About Us — New Iona Presbyterian Church

History

First Presbyterian Church

Monroe, Louisiana
Highland Presbyterian Church

West Monroe, Louisiana

The story of our congregation is a “tale of two cities”. New Iona Presbyterian grew from a unification of Highland Presbyterian Church of West Monroe and First Presbyterian Church of Monroe. After a long and faithful service, the First Presbyterian Church of Monroe closed its doors to seek a new calling in faith. Members of First Presbyterian Church combined with members of Highland Presbyterian Church in West Monroe to form a new congregation. The members chose to name this new congregation in the spirit of the long history of believers who inhabited the island of Iona off the western coast of Scotland.

The people of New Iona are strongly committed to a sense of community, of caring for one another and for being an active witness to the Gospel of Jesus within our community. Celtic symbols and music remind us of our shared past, but it is to the future which we look and listen carefully for the movement and calling of God’s Holy Spirit.

New Iona Presbyterian Church is a congregation within the Presbytery of the Pines and The Presbyterian Church, (U.S.A.).

The New Iona Staff

Lane Thompson

Pastor
Originally from Stewart, Mississippi, Lane attended the University of Mississippi and received two degrees in Music Education. After twelve years teaching Band in Mississippi, he moved his family to West Monroe to teach Band at Riser Middle School. Lane’s wife, Becky, is a French Pastry Chef and is the owner of CAKE, a custom bakery in West Monroe. They have two children Josephine and Tucker. Lane is a Commissioned Pastor in Pines Presbytery
Joni Smith

Administrative Secretary
A Monroe native serving our members for over 20 years and truly enjoys what she does. Joni helps the church with all of its Administrative duties, financials, works closely with the Mother’s Day Out program staff and parents among other things. Joni and her husband, Kenny who is retired from GEICO share five adult children: Dr. Neal Smith, Joey Smith, Mrs. Haley Blankenship, Jesse Smith and Troy Luke Smith along with two beautiful granddaughters, Mitchell and Margaret. She and her husband enjoy spending time with their children, grandchildren, traveling and love the outdoors. If she is not in the office, you will probably find her working in her yard or enjoying her home on the Bayou.
Karen "Suzy" Beck

Receptionist
Suzy was born and raised in southern California. She joined the membership of Highland Presbyterian Church in 2006 and became the part-time office worker of Highland in 2010. She lives in West Monroe with her brother Gary and her two cats.
Betsy Shirley

Musician
Betsy Shirley received her Bachelor’s Degree in music from ULM. She teaches private piano and voice lessons in Winnsboro, is active in community theatre, and lives in Baskin with her husband and cats.
Mason Guillory

Technology Coordinator
Mason is a native of West Monroe and graduated from West Ouachita High in 2014. He now serves on the staff at Riser Middle. He enjoys gaming, coffee, and his beloved New Orleans Saints. Mason serves the congregation by providing live stream service of worship, administrator of our website and social media. You can find Mason in church with his laptop and frantically chewing his gum.
Paige Freeman

Choir Director
Paige was born and raised in West Monroe, Louisiana and graduated from West Monroe High School in 2019. She began playing the oboe at 10 years old and have since grown a love for gardening, baking, and chickens! She is currently working on completing her bachelor’s degree in oboe performance at the University of Louisiana-Monroe.