Church of the Resurrection

Rector (Senior Pastor) 

Network Leader, Anglican Mission Midwest

As the Rector, Stewart is Resurrection's senior pastor. He guides the three leadership teams of the clergy, staff, and vestry (our church board) and serves as the main preacher. He loves being a part of the work of transformation that God is doing at Resurrection.

Stewart first came to Resurrection on Palm Sunday of 1988 as a Wheaton College student. He was ordained to the priesthood at Resurrection and later made Rector in February of 1999.  Stewart also convenes the rectors of the regional churches regularly as they build the ministry and set the strategy for Anglican Mission Midwest Anglican churches.

Stewart hails from the great state Indiana of and his wife Katherine was born to a missionary family in Brazil. They live with their six children in West Chicago. Stewart enjoys hanging out with his family, running, reading novels and biographies, being outdoors, and giving people nicknames.

Executive Pastor

Karen pastors, trains, and supervises the Resurrection staff—which she loves! Karen is passionate about leading leaders, calling forth their gifts, and empowering them to do what God has created them to do. Karen also oversees pastoral care; she is a licensed clinical social worker and served as a therapist and supervisor for eight years at Evangelical Child and Family Agency.

Karen started attending Resurrection in 1991, joined the staff in 2003, and was ordained to the deaconate in 2004. Karen has been married for 28 years to Kevin (Resurrection's Associate Rector of Adult Formation), and they have two grown children, Andrew and Anne. She and Kevin enjoy helping couples, and they've written a book on marriage, More Than You and Me.

Associate Rector

Kevin Miller is Associate Rector of Adult Formation. He also assists with preaching and other pastoral ministry. Kevin first thought about becoming a pastor at age 16, and he was ordained as a priest a few weeks short of age 46.  

In the intervening years, he graduated from Wheaton College (in biblical studies and Christian education), worked as an editor for David C. Cook Publishing Co., and served at Christianity Today International for 25 year. At CTI, Kevin was editor of Leadership Journal and of Christian History magazine and helped launch PreachingToday.com, BuildingChurchLeaders.com, and other sites. He’s written two books that quickly galloped into oblivion: Surviving Information Overload and Secrets of Staying Power. 

Kevin has been married for 28 years to Karen (Resurrection deacon and executive pastor), and they have two grown children, Andrew and Anne. He and Karen enjoy helping couples, and they’ve written a book on marriage, More Than You and Me.

Priest

Stephen Gauthier is a priest, a member of the preaching team, and serves actively as a teacher in a variety of capacities (CORE, Men’s Bible Study, Christian Life Training, preaching and teaching at other Anglican Churches). He has a special love for the Bible, liturgy, the early church fathers, and Carmelite spirituality. He holds a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University and is a certified public accountant. He has served for almost 25 years as Director of Technical Services for the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada and is the author of numerous books and articles on accounting and auditing, including the standard manual of municipal accounting (“Blue Book”), Governmental Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting.

Stephen started attending Resurrection in 2004, and was ordained as a deacon in 2009 and as a priest in 2011. He has been married for 30 years to Barbara and they have three adult children, Marc, Paul, and Gregory.

Associate Pastor of Mission

Keith leads the hospitality ministries that help newcomers get connected to the church. He also leads CORE (the baptism and new membership process), the Healing Ministries, and the Nations Ministries at Resurrection. Keith has been attending Resurrection since 1995, and has been working on staff since 2001. He was ordained to the deaconate in 2009. Keith also has an (truly!) identical twin brother who is doing ministry in Orlando, Florida. Says Keith, "He's a really handsome guy." Keith has been married to Dawn, since 2001 and they have four children. He enjoys steak and hot tubs.

Associate Pastor of Worship

Steve leads the music ministry and also oversees the visual arts, dramatic arts, and media arts ministries. He enjoys writing original pieces of music for worship services. Steve participates in a professional choir in St. Charles. His wife, Janna, is a professional pianist who teaches and performs locally and also serves in the music ministry. They live in West Chicago with their three boys. Steve and Janna began attending Church of the Resurrection in 2000.

Children’s Director

Communications Manager and Assistant Community Care Coordinator

Trevor handles Resurrection's online and print communications, runs the Media Arts Teams, and helps Val lead the Community Care ministry. He has an MDIV from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Trevor's wife, Bonnie, is also a worship leader at Resurrection as well as a freelance writer for Relevant, Christianity Today, and other publications. Their daughter Nora was born in 2009 and their son Finn in 2010, and Trevor and Bonnie love being parents.

Together, Bonnie and Trevor form the singing duo The McMakens and released an album in 2009 called Sleep Easy. They also write worship music that you can find on Trevor's blog, Joining With Angels. On any given weekend you might find the McMakens hanging out with friends, catching up on an episode of LOST, playing music, or making homemade pizza. Trevor and Bonnie have been at Resurrection since 2004.

Compassion Ministries Coordinator

Gregory is an ordained Deacon and assists in the oversight of our compassion ministries as well as local and abroad missions. These initiatives are part of Resurrection's ongoing response to the Lord's call to love our neighbor, both here at Church of the Resurrection and beyond. His wife, Heidi, and three daughters share life with him and keep him going. All five of them love to have people over, read, learn about other cultures, and visit the countryside while living in the city. However, only three of them love chocolate, and one prefers fruit-based desserts. Can you guess who?

Through mission trips, contractual work, and living abroad, Gregory has been able to visit over twenty countries on five of the seven continents (no March of the Penguins or kangaroos to date). He can not overstate the impact this has had on his love for the Church and her Mission, his spiritual formation, and his heart for the marginalized. Gregory's family moved from Indianapolis to the Chicagoland area to become members of Resurrection in 2003. From 2005-2009, they lived overseas doing ministry and attending medical school. Upon their return in 2009, Gregory came on staff, and his wife, Heidi, began her pediatric residency at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

Youth Coordinator 

Brett is the husband of Julie Crull, and father of twin girls born August of 2011, Caroline and Teresa. Brett went to Wheaton College for undergrad and studied Bible and Theology, and is currently working on a Master’s degree in Historical and Systematic Theology from that same institution. Brett and Julie have been attending Resurrection since 2006 and Brett has been on staff since 2008. One of Brett’s favorite “unofficial” church duties is to occasionally add the sound of his trumpet to the worship team mix.

Community Care Coordinator

Val joined the staff in the Fall of 2011. She, her husband Mark, and their daughter Charis have a long history of ministry at Resurrection. In addition to her staff work in pastoral care, she also leads our Christian Life Training classes and is on the leadership team for our Healing Ministry. Val teaches world religions at College of DuPage.

Business Manager

Anne handles all of the church's financial matters, including contributions, attendance, budgets, and financial accountability. She works closely with all staff members to insure they have the right tools to manage their ministry budgets. Anne enjoys walking her dog, Cayenne, twice a day (some say she's more reliable than the Postal Service). Besides insuring that Cayenne takes care of her "duties," she values this time as an opportunity to worship God and to take in all the wonders that each season brings. She also loves power tools and knows how to use them. She has been at Resurrection since 2007.

Phil Kenyon

Deacon

Kevin Middlesworth

Priest

Originally from the wonderful farm country of rural Indiana, Kevin joined the Resurrection family in October 2010 with his wife, Karen, and their 3 young boys–Phinehas (1.5 yrs), Julian (6 mos), and Oliver (6 mos). After getting married in Wheaton, Kevin and Karen moved to Florida in order for Kevin to attend seminary at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. It was during seminary that Kevin fell in love with the great heritage of the Anglican Tradition. Kevin was ordained a priest in July of 2010, having taken a call as an assistant priest at a parish in Florida. However, the Lord had something else in mind, which he revealed largely by the news that Karen was pregnant with twins! Kevin and Karen quickly realized that their place was in the Midwest where they could be in the proximate support of family. Kevin and his family have quickly found a home at Rez, and he is honored and excited to serve wherever needed. Kevin is passionate about liturgy, theology, the Church, the Colts, and building things, both virtual and real. Currently, Kevin works at Abercrombie & Kent (a travel company, not to be confused with the clothing retailer) where he serves as a web designer.

Rector and Midwest Network Leader's Assistant

Brenda assists Fr. Stewart with his work as Rector and Anglican Mission Midwest Network Leader. She and her husband Don reside in Warrenville with their four children. When Brenda isn't homeschooling or working, she enjoys reading, camping, bike riding, and snow-shoeing. She has been attending Resurrection since 1984 and joined the staff in 2009.

Charis Buell

Music Coordinator

Charis and Gary, with daughters Hattie and Hester, first visited Resurrection in 2004 and almost immediately realized they had "come home." Charis has her Masters in Piano Performance from Roosevelt Univ.; she has taught private piano, accompanied classical performances, and led worship in the Chicago area. As Music Coordinator she assists Steve in Music Team and Choirs details and is accompanist/assistant director of the Chancel Choir. Charis needs frequent doses of the city and the outdoors - you may find her poking around an old library, or staring in fascination at a large toad.

Jeannie Iseman

Worship Arts Administrative Assistant 

Jeannie is the Worship Arts Administrative Assistant and began working at Church of the Resurrection in July 2012.  She and her husband, Nate, love to serve at the church.  Currently, Jeannie co-leads the RezCafe ministry and sings on the music team, while her husband, Nate, leads the RezMen ministry and serves as a RezBearer.  She and her husband, Nate, began attending the church in 2008 and became members in 2009. The church has been a special place for her family, as she and her husband, Nate, renewed their baptismal vows at Easter Vigil 2009.  Jeannie and Nate have two daughters, Emmaus (2), and Moriah (1), both named after the biblical locations, and both parents pray that their children grow to embrace the significance of their names.  When not working at the church, Jeannie can usually be found on the Prairie Path with her children in tow, cooking, or instructing yoga at Wheaton College.

Whitney Burns

Office Manager

Whitney began working for the church office in late August of 2011. She is excited to be among the wonderful staff leaders of Resurrection who serve others through God’s love. As office manager, Whitney oversees our office volunteers, space reservations, and Adult Formation editing. At the end of the day, it is her responsibility to see that the office space runs smoothly, and to assist Kevin & Karen Miller with their various projects. Whitney attends Resurrection with her husband, Ridgeway Burns. Together, they serve on the Eucharist Ministry Team. As newlyweds, the Burns have decided to settle into downtown Glen Ellyn and enjoy their morning walks to church on Sunday.

Meghan Robins

Office Receptionist

Meghan Robins is Resurrection's receptionist, a role she assumed after many years of volunteer work in the office. After awhile the staff got so used to having her around that they decided to hire her, much to Meghan's delight. Meghan recently graduated from the Wheaton College Graduate School with a masters in Counseling Ministries, and is wife to Robb Robins, who was indeed named after his last name. They have an adorable daughter named Margot Jane, and as a family enjoy gourmet food, good books and hosting friends in their tiny apartment. Meghan studied pastry making at the Cordon Bleu and would be glad to make you some if you ask nicely. She has been at Resurrection since 2004.