OUR CHURCH LEADERSHIP

Meet our pastors and leadership team

Emily Swan is the lead pastor of Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor. Our official leadership also includes the rest of our pastoral team (Caroline, Diane, Molly, David, and Liz) and our church board.

In practice, most of the leaders in our church community aren’t listed here—individuals leading worship, prayer, small groups, youth, logistics, outreach and more. We’re a church that invites everyone to participate and serve and lead where they can.

Emily grew up in Indianapolis and has lived in southeast Michigan for over 20 years. She received her B.A. in history from Butler University, and has worked toward her Master’s degree at Fuller Theological Seminary. Additionally, she spent three years studying Mandarin and Amdo Tibetan languages at Qinghai Minzu Daxue Nationalities University in Xining, China.

Emily is co-author (along with Ken) of Solus Jesus: A Theology of Resistance and a contributing author of A Rhythm of Prayer, edited by Sarah Bessey. Additionally, she was a BioLogos grant recipient, having written small group material around the creation stories in Genesis that incorporates evolutionary theory. Emily is a Michigan State University Extention Master Gardener trainee and is married to Rachel Murr. They live in Ypsilanti with their cat, Obi Swan Kenobi, and enjoy gardening and playing tennis.

Emily blogs at: https://medium.com/solus-jesus

PASTORAL TEAM

Caroline Kittle (she/her), Associate Pastor, Youth and Newcomers  Caroline graduated from the University of Michigan and has a Masters in Women and Gender Studies from DePaul University. Caroline and her husband, Matt, have three children.

Diane Sonda (she/her), Associate Pastor, Administration and Outreach  Diane is a retired elementary and middle school teacher and formerly the church’s Children’s Pastor. Diane is married to Paul Sonda. They have six adult children and thirteen grandchildren. Diane has a degree in Special Education from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Molly Morton (she/her), Children’s Pastor  Molly is a graduate of Western Michigan University, where she studied English Literature and Comparative Religions. She has worked with children in a variety of settings, including teaching in the amazing Blue Ocean pre-readers room for many years. In her free time, Molly enjoys teaching dance classes, reading, creating highly specific music playlists, and spending time with her husband Mike, two hilarious children, Sylvie and Aine, and opinionated dog Missy.

Marcus Skinner (he/him), Worship Director  Born in Memphis, TN, Marcus has over 30 years of experience in music ministry. He is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, coming from a rich family history of musicians and ministers. Marcus loves spending his days as a father to his three beautiful children, a business owner, an author, and a creative. His love for music has always been his way of connecting with people.

Liz Dyer (she/her), Pastor-at-a Distance  Liz Dyer is a Blue Ocean Pastor serving the moms of LGBTQ kids. Liz is founder of the Mama Bears, including the largest FB support group supporting moms of LGBTQ kids—often from conservative religious settings. There are now over 35,000 in this group. About 650 mama bears connect with our church through a private FB group. Liz has two sons and lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with her husband.

Ken Wilson (he/him), Pastor Emeritus  was born and raised in Detroit, is the father of six, grandfather of another six, and is married to Rev. Julia Huttar Bailey. Ken received a B.S.N. from the University of Michigan; before entering the pastorate, he worked in community mental health.

Ken is the author of several books, including Mystically Wired: Exploring New Realms in Prayer (Thomas Nelson 2010); A Letter To My Congregation: An Evangelical Pastor’s Path to Embracing Those Who are Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Into the Company of Jesus (ReadTheSpirit, 2014); and Solus Jesus: A Theology of Resistance (Read The Spirit, 2018; co-authored with Emily Swan).

Ken was the founding pastor of Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor, and served for seven years on the national board of Vineyard USA. He is also the co-founding pastor, with Emily Swan, of Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor in 2015. Ken retired as co-pastor in October of 2022. He enjoys walking, reading and writing—but arithmetic, not so much.
Ken blogs at: https://medium.com/solus-jesus

OUR CHURCH BOARD

Robyn Charles (she/her) is a former engineer, a volunteer at 826michigan, and is often seen wearing headphones and monitoring the video streaming on Sunday mornings. She has been married to Al for over 40 years and they have two adult sons.

Jim Cosens (he/him) retired from General Motors where he had a 40 year career in Human Resources. He lives in Plymouth with his wife Madelyn. Together, they have three adult children and four grandchildren.

Michael Gardner (he/him) was born and raised in Ypsilanti, MI. After studying Business and Spanish at the University of Michigan, he spent a decade at Google, helping businesses of all shapes and sizes develop profitable digital marketing strategies. He now leads a sales team at LinkedIn, helping global B2B businesses drive economic growth, value, and innovation. Michael has been following Jesus for over 25 years and lives in Ypsilanti with his wife and kids, Sydney, Jack, and Drew.

Suzanne Jones (she/her) works part-time as a Senior Clinical Scientist. She is a single mom of a wonderful daughter and lives in Ypsilanti and Colorado.

Pete Miller (he/him) is a Project coordinator in communication construction. After high school he joined the Air Force and married his wife Joan. They lived in Japan for the first 3 years of their marriage and still love adventures. They enjoy spending time with their 2 adult children.

Javan Miner (he/him)

Jenn Nelson (she/her) is an instructional coach in a local school district. Prior to this position, she taught 3rd, 6th and 7th grade for 18 years. Jenn lives in Ann Arbor with her husband, Dave, and two daughters, Avery and Macy.

Kwame Porter Robinson (he/him) is a PhD student at the University of Michigan and is married to Kim Robinson. He lives in Ann Arbor, MI and, prior to starting his PhD, he led his own data science consultancy as well as worked for the Department of Defense as a data scientist and research engineer.

Lisa Ruby (she/her) is an attorney with the Michigan Poverty Law Program specializing in Social Security, Health and Welfare Benefits. She is the mother of an adult son and is married to Lisa Carico.

Laura Schram (she/her) is the Director of Professional and Academic Development for the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan. She lives in Ann Arbor with her husband and two daughters.

Emily Swan (see above bio)