Education: CEP Residency in St. Louis, MO; Master of Theological Studies,

Iliff School of Theology, Denver, CO; Bachelor of Divinity, Africa University, Mutare/
Zimbabwe; Bachelor of Art French Linguistics, I.S. P Lubumbashi/ DR Congo.

Family: my children Barakah Stephen & Sifa Grace.

What I love about Wesley United Methodist Church: lot of smiles and happy faces, people who love the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hometown: Wherever I am

Best childhood memories: evening children prayer meetings, Mulungwishi UMC Mission station.

Favorite Bible verse:  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.  Lamentations 3: 22-23 (NRSV)

Favorite book:  The Bible

Favorite vacation spot: Laguna Beach, California.

Hobby:  Gardening, prayer

Proudest moment:   When I became a mother

Way to relax:   listening to Spirit-filled Christian Music.

What I wanted to be when I grew up:    Serving God

Family- my Mom and 2 cats (Leona & Gracie) and my dog (Rocko)

Hometown- Roseville, IL

Education- Graduated in Roseville.

Favorite Childhood memory- mowing cemeteries with my Mom and Stepdad.

Favorite Book- "The Best of Me", Nicholas Sparks

Favorite Way to Relax- go walking or sit and hold Leona

What I Wanted to Be When I Grew up- veterinarian or caregiver

Habit I want to quit- shopping at Wal-Mart

Hidden talent- can find anything you need at Wal-Mart in 2 minutes.

Favorite Bible verse:  John 3:16

Favorite food- pizza

Favorite vacation spot- the river in Gladstone with my family

Education: K-12 Avon Schools; BA Psychology, Illinois State University; MA Christian Education, Asbury Theological Seminary

Family: My husband David and I have two children. Carmen and her husband Noah live in Kentucky; Jacob attends Missouri State University.

Hometown: Avon, Illinois

Best childhood memories: Going to United Methodist church camps at East Bay, Epworth Springs, and Jensen Woods

Favorite Bible verse: 1 John 4:7-12 (12): “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

Favorite book:  What’s so Amazing about Grace? (Philip Yancey); Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (Isabel Wilkerson) 

Favorite food: Pancit and sinigang (Philippines)

Favorite movies: The original Star Wars trilogy

Favorite vacation spot: Kenting, Taiwan

 
Hobby: Thrift store shopping

 
Must-have guilty pleasure: Ice cream (USA); Macu grapefruit green tea (Taiwan)

Proudest moment: being “Carmen’s Mom” and “Jacob’s Mom”

Strangest thing I have done: Flew on an almost empty international flight from an almost empty Taoyuan airport (Taiwan) to an almost empty O’Hare airport. (June 2020)

 
Way to relax: Taking a walk in nature

Weirdest thing I’ve eaten: Balut (Philippines)

 
What I wanted to be when I grew up: an astronaut (thank you, Star Wars), a teacher, or a missionary

What I Love About Wesley Church: The music! :)

Education: PhD in Music Education

Family: Wife, Laura, and two daughters, Hannah and Olivia

Hometown: Stillman Valley, IL

Best childhood memory: Singing in the Illinois All-State Choir

Favorite Bible verse: Anything from Psalms that makes good song lyrics

Favorite book: Most John Grisham books

Favorite food: Pulled pork

Favorite movies: Most of the Marvel movies

Favorite vacation spot: Disney

Habit I want to quit: Staying up too late

Hidden talent: Car repair

Hobby: Home renovation

Must-have guilty pleasure: Pepperoni pizza

Proudest moment: Conducting a choir at Carnegie Hall

Strangest thing I have done: Making up a grocery scavenger hunt game on a date with my wife-to-be in Thompson Food Basket—now The Crossing—and forcing her to play (Laura answered this question, but she also listed 12 other weird things I’ve done). ;-)

Way to relax: Watching TV

Weirdest thing I’ve eaten: Octopus

What I wanted to be when I grew up: Doctor

Family: My husband Brian and I have been married for 12 years and we have 3 children; Elly 10, Milly 5, and Rhys 4. 

Hometown: We live in Macomb

Best childhood memories: Spending weekends with my Grandma.

Favorite book: Little Women

Favorite food: If it's pie and it has fruit, it's my favorite.

Favorite movies: I love too many to pick, but my all time favorite TV shows are Gilmore Girls and I Love Lucy.

Favorite vacation spot: Camping anywhere with my family.

Hobby: Camping, hiking, antique shopping and painting.

Must-have guilty pleasure: Coffee!!

Proudest moment: Not really a moment, but I'm most proud of my children.

Way to relax: Movie nights with my family and drinking coffee on my porch.

Education: Bachelor of Music in Music Education (2012) and Master of Music in Choral Conducting (2014) both from WIU.

Family: Single with no family in Macomb. Both Parents and Five Siblings live in or near Plainfield, Illinois.

Hometown: Plainfield, Illinois.

Best childhood memories: Participating in Choir / Theatre activities all through middle school and high school.

Favorite Bible verse:  Psalm 9:2 - I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

Favorite book: Wyrm by Mark Fabi, Harry Potter Series, Artemis Fowl Series, Lost Years of Merlin Series, The Chronicles of Narnia Series, Anything by John Green. 

Favorite food: Sushi and Chinese food. 

Favorite movies: Kung Fu Panda, Dead Poets Society, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, August Rush, Coach Carter, Stand and Deliver, Shawshank Redemption, Up.

Favorite vacation spot: Summer Games Done Quick every Summer. Otherwise, anywhere as long as I'm with cool people!

Habit I want to quit: Stacking things in piles instead of putting them away.

Hidden talent: I know about 100 digits of Pi.

Hobby: Video gaming and various Trading Card games.

Must-have guilty pleasure: Taco Bell

Proudest moment: Receiving the Gene Michael Goad scholarship in 2009. 

Strangest thing I have done: Attempted to learn how to ride a unicycle.

Way to relax: Listen to choral music, podcasts, or rewatch familiar shows on Netflix that I don't have to pay too much attention to. 

Weirdest thing I’ve eaten: Epic Meal Time Tacos (With lots of unique ingredients)

What I wanted to be when I grew up: I have always wanted to be a teacher!

Education: B.A. in History and English, Illinois Wesleyan University

Family: wife Nikki, children Ada, Emery, and Everett

Hometown: Morton, IL

Best childhood memories: family vacations in our pop-up camper

Favorite Bible verse: Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Favorite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Favorite food: grilled salmon with boiled potatoes

Favorite movie: Groundhog Day

Favorite vacation spot: Lake of the Ozarks

Habit I want to quit: staying up late

Hidden talent: I can make drinkable homebrew

Hobby: clearing brush, splitting firewood, other yard projects

Must-have guilty pleasure: sour candy

Proudest moment: watching my kids’ accomplishments in music, theater, academics and sports

Strangest thing I have done: detasseling corn as a teen for $$ to buy a saxophone

Way to relax: a walk in the woods

Weirdest thing I’ve eaten: Dunder Salt (Norwegian Candy)

What I wanted to be when I grew up: shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals

Hometown:  Wilmington, Ill.

What I love about Wesley Church:  The hand bell choir

Family:   My husband, Greg, is retired but still active on the farm. Our children are:

• Edward, vice president of Equity Residential in Chicago
• Katie, Key West, Fla., a kayak guide, journalist and public relations writer for several different organizations. She has a son, Owen.
• Randall farms with his dad in Fulton County and raises hogs. He has a son, Oliver.

Favorite Bible verse:  “Consider the lilies, how they grow …”

Favorite food:  Seafood or fish

Favorite guilty pleasure:   McDonald’s hot mocha – sometimes

Hobbies:  Hand bells and cross-stitch

Schools I attended: I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry at the University of Illinois, and Master of Science degrees in mathematics and chemistry at Western Illinois University.

Proudest moment:  Getting my master’s degree in chemistry

Way to relax:  Watch TV

Weirdest thing I’ve eaten:   Shark fin soup

What I do in my free time:   Baby-sit my grandsons, knit, cross-stitch, work in the flower garden

What I wanted to be when I grew up:    A teacher

What I love about Wesley Church: The people are friendly and encouraging.

Hometown: Belleville, Illinois

Education: B.A., Greenville College

Family: Husband, Dennis, and sons Mike and John

Favorite Bible verse: I Corinthians 13

Best childhood memory:  Playing at a park near our house

Best vacation spot: Durham, North Carolina

Best way to relax: Walking in nature

Childhood aspiration: Meteorologist

Favorite book: Bible

Favorite food: Spaghetti

Favorite kind of music: ‘70s

Favorite movie: The Christmas Box

Favorite thing to do: Spend time with my children and grandchildren

Guilty pleasure: Chocolate

Habit I want to quit: Eating junk food

Hobby: Cross-stitch

Oddest thing on my desk: Vacuum cleaner made of candy

Proudest moments: Births of my children

Strangest thing I’ve done: Ridden a camel

Education

Bachelor of Music (University of Louisville), Master of Music (University of Louisville), and Advanced study (University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music)

What I love about Wesley United Methodist Church: Working with our caring, devoted pastors and our incredibly talented music staff and volunteers.

Hometown: Louisville, Ky.

Family: Two aunts, lots of cousins, and an enormous, loving chosen family!

Favorite Bible verse: Micah 6:8

Favorite book: I'm a history nerd. I love all the David McCullough biographies! 

Favorite food: Chinese food, sushi, dark chocolate, coffee

Favorite movies: The filmed version of Hamilton. Dark Victory, Mildred Pierce ( I love those heroines in shoulder pads!)

Favorite vacation spot:  New York City, Washington DC

Habit I want to quit:   Procrastination

Hidden talent:   I’m an excellent parallel parker

Proudest moment:  Anytime one of my students performs!

Oddest thing on my desk:   Pencil holder made from an old organ pipe

Hobby:   Genealogy

Way to relax:   Snuggling with a blanket while reading or watching TV

What I wanted to be when I grew up:   A teacher

Education: 

Associate of Arts, Music, Harper College, Palatine, Illinois 

Bachelor of Science, Physical and Health Education; minor, Music, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois 

Master of Arts, Music Education and Conducting, Western Illinois University

What I love about Wesley United Methodist Church: The friendliness of staff and members, and the varied programs in spirituality, education, outreach and service

Hometown: Roselle Park, New Jersey

Family:

• Older brother, Brooke (deceased)
• Younger brother, Bruce Ostrander, who lives in upper New York state with his wife, Shirley
• Four children: 

• • Bonnie is married and lives in Tucson with her three children
  • David graduated from Northern Arizona University with a degree in computer science. He works at IBM in Tucson. He tandem-cycled in the London Paralympic Games in 2012, and he took me with him!
  • Michael was in the Army, and he got his B.S. in chemistry at WIU. He works as a supervisor at Valspar Paints. He has one daughter and a son due in January 2017. He lives in Mt. Prospect, Illinois.
  • Sarah graduated from WIU, and is an investigator for the FBI. She’s married and lives in Tucson with her two children. 

Favorite Bible verse: Psalm 27

Favorite books: Mysteries and historic novels 

Favorite food: Yes! (especially dark chocolate and raspberries) 

Favorite movie: “On Golden Pond” 

Favorite vacation: Camping, especially near water 

Habit I want to quit: Putting things off 

Hidden talent: I’m not sure because it’s so well-hidden! 

Proudest moment: When a picture was taken on Easter Sunday 2015. All four children, their spouses and all six grandchildren were together at a wonderful potluck picnic in the park. I took time to sit back and watch them interact and thank my Lord for all of His blessings.   

Must-have guilty pleasure: Naps 

Strangest thing I have done: I sat strapped in the doorway of a small airplane while skydivers jumped out past me and I watched their parachutes open. Beautiful! 

Way to relax: Listen to music 

What I do in my free time: Knit, read, sew, play the piano 

What I wanted to be when I grew up: a mother and a teacher who was happy and at peace