Alum News

The listings below were compiled in 2024 and published in the 2024 issue of The Story Magazine.

1966

Robert D. Dobson is now 84 years old and is remarrying in October. After 26 years as a pastor, he earned an MA degree and taught for another 12 years. He retired to write local history books of the old mining area where he grew up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. He hopes to hear from his friends. rdejdobson@charter.net

1969

Joe Beavon is serving as pastor of Gainesboro First UMC. He and his wife, Jane, are living in Gainesboro, Tennessee. beavon2@yahoo.com

1972

George Davis was awarded the rank of Range Line Pioneer by Carmel, Indiana, Mayor James Brainard in recognition of his 22 years of service to the community as Carmel police chaplain. gk28@sbcglobal.net

1984

Elaine (Clinger) Sturtz has published her sixth book, Live Different Moments, which focuses on embracing change after any loss or grief and how to live differently in the life you now have. It follows her book on grief, Living in the Different. ejsturtz7@gmail.com

After 30 years of active ministry as an elder, Elizabeth (Betty) Wineland retired from serving churches in West Ohio Conference in 2015 and continues to enjoy retirement living in Bowling Green, Ohio. She and her husband, Lynn, have one daughter, Katie, who is married to Beth. bwineland56@gmail.com

1989

Lori Burdette-Steele retired July 1 from the East Ohio Conference after 37 years under appointment. She and her spouse, Wes, are temporarily residing in Wadsworth, Ohio. PastorLori2016@aol.com

1993

Rob Grow was ordained in the United Church of Christ on Aug. 3. He has 5 units of CPE and an STM degree from Drew University with a concentration in social ethics. He is now a part-time pastor and Grace at Loyal Oak UCC and a full-time chaplain at Ohio Living Home Health and Hospice in his hometown of Akron, where he is in his 18th year of hospice chaplaincy. growrobert0@gmail.com

1994

Dan Jackson retired from the Florida Annual Conference in 2020. He had moved to Florida in 2006 after leading local congregations in the West Ohio Conference. In addition to seven years at New Covenant UMC in the Villages (which grew from 800 in worship to 2,000 during that time), he served in the Florida Annual Conference Cabinet as director of new church development, director of Fresh Expressions, and director of the Vital Church Initiative. He retired as district superintendent of the Southeast District. Following retirement, his first book, Generative Leadership, was published. He and his spouse, Patti, live in the Columbus area and I devote time to their 11 grandchildren. He has taught as adjunct faculty at Christian Theological Seminary and serves as a consultant/coach through Fresh Expressions US. revdanjackson@icloud.com

1996

Margaret (Peggy) Heim is retired and has lived in England since graduating from MTSO. revpeggyheim@gmail.com

2002

David MacDonald is now serving as executive director of the Osage Forest of Peace, an interspiritual retreat center located in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. macdonde@gmail.com

Lynn Pease retired from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, where she wasa palliative care chaplain, Nov. 30, 2021. She currently serves in part-time ministry at Indian Run UMC in Dublin. “I was ‘launched’ into seminary and ordination from Indian Run in 2005. I believe that God has brought me full circle back to my roots.” lynn.pease@yahoo.com

2003

Richard Wilcox has published a book, Searching for James Gibson: Unraveling a Two-Century-Old Family Legend. He serves as clerk of the North Carolina Fellowship of Friends. mudlakefarms@yahoo.com

2005

Liatu Jacob Kane is serving as a district superintendent of the Appawa District, Southern Conference of United Methodist Church Nigeria. “Would love to get in touch with my friends, especially classmates.” kaneliatu3@gmail.com

Rebecca Stephens was appointed senior pastor of Bucyrus UMC in 2023. prchrbeck@gmail.com

2007

Ebenezer Appiagyei has been appointed district superintendent of the Colorado Region of the River Conference of the Free Methodist Church. He joined the 17th Judicial District as a deputy district attorney in November 2023. “My degree in MTSO prepared me for both parish ministry and my pursuit of legal education.” ebenlaw1@gmail.com

2008

Nancy Day-Achauer has taken a leave of absence from pastoral ministry in the UMC to serve on Columbus City Council after being elected by 72% of voters in 2023. An ordained elder, she has served churches in Columbus since 2012, with a focus on community ministry and addressing human-service needs in disadvantaged neighborhoods. nancypda@gmail.com

2011

David Sears is serving full time at the Rivers of Mercy Children’s Home in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. It primarily serves children that the Mexican government has taken away from their families because of abuse and neglect. noogalator@yahoo.com

2013

Karen Tate has been appointed to the Capon Bridge United Methodist Charge in Capon Bridge, West Virginia. ktate86@hotmail.com

2014

Lorraine Brown retired as an active pastor from the Baltimore Washington Conference on June 30, 2024. In retirement, she serves as congregational compassion care minister for Goshen UMC in Gaithersburg, Maryland, while working for the extension ministry full-time as founder and executive director for Project SPIRIT Sickle Cell Inc., a 501(c)3 spiritual community based organization She is a very proud ‘mamere’ of four granddaughters. rev.rlbrown@gmail.com

2015

Rina Shere received her Doctorate of Ministry from Vanderbilt Divinity School in May 2024, completing a specialization in Mental Health Integrated Chaplaincy. Her research focus examines the role of self-compassion and forgiveness in the healing of moral injury in U.S. veterans. rinashere@yahoo.com

2018

Emily Howard was installed as pastor of Grace United Church of Christ in Uniontown, Ohio, Dec. 1, 2023. howardemilyr@gmail.com

2019

Steven Brown is integrated adult education coordinator for San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico. bethelbiker1@gmail.com

Faith Van Horne’s article “Somatic Pneumatology: A Pentecostal Contribution to Feminist Liberation Theology” was published in the Journal of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity. The article is open access and available online at tandfonline.com. She presented this research at the Annual Conference of the Society for the Study of Theology at University of Warwick, Coventry, UK, in April. faithvanhorne@gmail.com

2020

Jacqui Buschor has accepted a call to serve as pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. jacquibuschor@gmail.com

Janelle Ohlemiller is primarily appointed as therapist and clinical supervisor at Willowstone Family Services in Lafayette, Indiana. Her secondary appointment is as associate pastor (aka “therapastor”) at the Wesley Foundation at Purdue University. janelle.ohlemiller@gmail.com

2022

Tim Wood has been appointed senior pastor of Stevensville UMC, which began as a school in 1885 in the oldest town in Montana. Since 1928, the space served the combined congregations of the North and South Methodist-Episcopal Churches. Over the last four years, the church's “Open Doors for Generational Blessing” project has developed Sapphire Early Learning Center, a self-sustaining nonprofit daycare and preschool; restored the church’s historic building; and expanded community outreach work. “I'm excited to help lead a faith community that has such a strong heart for serving their community combined with an amazing worship presence.” twood@mtso.edu

2023

Justin McCall and Kayla McCall welcomed a son, Rory James, Nov. 17, 2023. jleemccall@gmail.com

2024

Robert Dean Cole led a West Virginia United Methodist Volunteers-in-Mission short-term mission trip to Guatemala July 7-14, 2024. This year, the team, called “El Grupo de Bob” (after retired UMC minister Robert C. (Bob) Cole), partnered with Common Hope in Antigua, Guatemala. Serving at historic St. John UMC in Vienna, West Virginia, after graduation, “Angie and I also continue to serve the indigenous very poor in the Western Highlands of Guatemala via our respective non-profit foundations, Portales de Esperanza and Cole Family Foundation.” rdeancole@gmail.com