The Rev. Alissa G. Anderson (Mother Alissa, Rev. Alissa, or simply “Alissa”) is a native of Michigan, growing up in the Grand Rapids area. She earned her BA at Calvin College (now University) in English with a Writing minor, then moved to Indiana to study Rhetoric and Composition at Purdue University. Life then took an unexpected turn resulting in Alissa receiving a Master’s degree in Divinity, cum laude from General Theological Seminary with a certificate in Spiritual Direction. In 2017 she was ordained a deacon by The Right Reverend Cate Waynick and later that year ordained to the priesthood by the Right Reverend Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows in St. John’s Episcopal Church, Larchmont, NY where she served as a Curate & Associate Rector.

Since 2020 Alissa has been the priest at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Plant City, Florida. She began her ministry there a week before the COVID lockdown and successfully navigated through that difficult period. She has been instrumental in expanding the community outreach of St. Peter’s and fostering commitment to Children and Youth ministries, including starting a monthly “Family Sunday” service that centers on children and youth—while tending to the multiple spiritual, educational, pastoral, and administrative needs of the church. She also serves on the Diocesan Council and the Diocesan Finance Committee for the Diocese of Southwest Florida.

Among her many strong attributes, she is deeply committed to embodying and supporting our
Welcoming Statement, furthering our adult formation and welcoming ministries, continuing to build our Children and Youth ministries, and having St. John’s be an integral part of the Midland community and the world through our outreach efforts.

Alissa’s husband, Josh, works (virtually) at the Episcopal Church Foundation, an organization that works with faith communities to develop leadership and financial resources. They have two children – Gus (5) who will begin kindergarten soon, and Avonlea (9 months).

Ellen joined St. John’s office staff in summer 2018, returning to her hometown of Midland where her grandchildren, sisters and Dad live. As a full-time house-hubby, Ellen’s husband, Randy, affords her the time to pursue extra-curricular handbell ringing activities including solo ringing, and directing the handbell choirs at Memorial Presbyterian Church. A graduate of Midland H.S. and DePauw University, Ellen also has a Master’s degree in music performance (french horn) from the University of Michigan. As a ‘wanna-be’ musician, she worked up the technology ladder from secretary/word processor to systems administrator and computer applications technician, most recently working as a database developer and data manager for clinical trials at U of M’s School of Public Health. Ellen thoroughly enjoys being back in Midland, close to family, and especially cutting her one-way commute down from 45+ minutes to 5 minutes!

Colleen comes to St. John’s with 35 years of experience in the accounting/bookkeeping field. Born and raised in Bay City, she’s a graduate of Bay City Central, where she met and married her husband. They moved to Colorado Springs, CO in 1994. After 49 years of marriage, Colleen lost her husband in 2020. Retiring in 2021, she moved back to Bay City in 2022 where she has family and long-time friends. Colleen has four sons, 11 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.