The nominating committee developed a slate of candidates for the People’s Church Board of Trustees and for the Nominating Committee for the upcoming church year! Please see below for the photos and bios of each candidate!
Board of Trustees Nominees
Elizabeth Huff-Willis
I joined People’s Church about 12 years ago seeking a place where I could heal from my past religious traumas and find a safe and welcoming place for my children. We found a loving, supportive community and many, many friends, and I am so thankful to be a part of it all.
Professionally, I have been a physical therapist, journalist, English instructor in Japan, breastfeeding counselor, group fitness instructor, and first-aid medical volunteer. I currently volunteer on the Safety and Medical Team. I have served on the Religious Education committee and helped organize Specialty Classes, youth sleepovers, and special youth events.
Our church is an integral partner in advancing social justice in our community, and now more than ever we can be a crucial source of stability for those enduring the chaos of this current presidential administration. I believe it is our duty to protect those who cannot defend themselves against unjust policies and actions. I believe it is our duty to protect our mother Earth. I believe we must work collaboratively to make wise decisions to help those most in need. Thank you for this opportunity to serve on the board of trustees.
Tim Kieffer
I am honored to be nominated to serve on People’s Board of Trustees. I began attending People’s Church regularly in the fall of 2018, six months after I retired as an occupational therapist. I had been drifting spiritually for many years, but in a few short months felt that I found a home, a place of solace and support, at People’s Church.
My parents were devout Lutherans, my father an ordained minister, who instilled in me, my sister and two younger brothers a love of music, which began as members of various children’s choirs at my father’s churches, piano lessons taught by my mother, and taking up the saxophone only because I could not buzz my lips to play a trumpet, the result of my sister fending me off during some early childhood combat. My parents also modeled a liberal social and political bent that led me to campaign for George McGovern before I was eligible to vote.
In 1978 I graduated with a liberal arts bachelor’s degree from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. The next year I declared my identity as a gay man, shortly before the AIDS pandemic began to emerge. I am a survivor of AIDs but not unscarred. I continue to grieve the loss of my partner and many friends, and for the many who continue to suffer. But through it all I’ve learned that I can, and must, celebrate each day. People’s Church gives me many reasons to celebrate.
The month before joining People’s Church I helped to sell pasties at the holiday bazaar — a dynamic intro-duction to the People’s community that has an affinity for art and food – also passions of mine. In the first few months of 2019 I participated in a series of com-munity discussions about white supremacy culture. And then regular conversations in person and over Zoom with other People’s people about interrupting racism, which led to my involvement in the Dismantling Racism Team. It has all led to a personal awakening and a reading list that will last a lifetime.
Also that spring I joined a monthly Chalice Circle in which I still participate. I became a member of the Tenor Nation section of the choir. And I participated in a class entitled “Transgender Inclusion in Congregations,” based on a curriculum created by the Trans-forming Hearts Collective for congregations of the UUA.
I have found a spiritual home at People’s Church and am dedicated to continue my involvement, to continue a thoughtful assessment of my spirituality, and to continue to grow in the ways I can contribute to this church and to our community.
Martin Sauter
I lived most of my life on the other side of the state running a small family business alongside my dad. I met Sharon, my partner, at Grand Valley, where I was pursuing a degree in arts and media. Upon graduating I realized that I didn’t like my employment options and my dad was in need of a partner so I switched careers. While working closely with family has its ups and downs, I did learn many valuable lessons, including how to operate a small business and how to manage people with different backgrounds. In Blissfield I was also actively raising my two children, serving on school boards and village council. I enjoyed the interactions and workings of a board. After Sharon and I retired we moved to Paw Paw to be closer to our children, in Kalamazoo and Portage, and Sharon’s parents in Oshtemo.
I have been at Peoples since 2020, by zoom for the first two years, and became a member in 2022. During this time, I have come to appreciate the people and the impact the church has on our community. I have attended both Catholic and Methodist churches over the years but never really got comfortable there. I think the RE programs are a real value to the young people in the congregation .The diversity of thought throughout Peoples makes for a blend that fits with my world view philosophy. I am excited to see where the churches growth takes us in the coming years. I currently work with building and grounds and also try to fill spots as needed within the church community.
Nominating Committee
George Hrbek
My wife Mary and I have been UUs since 2001. We were both raised Catholic but I never really was a true believer and fell away from active participation during my college days. My years in graduate school only reinforced my skepticism and rejection of rigid beliefs and associated behaviors. We wanted our two sons to be part of a liberal religious community that was not dogmatic and expose them to a wide spectrum of people and their beliefs: spiritual and social. Unitarian Universalism has exceeded our expectations. Although we didn’t realize it at the time, it was life changing for us as well. It has widened our understanding and perspectives of the world and provides a much needed refuge from a fearful and sometimes hateful world. Both Mary and I were raised in the Chicago area. My work has taken us to Massachusetts (near Boston) and finally to Los Alamos New Mexico (near Santa Fe). While at the Unitarian Church in Los Alamos I was Vice President, then President and was always an active member of both the Kitchen Crew and Building and Grounds. When I retired in 2020, we decided to move closer to our families who live in the Chicago and South-west Michigan Areas. We are delighted to have moved to Portage and to have joined People’s Church! I think my experiences at the Unitarian Church will prove useful on the Nominating Committee.
Brianna Wurtsmith
What brought me to People’s Church in 2022 was a longing for the community spirit that I’d witnessed among other churchgoers, but I figured organized religion was never going to work for me because I didn’t believe what they believed. Then I attended a wedding at a UU church, where I read a pamphlet from the back of a pew and thought “Now that’s the kind of church I could get behind!” So I was very happy when we moved to Kalamazoo and I learned about the existence of People’s Church. Ours is such a welcoming congregation, where people truly believe in the messages we hear each Sunday, and it’s been a refreshing and uplifting experience to be a member. In that time, I’ve helped host board game nights, performed with the bell choir a few times, and will be helping with the bazaar as well. And if elected to serve on the Nominating Committee, I’ll make it my business to get to know people so that I can be an effective Nominator!
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