Our Staff
The staff at Summit on 16th bring a diversity of gifts to this unique congregation…
April Blaine
Lead Pastor
April joined Summit at the end of June 2010 after serving at Riverside UMC in Upper Arlington for seven years as youth pastor and associate pastor. Originally from Arkansas, she and her husband Martin have a son named Marcus and two dogs named Jax and Peaches. She graduated from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio in May of 2009 and was commissioned as a provisional elder at the West Ohio Annual Conference in June of 2010.
April has a passion for making space for people to ask questions and explore faith no matter where they find themselves on the spiritual journey. She spent a significant portion of her time in seminary exploring new ways of “being church” and visiting many places around the country where people are living their vision of church in new and exciting ways. She is also a huge fan of traveling, cycling, hanging out in farmer’s markets, and meeting for coffee and conversation. She couldn’t be more thrilled to be leading the community of Summit and dreaming together about the future!
Grayson Atha
Pastor
Grayson Atha was born in the small town of West Liberty, Ohio.
Grayson’s unique outlook on life has taken an old form of expression — namely, story telling. Grayson helps persons grapple with issues of life and death through stories which engage and compels the listener to feel and to embrace the issue and then to act. Woven carefully and told with humor, these stories tap the human soul, helping listeners to laugh and cry and connect with the world about them in intimate ways.
Grayson Atha graduated from Taylor University and has studied at both Mennonite Biblical Seminary and The Methodist Theological School in Ohio. He was the first graduate of the Methodist Theological School, located in Delaware, Ohio.
Grayson is a pastor and has served congregations in various settings including a circuit of four congregations, an African American congregation in Cincinnati, and as a District Superintendent.
From 1994 until 2006, he served King Avenue United Methodist Church, also a Reconciling Congregation.
Grayson is married to Wende Lou. They have three children — Marcus, Angelyn, and Holly — and six grandchildren.
Grayson in the past has been Chaplain at Epworth in Ludington, Michigan and Chaplain of the week at Bayview, Michigan and Lakeside, Ohio.
Lucy Waechter Webb
Director of Campus Ministries
Although Lucy hails from Midland, Michigan, she has taken on the noble task of working with OSU students in the campus ministry program at Summit. She is passionate about experiencing life and faith with people from all backgrounds and perspectives, and especially loves working with students as they take on the exciting task of building lives that integrate their personal history, life’s vocation, faith and interests they have in the world.
Other life passions of Lucy are working with people in prison, exploring food, culture and other forms of sustainable living, and seeking to always create a happy balance of meaningful work, holy Sabbath, ongoing study, and exuberant play. In her spare time, she likes to be active (run, bike, yoga), cook, travel, play board games, and do all things crafty.
Lucy graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN and Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, GA. She is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Lucy’s lives with her partner, Daniel and pup, Arlee.
Mark Reed
Director of Children’s Ministries
Mark Reed, a full-time student at Methodist Theological School in Ohio, formerly worked as an after-school childcare team leader for Kindergarten and first graders and a middle- and high-school youth leader taking youth on mission trips and spiritual gatherings throughout the US.
As an involved father and a former stay-at-home dad, Mark has an intuitive sense of childhood development and loving responses to children’s abilities and behaviors. He and his wife Jennie, an elementary school teacher, regard the education of children as a family’s greatest priority. They live in Grandview Heights, Ohio, with their children, Noah, Olivia and Eli; their dog Colby and two cats, Cinders and Miles.
Dee Stickley-Miner
Resident Deacon
Deacons are ordained in the United Methodist church to serve as a bridge between the church and the community. Dee’s primary appointment is in the Connectional Ministries office of the West Ohio Conference. Summit will serve as her secondary appointment, where she will have an opportunity to provide leadership and share her gifts. Dee and her husband Ed have 3 children: Sara Kate, Allison, and Lucas.
Sile Singleton
Office Administrator
Sile (pronounced She-LAH) Singleton is a native of Zanesville, Ohio and is proud to be from ‘Y-bridge river country.’ She has been a member of the University District community since 1979 and although she just joined SUMC in June 2011, she cut her civil activist and community volunteer teeth through work with Summit at 16th’s early 80’s feminist group, WAR and the ARAn (Anti-Racist Action network) . She is a graduate of The Ohio State University and holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Women’s Studies. Her emphasis was mass popular culture and critical race theory. Sile is fascinated by the intersections of ‘isms’ and how it informs/instructs positive perceptions of “faith” and gender in our daily lives She is a former coordinator of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Services and director of Ethnic Student Services at OSU, as well as the coordinator of Pride Family and Teen Area for Stonewall Columbus’ yearly Pride Festival. Sile enjoys being a wife (Erin), parent (Karl, Eden and Brent) mother-in-law (Tausha), and grandmother (Isaiah, Kami, Kiley) and just about anything else that includes the kitchen, a book, travel, adventure, community and love.
Grecca Walker
Youth & Family Outreach Coordinator
Grecca, whose nickname is Gré {pronounced like the color} was born in Evanston, Illinois and graduated from Evanston Township High School, attended The Ohio State University for two years and is a huge advocate for education. For the past three years, she has taken her volunteer services further and implemented a school-wide book-writing project into the curriculum. Two beautiful children (Cera & Gabriel) that just happen to have different forms of epilepsy are her pride and joy…in that order. Because of their epilepsy, she spends a great amount of time educating people on Epilepsy and Seizure awareness. She loves traveling, people, the colors red and purple, potato salad and any activity outdoors {tenting, horseback riding, sledding, skiing, canoeing, swimming, fishing, etc}, however, Spiders scare her – no matter the size. She is a writer. Writing allows her to breathe; therefore, she knows it is definitely a God-given gift. She is a very spiritual person who loves God. Her passion for youth and the community came from her Father, a community activist, whose lifetime motto (and now Gré’s personal mission) was “Unity throughout the Community!”
Sue McQuilkin
Director of Music Ministries
With a musical background spanning the genres of classical, jazz, rock, blues and musical theater, Sue loves a wide variety of musical styles, and believes that a diversity of musical styles can reflect a diversity within the church community. Originally from Akron and Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Sue holds degrees from Kent State (Bachelor of Music) and University of Tennessee (Master of Music). She served as Director of Music at Epworth UMC for 7 years, and at St. Luke’s UMC for a number of years before that, both in Columbus. She works weekdays in the office at Worthington UMC, and teaches piano privately. Sue makes her home in the Linworth area with husband Dale Collmer and their two cats.
Cheryl Zeigler
Finance Manager & Treasurer
Cheryl is a Mansfield, Ohio native where she worked 23 years for Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company, last serving as office and credit manager for the Mansfield & Canton areas. In 1999, after a time of discernment, she felt the calling and honor to accept the office manager position at Summit. She was first introduced to Summit by her partner, Lori, in 1988.”I felt so welcomed the first Sunday I attended, it felt like home,” says Cheryl. “What a difference Summit has made in my life; I have been blessed in so many ways.”
Narmina Aliyeva
Organist
Narmina is a native of Azerbaijan and graduated from the Azerbaijan State Conservatory with a degree in organ and organ repertoire, and a postgraduate diploma in chamber music. In 1996, Narmina had the opportunity to study with Jacques van Oortmerssen in Goteborg. She moved to Columbus in 1998 and works here as a piano accompanist and chamber musician as well as organist.
