Joel grew up in rural western Kansas, literally 100 miles north of Dorothy’s house (from the Wizard of Oz). He received his voice performance undergraduate degree and his seminary degree in Indiana. Joel is a licensed trainer for the Godly Play Foundation and is a Master Gardener. The joy of his life is his two daughters. Together, they love to play and discover all of God’s creation, and find humor in the littlest things, especially in Arizona and anywhere near the ocean.

A Phoenix native, Ben earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Music and Choral Music Education. In addition to directing the St. Matthew Sanctuary Choir, he is the choral director at Central High School in Phoenix. He enjoys camping, hiking, and traveling across the beautiful state of Arizona with his wife and four children.

Tonia is an Arizona native who loves to travel the globe; among her favorite destinations are Paris, India, and Washington, DC. She has many years of experience in service to youth, in a variety of roles, including being a big sister to ten younger siblings. Her two greatest passions are education and music, which she has been blessed to turn into ministry. She also enjoys reading and scrapbooking.

Cheriden brings extensive experience in church administration and operations to St. Matthew, happily sharing his gifts of teaching, bookkeeping and servanthood, to name a few. Cheriden loves to interact with people, assisting in any way that he is able. Back at home, on the Navajo Nation, believers classified him as the “go-to” person for a listening ear and for Prayer. Whenever he finds time, he loves to play music, sing: a worship “guru” at that.

Steve has been playing piano and organ at St. Matthew since soon after joining the church in 1985. He is a retired band director and helps school employees plan for their post-retirement occupation. When time allows, he enjoys writing and arranging new anthems for the choir and other special church occasions. Steve is an accomplished and creative piano and organ player and is often accused of not playing the notes as written on the page!

Anne is the Bellmaster of St. Matthew’s Bells of Joy Handbell Choir. She was born and raised in Apache Junction, where she grew up singing and ringing in the United Methodist Church. She graduated summa cum laude from NAU with a Bachelor of Music Education: Choral degree, and now teaches General Music and Handbells at Greenfield Elementary. Anne also teaches private voice lessons and serves on the regional board for Handbell Musicians of America.