Hello Hart!
On Monday, June 22, Kathy and I moved into our new home at 3818 Melody Lane in Hart. We are finding the light switches, enjoying the deck with the Lake Michigan breeze, and learning our way around the area, so we've started to get settled. Thanks, again, to all who helped to get the parsonage ready for our move in, as well as to all who provided delicious meals at the house and gift cards to area restaurants.
It's just the two of us at that house, with Kathy continuing her online sewing business, even as she looks for employment in the area with her associate degree in computers and business experience. All of our children-- three daughters-- are grown. Here is a bit about them, but you may only see them once or twice a year, when they visit.
Trisha, our eldest, is married to Jeff Brink, and they live in Sausalito, California, with their cat Peeks. Jeff is the Principal at the San Francisco office for DCI Engineers out of Seattle, Washington, while Trisha is an English-as-Second-Language freelance curriculum writer and ESL instructor at Dominican University.
Our middle daughter, Jessica, lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and works for United Way of West Michigan as the Marketing Communications Coordinator. She has two dogs and two cats, and is currently watching our almost fourteen-year-old dog, a Golden Retriever named Franky (short for Frankenstein since he was born on Halloween).
Amanda, our youngest, lives in Alma, Michigan, with our grandson, Gabriel (Gabe). Mandy works on the wait staff for JJ Ruby's Restaurant, just north of Ithaca, Michigan, and helps manage the business both there and at the expansion in St. Louis, Michigan, when the owners need help.
You will probably see our 4-year-old grandson Gabe quite a bit, as Kathy and I (Nanni and Popi) watch him two-to-three weekends per month, if Kathy doesn't go over to his house in Alma. He's already looking forward to coming to our new house and his new church.
We've served the Lord together at the following locations: 1977-82: Epworth UMC in Marion, Ohio, where I was the Christian Education Director while attending the Methodist Theological School in Ohio; 1982-87: Turk Lake UMC near Greenville, MI; 1987-1993: Lakeside UMC in Muskegon, MI; 1993-2006: Sparta UMC, north of Grand Rapids, MI; 2006-2010: Ithaca-Beebe UMC; 2010-June, 2015: Coldwater UMC.
While at Muskegon and Sparta, I completed the course work for my doctorate in ministry (D.Min) through the regional doctoral program provided by Drew Theological School (Madison, New Jersey), doing my thesis project at the Drew campus in small group ministry. My Master of Divinity (M.Div) studies were done through the Methodist Theological School in Ohio (Delaware, Ohio) with Specialization in Christian Education. Before that, and after completing my first year of college at Alma College, I attended Michigan State University (and so did Kathy), graduating in 1975 with a B.S. in Biology and a teaching certificate. Kathy and I were married in 1975, and I taught middle school science and driver education for two years before moving to Ohio for seminary.
So, here we are in another chapter of our lives. We look forward to a great future of serving the Lord with you!
-Pastor Steve
On Monday, June 22, Kathy and I moved into our new home at 3818 Melody Lane in Hart. We are finding the light switches, enjoying the deck with the Lake Michigan breeze, and learning our way around the area, so we've started to get settled. Thanks, again, to all who helped to get the parsonage ready for our move in, as well as to all who provided delicious meals at the house and gift cards to area restaurants.
It's just the two of us at that house, with Kathy continuing her online sewing business, even as she looks for employment in the area with her associate degree in computers and business experience. All of our children-- three daughters-- are grown. Here is a bit about them, but you may only see them once or twice a year, when they visit.
Trisha, our eldest, is married to Jeff Brink, and they live in Sausalito, California, with their cat Peeks. Jeff is the Principal at the San Francisco office for DCI Engineers out of Seattle, Washington, while Trisha is an English-as-Second-Language freelance curriculum writer and ESL instructor at Dominican University.
Our middle daughter, Jessica, lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and works for United Way of West Michigan as the Marketing Communications Coordinator. She has two dogs and two cats, and is currently watching our almost fourteen-year-old dog, a Golden Retriever named Franky (short for Frankenstein since he was born on Halloween).
Amanda, our youngest, lives in Alma, Michigan, with our grandson, Gabriel (Gabe). Mandy works on the wait staff for JJ Ruby's Restaurant, just north of Ithaca, Michigan, and helps manage the business both there and at the expansion in St. Louis, Michigan, when the owners need help.
You will probably see our 4-year-old grandson Gabe quite a bit, as Kathy and I (Nanni and Popi) watch him two-to-three weekends per month, if Kathy doesn't go over to his house in Alma. He's already looking forward to coming to our new house and his new church.
We've served the Lord together at the following locations: 1977-82: Epworth UMC in Marion, Ohio, where I was the Christian Education Director while attending the Methodist Theological School in Ohio; 1982-87: Turk Lake UMC near Greenville, MI; 1987-1993: Lakeside UMC in Muskegon, MI; 1993-2006: Sparta UMC, north of Grand Rapids, MI; 2006-2010: Ithaca-Beebe UMC; 2010-June, 2015: Coldwater UMC.
While at Muskegon and Sparta, I completed the course work for my doctorate in ministry (D.Min) through the regional doctoral program provided by Drew Theological School (Madison, New Jersey), doing my thesis project at the Drew campus in small group ministry. My Master of Divinity (M.Div) studies were done through the Methodist Theological School in Ohio (Delaware, Ohio) with Specialization in Christian Education. Before that, and after completing my first year of college at Alma College, I attended Michigan State University (and so did Kathy), graduating in 1975 with a B.S. in Biology and a teaching certificate. Kathy and I were married in 1975, and I taught middle school science and driver education for two years before moving to Ohio for seminary.
So, here we are in another chapter of our lives. We look forward to a great future of serving the Lord with you!
-Pastor Steve