Diocesan Staff & Support
Our staff live all across the length and breadth of our diocese. They work from our Diocesan House in East Grand Rapids, our Financial Office in Saginaw and their homes in addition to parishes, coffee shops and carpool lots across the Mitten as they’re out and about supporting people and ministries. Use our Contact Us page to reach out to staff members for support.
Full Time Staff
Contact SunilInitially ordained in the Church of South India in 1992, Sunil was received into The Episcopal Church through the Diocese of Newark in 1998. With a focus on building trust and growth after trauma, Sunil has served five Episcopal congregations ranging from mission to program size.
As Canon for the Central Collaborative, Sunil will coach, encourage, and equip congregations in the middle belt of our two dioceses in areas of congregational development, transitions, and aligning with the mission and vision of our dioceses. His specialty as Coach for Digital Communities focuses on supporting all congregations across both dioceses in establishing or further developing our offerings for worship and belonging through online platforms.
As Canon for the Southern Collaborative, Tracie comes alongside congregations in the southernmost area of our diocese to coach, encourage, and equip in the areas of congregational development and transitions. She helps congregations listen to God in the hard work of discernment of how God is calling them to serve and grow. Her work in congregations is specifically tailored to the needs of any given congregation and will reflect the reality of their current experience.
In her specialty of Adult Formation, Tracie focuses on providing opportunities for all adults to engage in formation. Some of her specialty work is through her work in providing curriculum for adults wishing to serve in their congregations in specific ways. Our Learning Library provides courses for both individuals and groups. These courses change throughout the year, highlighting the church season and current events in the world. She is the Dean and Co-Director of The Academy for Vocational Leadership providing formation for those discerning a call to ordained ministry as priest/presbyter or deacon.
While attending Harvard Divinity School as a Unitarian Universalist, Nurya was baptized as Christian and later ordained as a Christian pastor within the UUA in 1997. After ten years as a Unitarian pastor and church planter, she completed a Certificate in Anglican Studies at Seabury-Western Seminary, and was confirmed in The Episcopal Church and re-ordained as a priest in 2011. Since then, she served as associate rector with St. Andrew’s, Grand Rapids and as priest-in-charge with Holy Spirit, Belmont.
Nurya dedicated nine years of service as the founding Executive Director of Plainsong Farm and Ministry, a new Episcopal community in the Diocese of Western Michigan. Nurya has exercised extensive churchwide leadership for many years, especially in the areas of creation care and its integration into our understanding of the beloved community. This summer, she serves as the chair of the House of Deputies legislative committee on Environmental Stewardship and the Care of Creation for the 81st General Convention of The Episcopal Church.
As Canon for the Northern Collaborative, Nurya will coach, encourage, and equip congregations in the northernmost area of our two dioceses in areas of congregational development, transitions, and in seeking the mission and vision of our dioceses. Her specialty as Coach for Creation Care and Beloved Community focuses on convening and building capacity for individuals and congregations around the care and understanding of God’s creation, seeking the beloved community by confronting systems of oppression and building relationships across difference.
McKenzie has served as Facilitator of Youth and Young Adult Networks in the Diocese of Eastern Michigan since 2015. During that time, she has developed a robust program for youth and young adults that has included opportunities for youth across the state, access to peer relationships beyond the congregation and beyond the diocese, and, with the Canon for Evangelism, has developed a group of “young adults” (college-Gen X) that gather for Compline and Dinner once a month in locations in both dioceses (when circumstances allow for in-person gatherings).
In her role, McKenzie directs, oversees, and convenes children, youth, and young adult formation programs and networks in the dioceses. Working with diocesan leadership, she develops and plans programming and opportunities for leadership for all ages and identifies and share resources with the growing network of parish youth ministers (staff and volunteer).
Congregations should contact McKenzie to discuss youth and young adult networks and formation programs.
Jess Kidder is a scholar-practitioner with a PhD in Sustainability Education from Prescott College bringing over 20 years of experience in the non-profit and education sectors. Serving as the Program Manager for the Thriving Congregations Initiative Holy Ground Whole Communities grant, she is excited and honored to combine her passion for spirituality and sustainability in the important work of cultivating communities of practice with the Diocese.
Jess works out of the Grand Rapids office and remotely from her home in Cheboygan and Bois Blanc Island.
Angela holds responsibility for the bishop’s calendar, visitations, meetings, and travel. She handles the bishop’s reporting and correspondence, coordinates the non-parochial reports, liaises with the disciplinary board, manages the bi-diocesan Cycle of Prayer, and supports the work of various committees. Additionally, Angela coordinates the work of the Commission on Ministry and supports benefits administration. Angela works primarily from the Saginaw office and remotely, from her home in St. Clair Shores.
Sara oversees finance and benefits administration for the diocese, helping the bishop’s office and congregations with financial management, budgeting, and more.
Sara and her family live in Midland, where they are active members of St. John’s, Midland. Sara works primarily from the Finance Office in Saginaw and her home.
Rachel Ravellette, M.A. served as the remote Communications Director for the Diocese of Central New York before joining the staff in this, her home diocese. It is through that role that she found a love and passion for supporting parishes in diocesan ministry, helping lay and clergy persons alike to live more fully into their callings to be the embodiment of Jesus in our lonely and hurting world. In addition to her diocesan work, she brings more than 15 years of non-profit and higher education communication and strategic planning experience to our dioceses.
Viewing her work as being a relationship counselor for organizations, Rachel is responsible for shaping diocesan communications strategy and tactics, working closely with diocesan leadership. She also provides resources and training throughout the dioceses, with specific attention to local congregations.
Rachel works primarily from the Diocesan House in Grand Rapids and her own home in rural Ionia county, although she is happy and eager to travel to parishes around the diocese to offer on-site communication and celebrate the good work that parishes are engaging in every day!
Mark is a graduate of Wheaton College and New York University School of Law. Before returning to Michigan, Mark worked as an assistant at a talent and literary agency in New York.
Mark holds responsibility for administrative projects on behalf of the diocesan offices.
Among other projects that arise, he coordinates with the Commissions on Ministry, supports clergy that are newly ordained and new to the dioceses, manages the clergy supply lists, administers clergy and lay licensing processes, responds to service requests from outside the dioceses, processes letters dimissory, and serves as ordination officer for churchwide records.
Mark works primarily from the Grand Rapids office and remotely, from his home in Grand Rapids.
Part Time Staff and Additional Support
As Archdeacon of the Diocese, Linda convenes the community of deacons and others involved in ministries of justice, reconciliation, and service.
Beth was ordained in 2008. She serves as the Bishop’s representative to the Board of the Dominican Development Group. She coordinates the Companion Diocese Program and Mission Team efforts in the Dominican Republic. Beth is also part of the Diocesan Thriving in Ministry team. She travels the diocese to call forth, empower, and inspire the baptized to look for their own role in fulfilling their call to servant ministry.
Congregations should contact Beth to speak at your Sunday services, vestry, or group meetings, or to inquire about upcoming mission trip information to the Dominican Republic.
BJ was ordained to the priesthood in 2016 after completing her M.Div. at Sewanee School of Theology. After her ordination, she served as priest-in-charge with St. John’s, Fremont and St. Mark’s, Newaygo, where she was called in 2019 as rector and director of their connected health and wellness center, Vera’s House. Prior to her ordained ministry, BJ worked for more than twenty years in religious book publishing, most recently as cofounder of Brazos Press and senior marketing director at Brazos and Baker Academic. She is a contributor to Common Prayer: Reflections on Episcopal Worship, edited by Joseph S. Pagano and Amy E. Richter. She and her “episcopup,” George Frederick, live in Newaygo.
As Coordinator of CCD, BJ will organize our training weeks, recruit and equip trainers, and recruit and support our participants in the implementation of their new skills and tools within their communities.
Working half-time, Devin holds responsibilities for accounts payable and receivable, bank reconciliations, assisting with financial reporting, and other projects.
Beckett serves as the planter and Ministry Developer of the AuSable Inclusion Center in Mio, seeking to launch in June 2024. As part of this role, Deacon Beck is available to consult with communities around education and engagement with their LGBTQ+ neighbors.
Beckett also serves as the Facilitator of Holy Hikes Great Lakes.
He attended University of Mississippi, and graduated in 2019 from the Academy for Vocational Leadership, the local formation program of the Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan. He serve on the Building Bridges Steering Committee and the Bi-Diocesan Evangelism Task Force and is a member of Grace, Port Huron. Beckett lives in Port Huron with his spouse, Kay, his daughter, Audrey, and his cat, Razzle.
Phone: 231-420-8467
Title IV of the Episcopal Church Canons concern areas of clergy discipline, encouraging accountability, justice, reconciliation, restoration, and pastoral care. To submit a complaint or talk to someone about a potential Title IV offense, please contact one of our two Intake Officers.
Radha joined the Diocese of Western Michigan as a Hope College student in 2008 after growing up in North Central Florida, spending time with the communities of Grace, Holland and St. John’s, Grand Haven, where she was the youth coordinator. She was ordained to the priesthood in January 2021 after receiving her M.Div. from Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, TX.
She serves as the rector of the Central Michigan Episcopal Covenant (St. Andrew’s, Big Rapids and St. Mary’s, Cadillac). She lives in Cadillac with her two dogs, Mara Joy and Tilly, and three cats. She enjoys knitting, board games, baking, and exploring the great outdoors.
Phone: 401-644-5758
Title IV of the Episcopal Church Canons concern areas of clergy discipline, encouraging accountability, justice, reconciliation, restoration, and pastoral care. To submit a complaint or talk to someone about a potential Title IV offense, please contact one of our two Intake Officers.
Julia, who works part-time, holds responsibilities for accounts receivable, payroll, bank reconciliations, and other projects.
Mary, who works part-time, supports vital administrative work in the diocesan office and is primarily responsible for database maintenance and data entry.
Joel has been the rector of St. Timothy’s, Richland since 2012.
Prior to this he was the Director of Youth and Family Ministries at St. Gregory’s in Boca Raton, FL. Both in Florida and in Michigan, he’s served as a youth coordinator, co-leading many diocesan events including retreats and the progressive mission trip.
He is passionate about including youth in all aspects of the church. Joel earned his M.Div. from Sewanee School of Theology in 2008. Joel and his college-aged sons live in Richland.