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
- Juli Ginn
- I have been coming to People’s Church since I was in preschool, when my family moved to the Kalamazoo area. I grew up in the religious education program, where I participated in OWL and explored schools of meaning in the context of religious doctrines, science, literature, and art. Being raised as a UU has been a foundational element to my understanding of myself and the world around me. I moved away to attend college in the later part of the 2010s, but after moving back to the area I reintegrated myself back into the church community, and found the experience to be centering. I involved myself in the church’s young adult circles by attending chalice circles and helping organize the first YA Con held at People’s since Covid disrupted the tradition. I also became an RE teacher, and have spent the current church year exchanging wisdom with our 4th-6th graders. They continue to surprise me with the conversations they foster in class, and how insightfully questioning they are. There have been many Sundays that I’ve left church feeling invigorated and lightened by my time with them. In my time away from church, I explore deep meaning through fiction and the discussion there-of. I find it to be an engaging space to contend with individual morality, ethics, perspective, and how cultural communities interact with those concepts.
- Teresa (Olsen) Klan
- Greetings from Teresa (Olsen) Klan. I have been a member of The People’s Church for about 22 years. My myriad of experiences has given me unique perspectives that I hope will benefit my roles in the church. My “work” has ranged from dorm crew at Yellowstone National Park; dining room cashier at Mt. Rushmore; Registered Nurse at Bronson Hospital and Kalamazoo Health and Human Services (as a Public Health Nurse, living out my true religion); Epidemiology nurse (before Covid-19); Parents as Teachers Supervisor at Van Buren Intermediate School District; and my post “retirement” joy, preschool associate at Paw Paw Early Child-hood.
I came to this church with my husband Jeffrey and sons, Wyatt and Levi, to help give words to my beliefs. I have been involved ever since as RE preschool teacher; RE Committee member; sounding board for Jill McAllister; sleep-over chaperone; Women’s Retreat attendee; People’s Cafe worker at the Bizarre; Adult and Youth Coming of Age…I’m eclectic and enjoy the wide variety of activities The People’s Church has to offer!
In these challenging times, I feel it is time to give my time to this most important source of loving kindness. I am honored to be offered to serve as a Trustee of the Board in hopes that my contributions can help in continuing this essential, vibrant community for generations to come!
- Greetings from Teresa (Olsen) Klan. I have been a member of The People’s Church for about 22 years. My myriad of experiences has given me unique perspectives that I hope will benefit my roles in the church. My “work” has ranged from dorm crew at Yellowstone National Park; dining room cashier at Mt. Rushmore; Registered Nurse at Bronson Hospital and Kalamazoo Health and Human Services (as a Public Health Nurse, living out my true religion); Epidemiology nurse (before Covid-19); Parents as Teachers Supervisor at Van Buren Intermediate School District; and my post “retirement” joy, preschool associate at Paw Paw Early Child-hood.
- Amy Meyer
- I started attending People’s Church when I was 3 years old. At that time, we were located in downtown Kalama-zoo. I moved to Texas when I was in my 20’s and raised a son and daughter. I visited several UU churches while I was living there. Those were great experiences because I felt like I had found my people. When I returned to Kalamazoo in 2015, I began attending People’s Church again. It feels like home. My career was spent in various areas of accounting. I have always liked working with numbers because the outcome is either right or wrong. It is a satisfying offset to the uncertainties of real life.
I’ve been involved in various activities at People’s, including volunteering at the holiday bazaar, making pasties, playing in the bell choir, attending a chalice circle, the film group and a lunch group that meets once a month.
I have frequent video calls with my daughter and three grandsons who live in Texas. I visit them a couple times a year. They are my joy. I am also very close to my son who lives in Denver. My mom (Mary Lewis) and I live together and I feel very blessed to be with her.
I’m honored to be nominated and look forward to a new learning experience.
- I started attending People’s Church when I was 3 years old. At that time, we were located in downtown Kalama-zoo. I moved to Texas when I was in my 20’s and raised a son and daughter. I visited several UU churches while I was living there. Those were great experiences because I felt like I had found my people. When I returned to Kalamazoo in 2015, I began attending People’s Church again. It feels like home. My career was spent in various areas of accounting. I have always liked working with numbers because the outcome is either right or wrong. It is a satisfying offset to the uncertainties of real life.
Nominating Committee Nominees
- Michael Leonard
- I first attended People’s Church in the before times, coming for the community, and staying for even more. But then I moved to Grand Rapids and so only attended sporadically with a big chunk of this time being taken up by COVID. Now that I am back living in the area – Oshtemo actually – I am happy to be fully part of the People’s as a member, my member-ship process having been interrupted before by my move. I was initially raised by a father who was Catholic, having been a Jesuit, but chose not to become a Catholic myself, choosing instead to learn about all religions by becoming a socio-cultural anthropologist. I was also fascinated by early belief in America, including deism, and how it all evolved into what we have today, including us Unitarian Universalists. I initially got more involved at People’s through singing, because I have been singing all my life, but another thing that drew me here is how People’s integrates young people through the particularly rich RE program, even though I do not have any children of my own. After having taught anthropology at Western, I am now a full-time outpatient therapist at Van Buren Community Mental Health who works with people of all ages and I have learned how important culture is not only to the development of society, but to individuals’ development and so now want to be more actively a part of keeping People’s Church’s culture healthy through being a member of the Nominating Committee. I appreciate being nominated for nominating and look forward to the process of picking the next batch of board members.
- Ken Tindall
- I was born and raised Methodist in portage, MI. I got a master of social work degree at WMU and had a long career with the state of MI. My jobs included psychiatric social work at the Kalamazoo psychiatric hospital and licensing adult foster care homes. I’ve been happily retired since 2017. As a young adult I had little interest and no involvement in Christianity or any other religious tradition. When our son Timothy was 12 years old my wife Beth DeWaters, and I wanted him to get exposure to organized religion. After meeting with Reverend Jill McAllister and learning about UU and the excellent RE program at People’s, we realized it was a good fit for us. So I have been a member of Peoples since 2000! During those 24 years I have made some friends with like values and participated in different ways. I value and sup-port our church for many reasons that includes, among others, inspiring Sunday services, the RE program and the many ways our church works on social justice issues in The Kalamazoo area.
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