Formation, particularly with children and families in the year to come.

Holly Meiklejohn came back to SOTH in November of 2017 after being away from the church for 10 years. When she came back, she jumped back into church activities with both feet. She was reinstated as a member, became an Elder, sat on the Fellowship committee, and served as the co-chair. She served in session for three years and became the Elder for Personnel. She is also the events/fellowship coordinator and rental partner liaison. She has been the Finance Manager for three years. She loves her job and has enjoyed coming to work every day to serve her church community and staff. Holly has been married to Scott Meiklejohn for almost 12 years, and they have 5 grown sons between them, ranging from 34 to 28. Two of their kids are married. They have no grandkids. Scott and Holly love to hike, bike, ski, cook together, entertain and be with family. Scott and Holly are both active members of the church. They have a dog named Ginger. Holly is grateful to work and serve here at Shepherd.

Arwen is a 5th generation Colorado native who grew up in the tiny mountain town of Lawson, CO. She graduated as valedictorian from Clear Creek High School and got her bachelor's degree in computer science from Colorado State University. During college she attended Semester at Sea; taking classes while sailing around the globe and visiting 12 countries. After graduation, Arwen moved to Washington State where she earned her master’s degree in computer science from the University of Washington. She spent 15 years at Microsoft and 5 years at Barnes and Noble working as a software developer. While in Washington, she joind the local community band where she met her husband Jason, whom she married in 2001. They have a 12-year-old daughter named Megan. In 2015, Arwen left the computer industry to move her family back to Colorado where they built a house and started a business, the Golden Puzzle Room. She came to the Falliday Market at Shepard of the Hills that same year and the family became members of the church in 2016. In her spare time, Arwen is the Cadette leader for Megan’s Girl Scout troop, which meets at SOTH on Wednesday nights. She also plays clarinet in the SOTH Winds on special occasions as well as the tenor sax in the Cowboy Band. Arwen’s favorite pastime, besides baking, is Geocaching and she has, so far, found 2,855 caches. She has even hidden a geocache at the church, which she would be happy to tell you about. Whether it be writing computer code, designing puzzle rooms, building houses, playing music or printing the Sunday bulletin, Arwen is happiest using her skills to create things. She hopes that, in her new job, her creative skills will be put to good use, serving God and the members of Shepherd of the Hills.

Shane havs extremely enjoyed working with the SOTH Community and Oak School on a daily basis.