ABINGTON PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Music Ministries
John Sall serves Abington Presbyterian Church, founded in 1714, as Director of Music Ministries. He leads youth and adult choirs and the Abington Symphony Orchestra and oversees congregational music programs and the Music at Abington concert series. [READ MORE…]
John Sall serves Abington Presbyterian Church, founded in 1714, as Director of Music Ministries. He leads youth and adult choirs and the Abington Symphony Orchestra and oversees congregational music programs and the Music at Abington concert series. With a background including organ, choral, and church music studies, Kenyan percussion choral accompaniments, and work with children, youth, and adults, John brings a variety of personal and professional experiences to the musical worship life of Abington Presbyterian Church. He has developed unique and creative programs which combine the rich and varied resources of the Abington Symphony Orchestra and Oratorio Choir in literature ranging from baroque cantatas to newly composed works for a cappella choir or solo orchestra, as well as classic Oratorios from the 18th to the 20th Centuries.
John Sall's interest in music was fostered in the rich resources of strong school, church, and private music study in Holdrege, Nebraska, and through the Lutheran Summer Music program. A graduate of St. Olaf College (Minnesota), John was uniquely involved in the touring performance tradition of the school as a member of the St. Olaf Choir, St. Olaf Orchestra, and St. Olaf Band in addition to his studies in Church Music and Organ with John Ferguson; he received the Bachelor of Music degree in Church Music and Organ magna cum laude. John Sall studied conducting with Alan Harler and completed the Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting at Temple University's Boyer College of Music and Dance in 2007 and was honored with the Elaine Brown Tribute Award, presented by the choral department each year to an outstanding student for their work in "relating music to broader issues of community-building and human expression." Following graduation John taught conducting and was served as a visiting Choral Scholar conducting the Temple Women's Choir and regularly covering rehearsals with the Contemporary Music Ensemble. John has studied choral conducting and worked in masterclass settings with Joseph Flummerfelt, David Hayes, Dale Warland, and Robert Scholz, and has studied orchestral conducting with Luis Biava and Steven Amundson.
John enjoys composing and orchestrating for his ensembles and in other settings, distinguishing himself as the Grand Prize winner in the First Annual Composition Contest for Young Composers, Riverside Church, New York, with his anthem, "Is Not This The Fast That I Choose?" composed for choir, organ and string quartet. Sall has published percussion performance suggestions for several African hymns and choral anthems, and he helped develop and lead an experiential day camp to teach liturgy and worship with children. John is currently serving an elected term on the national executive board of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians (PAM). He is also a member of the American Guild of Organists participating in the Philadelphia chapter. John came to Abington in 2001 and makes a home with his wife Ruth and their three daughters.
Job Titles:
- Director of Handbells
- Organist & Director of Handbells
Lois Leong serves as the Organist and Director of Handbells at Abington Presbyterian Church. Originally from Hong Kong, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2022, where she studied organ with Dr. Simon Chan and Mr. Gary Tong. [READ MORE…]
Lois Leong serves as the Organist and Director of Handbells at Abington Presbyterian Church. Originally from Hong Kong, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2022, where she studied organ with Dr. Simon Chan and Mr. Gary Tong. She recently completed a Master of Music in Organ Performance and Sacred Music at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University Bloomington, under the tutelage of Dr. Janette Fishell.
Prior to her role at Abington, Lois served as the Organist and Handbell Director at St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Bloomington, Indiana. In Spring 2025, she organized and directed BloomingBell, a one-day massed ringing event that brought together more than 40 handbell ringers from the Bloomington community.
Lois has a deep passion for handbells. As a long-time member of the Hong Kong Youth Handbell Ensemble, she toured internationally to the United States, South Korea, Canada, Japan, Finland, and Estonia. A highlight of her time with the ensemble was a fully memorized concert performance at the 2013 National Seminar in Portland, Oregon, which received multiple standing ovations. In 2021, she co-founded Bellaholics, a community handbell choir based in Hong Kong, where she served as the founding chairperson and conductor. The ensemble presents concerts regularly and represented Hong Kong at the 2022 International Handbell Symposium.
Outside of music, Lois enjoys cooking and collecting whimsical things, such as stuffed friends and funny car bumper stickers.
Job Titles:
- PASTORAL STAFF Member
- Head of Staff - Designated Pastor
Sudie Elisabeth Niesen Thompson served as Associate Pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church, a large urban church in Wilmington, Delaware, from 2016 until February of 2024. Prior to that call, she served as Pastoral Associate, first at Arch Street Presbyterian Church, then at Wayne Presbyterian Church. [READ MORE…]
Job Titles:
- Director of Children's Choirs and Children 's Ministries
- Director of Christian Education and Children and Youth Choir Director
Ruth is the daughter of a life-long church musician and grew up singing in her mother's children's choirs. Originally from Wyoming, Ruth began her own singing career in the Grace Lutheran Church Junior Choir and the Casper Children's Chorale. [READ MORE…]
Ruth is the daughter of a life-long church musician and grew up singing in her mother's children's choirs. Originally from Wyoming, Ruth began her own singing career in the Grace Lutheran Church Junior Choir and the Casper Children's Chorale. It was in high school when she attended a month-long summer music camp, Lutheran Summer Music, that Ruth found her vocation as a singer and a teacher of singing, as well as serving the church. In 2008, Ruth joined the music staff at Abington Presbyterian Church as the Children's Choir Director. Working with the graded children's choir program and leading weekly music exploration for the 120 children of Abington Presbyterian Nursery School first introduced Ruth to the musical life of children at APC.
Ruth began to work with the Children's Ministry program at Abington Presbyterian Church in 2011. Her background as a teacher and years of learning at the hands of wonderful pastors, Christian educators and musicians made the transition easy. Ruth enjoys working with the dedicated volunteers at APC to create a wonderful place of welcome for all children in worship, Sunday School, mission and fellowship. Coordinating with intergenerational groups has been Ruth's passion since beginning work with children's ministry. Ruth enjoys the excitement of our Homecoming celebration in September, the joy of the church picnic in June, and many other congregational activities that bring children and families together with congregants of all ages.
A graduate of St. Olaf College (Minn.) with a degree in vocal performance, Ruth's solo voice career as an art song, opera, and oratorio soloist developed alongside her children's choir conducting career. Ruth brings abiding energy to a holistic approach to singing, using many different paths to help children find their true, full singing sound. Her care for children is evident as she employs music as a means to help them find their voice, to discover a connection to their Creator, and to build a foundation of scripture through text. Ruth is on the executive committee of the Greater Philadelphia Choristers Guild chapter serving as president in 2017-18. She has been children's choir clinician at Massanetta Springs' Worship and Music Camp.
Job Titles:
- Head of Staff - Designated Pastor
Sudie Elisabeth Niesen Thompson served as Associate Pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church, a large urban church in Wilmington, Delaware, from 2016 until February of 2024. Prior to that call, she served as Pastoral Associate, first at Arch Street Presbyterian Church, then at Wayne Presbyterian Church. In these three placements she worked as part of a large leadership team that collaborated, both cultivating and respecting the extant skills of the team members. She describes herself as a "cradle Presbyterian," where both her home church in Saint Louis, Missouri, and her experience as a PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer in India helped cultivate her faith and discern her calling. She began her career in non-traditional ministerial settings, has been active in both the Philadelphia and New Castle Presbyteries, and has recently served in more established churches like Abington. She also brings experience in diverse settings from teaching college students on Philadelphia's Main Line, introducing inner city youth to Bible stories, and praying and working with Guatemalan partners.
Niesen Thompson was ordained in 2012 and holds a Master of Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary (2016), specializing in the Hebrew Bible, and a Master of Divinity from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (2012). She has participated in a variety of continuing education experiences, ranging from conferences, including the Worship and Music Conference at Montreat; regular leadership coaching; and CREDO, a support and development program for recently ordained ministers.
Pastor Niesen Thompson has distinguished her ministry through leadership competencies that matched those our church identified in our search survey, including Preaching and Worship Leadership, Communication, Collaboration, and Motivation. Niesen Thompson's husband, Rev. Brenton Thompson, is the Director of Congregational Resourcing at the Presbytery of Philadelphia. They have two young children.
Job Titles:
- PASTORAL STAFF Member
- APC 's Congregational Care Associate
- Congregational Care Associate
Tia Booth McCoun is APC's Congregational Care Associate. Tia comes with a wide range of care experience in congregational and hospital settings. [READ MORE…]
Tia Booth McCoun is APC's Congregational Care Associate. Tia comes with a wide range of care experience in congregational and hospital settings. After graduating from Lafayette College with a B.A in Sociology, she earned a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. Early on, she perceived her life's work in secular roles and pursued training and experience in Clinical Pastoral Education, a preferred certification for pastoral ordination in the PC(USA).
As Congregational Care Associate Tia primary responsibility is visiting members who live at home, in Life Care Communities and hospitals. Her role will collaborate and coordinate Care Team activities and participate in worship occasionally, as requested by Rev. Thornton.
Tia's faith journey has traveled between Presbyterian, Lutheran and Quaker traditions. She served Gloria Dei Lutheran Church as Associate Director of Youth Ministry. As a member at Gwynedd Square Presbyterian Church, she was ordained as a Ruling Elder, and served the congregation as Worship Chair. Currently, she is a member of the Gwynedd Square Friends Meeting for Worship.
Professionally, she has served as a clinical hospice chaplain and provides grief counseling and spirit care to those who have experienced moral injury. Throughout much of her career she has provided home visitation support.