leadership

KAYLEE VANCE - worship LEADER

Kaylee was raised in a military family and was blessed with the opportunity to grow up amidst diverse people and communities. Despite the restlessness of military life, she always found Church a solid constant in the midst of constant change. However, as a Mental Health Therapist, she began to question a faith that seemed at odds with her work with hurting people in a context of extreme social injustice. Through her deconstruction of her childhood faith, she found The Hearth, which offered her a glimpse into a Christian denomination that recognizes the beautiful messiness of faith and the overarching love and true grace of Christ. Through this new lens of mature Christianity, she began to appreciate anew the ways in which the clients she worked with taught her that the world is not a juxtaposition of black (street alleys) and white (picket fences), but rather a lush kaleidoscope of human experiences to be celebrated (and mourned) together. When she finally found a Church that could enter into this tapestry lovingly and without judgment, she knew God had a calling for her that was beyond anything she had imagined.
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Kaylee’s background in Clinical Psychology and her entrance into Seminary is preparing her for missional Church leadership, with a focus on reaching those who feel unwelcome or unwanted in traditional church settings - the people who joke, but often with a grain of belief, that they would be smote upon entering a vestibule. Her transitional leadership at The Hearth will be focused on sustaining this beautiful community and growing Christ’s Church to reach more individuals in Central Florida with a message of nonjudgmental love, community created by imperfect people, and warm hearts and cold beer. 

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Dave Willis-Lorenz - Music DIRECTOR

Dave's musical journey began in the fourth grade with the trombone, followed by string bass in fifth grade, sparking a lifelong passion for collecting and learning new instruments—from sousaphone and accordion to mandolin. He continued his musical education studying classical composition in high school and string bass performance at Penn State University, earning multiple jazz performance awards and first place in a state composition competition. Dave has composed scores for award-winning films and commercials, and spent years performing in bands before transitioning into audio engineering work.

Dave discovered Hearth Church (then Castle Church) in July 2021 through what he calls providence—a friend's chance encounter with church members at a bar by Lake Eola led to Dave and his wife learning about this unique "beer church." Initially drawn to the community as a place for meditation and introspection, Dave quickly found himself back on stage after a decade away from live performance, alternating between bass, drums, guitar, and vocals with the worship band.
"I see music as our way of giving back to God," Dave explains. "Every musical expression we make is beautiful and sacred. A performance doesn't need to be technically perfect, but it should come from a place of true meaning and feeling." As music director, he approaches the role as a servant leader, viewing the band as a democratic entity where everyone can contribute and grow musically while being challenged and set up for success.

Dave brings a unique blend of skills to his role—audio-visual engineer, organizational consultant, musician, filmmaker, and teacher. Beyond overseeing music and worship, he helps lead volunteers across the organization and develops new projects and initiatives that strengthen the church community. He's passionate about empowering congregation members to contribute to worship services through technology, creating opportunities for both seasoned tech professionals and newcomers to learn and serve. His approach to building the worship team focuses on expanding the band and welcoming new musicians into the fold at every level.
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Dave lives in Sanford with his wife Sienna, two cats, and a dog. When he's not making music or managing AV systems, you might find him learning video game development, producing music, building and painting miniatures, or playing board games with friends. He stays connected to Orlando's film community and enjoys mentoring young people, paying forward the opportunities he's received throughout his career.

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Church council

Council President, Bryan Focht, retired from Cardinal Health where he was the VP-Controller of the Pharmaceutical Segment. He also spent 7 years with Deloitte and Touche, an international accounting firm. He is a life long Lutheran and has served as Council President and Treasurer at his past church in Dublin, Ohio. Bryan also served on the board of directors as the treasurer for a non-profit mental health counseling center in Dublin Ohio. He has 5 children and 3 grandchildren, with more on the way (grandchildren that is). Bryan resides in Celebration and relocated from Ohio to Florida in 2016. He has been an active member of the Hearth since 2020.

Council Vice President, Sienna Malik, has been a member of this community since the Fourth of July 2021. Since moving to Orlando in 2016, she struggled to find a cohesive community, and felt at home from the first time she set foot in what was then Castle Church Brewing Community. She loves being a part of such a thoughtful and creative community that's dedicated to making Central Florida a better place and she comes away from every service with something new to think about. (And having a group of people that she can both have thought-provoking theological discussions with and have excellent dance parties with is really just so special!) She has served as a general council member for a year now, and Sienna says it's been an honor to serve this amazing community. In college and grad school, she also served in various leadership positions, most recently as an officer for UCF's Graduate Writer's Association. During her tenure with GWA, Sienna helped plan a monthly reading series, secured funding for a group of students to attend a conference and co-led the planning of a networking event with graduate writing and game design students.

Council Treasurer, Steffen Guenzel, joined Castle Church Brewing Community in early Spring 2021, which offered him a religious home and church family in the Lutheran tradition, in which he was raised. In the past, Steffen has taken on all of the roles of President, VP, treasurer and secretary while volunteering on these boards and learning about effective board governance: West Alabama AIDS Outreach (9 years), Canterbury Episcopal Church and Student Center at the University of Alabama (4 years), Condo Association in Orlando (7 years). Steffen believes it to be an honor to work on behalf of The Hearth on the Church Council to advance the mission of the church community.

Council Secretary, Shirley, joined The Hearth in January of 2024. She grew up in South Florida in the Hispanic Baptist tradition and moved to Orlando after attending the University of Florida. During that time, she struggled to find a church that felt like home, so she refocused her worship onto more spiritual methods, diving into the study of chakras, meditation, and becoming a Level II Reiki Practitioner. Wanting to reconnect with a church that felt open and genuine, she found herself at The Hearth. There, she gained a loving and supportive community that made her feel safe enough to be her authentically weird self. Shirley has worked in a major Fortune 500 company for over a decade. Generally considered a "fixer" in her department, called in whenever things go wrong, Shirley believes that a great leader makes the others around them shine. She finds great fulfillment in helping to support and empower others, and looks forward to doing that at every opportunity at The Hearth.

Council Member, Jackie Cano Diaz, has proudly lived in the Orlando area since 2019. Now an instructor at the University of Central Florida, she spends her free time planning crafts, working on puzzles, and walking around Disney. Jackie started going to The Hearth on Palm Sunday in 2024 with her wife and they've been regular worshippers since! Having been raised Catholic, finding herself in a Lutheran congregation has helped her reconcile her relationship with religion and her own spirituality. Church is no longer an obligation of guilt but is now a joyous source of renewal. As a queer, Hispanic woman, Florida can feel threatening and overwhelming, but the warmth and spirit of The Hearth never has her question her belonging. Jackie's leadership experience includes being president of Jacksonville. University's Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) for two years of her undergraduate degree. Running the GSA grew her interpersonal skills, listening to organization members' ideas and concerns while advocating for the organization's continued presence on campus. Through the GSA, she learned the importance of reaching out to community organizations to collaborate over their shared mission to support the Jacksonville LGBTQ+ community. Currently, she leads Children's Ministry at the church, designing lessons and accompanying crafts to provide a space for some of our youngest members to grow their sense of belonging within our church community and develop their understanding of God's love.

Council Secretary, Kendall Hall, was born and raised in Orlando. She attended various local churches but found her church home at The Hearth with her husband, Nick. The Hearth’s warmth, openness, kindness, and fun inspired her to volunteer as a Worship Assistant and eventually join Council. Kendall attended Flagler College and the University of Central Florida, and she currently works as a Marketing Coordinator. In her free time, she enjoys drinking IPAs and Hefeweizens, listening to Taylor Swift, going to Disney, working out, and spending time with friends, family, and her dog, Charley.

Council Member, Eric Lowe, was a financial attorney for ten years (currently, he is one of The Hearth's many teacher congregants), during which he briefly served as outside counsel to a theater non-profit in California. Eric has been attending The Hearth since October of 2023, and an official member since 2024. He moved to Orlando in the summer of 2023 and found The Hearth while looking for a church he wouldn't feel like he had to apologize for. The Hearth is a place where he has been able to reconnect with the idea of Christian community, and he is now on the Church Council to pitch in to a place that he believes has made his life better.

Council Member Walker Suits brings with him a Master’s in Divinity and experience as a Pastor in previous churches. If you’ve heard Walker preach, you know he is grounded in the grace and faith we hold dear as Lutherans. Walker’s wisdom and experience in Congregational Leadership and business management will bring a wonderful balance to our team.