People
Ashley Pozo
Ashley Pozo, the daughter of a Community of Christ career minister, has moved around quite a bit. After her birth in Kansas, she soon moved to Florida, then back to the Independence/Blue Springs, MO area, and on to Lamoni, Iowa. From there she moved to Kirtland, Ohio (just making her way around the Community of Christ hotspots!) and later to just outside Chicago, where she now lives with her husband and their dogs, Payton and Chance.
Ashley received her Bachelor’s degree in Business …
Blake Smith
Blake Smith is a southern boy at heart who loves beaches and warm weather yet has spent the last 30 years moving around the too often cold Midwest where he currently serves as Mission Center President and Financial Officer for the Chicago Mission Center. Blake is a Seventy with a heart for mission and a passion for social justice. Blake enjoys singing, dancing, woodworking, reading, movie watching, game playing and anything that involves spending time with his family or creating sacred commu…
Carla Long
Carla Long is from a small town in Kansas (682 people small, well, now 681 people small). After growing up on a hobby farm and excelling in FFA (Future Farmers of America) in her high school, Carla went to Graceland University and graduated with a BA in Mathematics. That is when the teaching profession called her into its ranks. After three (long) years of teaching high school mathematics, Carla realized that she felt a call to ministry in Community of Christ and decided to volunteer for a l…
Janiece Bollie
Janiece Bollie has attended the Community of Christ church since birth. Later she was a pianist and secretary for her church for many years, and she had also served as a secretary for Camp Quarryledge Board meetings.
Janiece has worked for Center for Governmental Studies at Northern Illinois University from April 2007 – May 2025. She was a Research Analyst/CLA Coordinator. She gained work experience in diverse governmental assistance and research areas, including community and econom…
John Wight
John S. Wight, a minister of Community of Christ, officially retired from church employment effective January 1, 2021. However, he was asked to continue to serve as a president of seventy and senior president of seventy, roles he has served in since 1998 and 2010 respectively. He currently serves as president of Quorum 3 which covers the United States. He also is continuing to serve as a volunteer with functional foci which include supporting Mission Center Invitation Support Ministers and…
Karin Peter
Karin Franklin Peter is a coffee-dependent bibliophile, a once-a-year baker, an arts and crafts dabbler, and a Liturgical Calendar nerd. She lives in Olympia, Washington, where she is well-suited to the grey skies and dreary weather. Karin and her spouse Ray, have a multi-level blended family where everybody tries to get along. Karin is a Community of Christ minister and serves on the Council of Presidents of Seventy.
Kassie Ripsam
Kassie Ripsam is a member of Community of Christ in the Alabama – Northwest Florida mission center. She enjoys being homeschooled, reading, art, and writing her own books. Kassie loves volunteering at a local Dyslexia tutoring center and yearly mission trips to the Navajo Nation reservation, and participating in both traditional and contemporary services. She looks forward to one day joining the Peace Corps and ministering to God’s precious creation.
Mary Anne Bennett-Ripsam
Mary Anne Bennett-Ripsam is a member of Community of Christ in the Alabama – Northwest Florida mission center. She enjoys being homeschooled, space, and computer coding. Mary Anne loves volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and at a local Dyslexia tutoring center, and participating in both traditional and contemporary worship services. She looks forward to a career in engineering, and ministry.
Mike Hoffman
Michael A. Hoffman, a minister for Community of Christ, serves as Graceland University Campus Minister, a position he has held since August 2015. He holds the priesthood office of high priest.
In his role at Graceland, Mike oversees a team of specialized student ministers and leaders, serves as an advisor to the Council of House Chaplains, and facilitates InSpire, the Community of Christ ministry and leadership development initiative. In addition, he serves as an instructor and advis…
Robin Linkhart
Robin Linkhart is an analytical mystic, a lover of people, an avid reader and power tool quilter with a heart for God’s vision and Christ’s mission: Peace. She lives in Colorado with blue skies and snow capped mountains. Robin and spouse Kevin fight over who gets to spoil the grandkids first, while their four young adult children look on wondering what happened to the no-nonsense parents who raised them. Robin is a Community of Christ minister and serves on the Council of Twelve Apostles.
Wendy Eaton
Wendy Eaton is a Community of Christ minister who loves a good story, especially when it involves the many unsung saints among the women who helped shape church history. Wendy has lived and worked at many historic locations of Restoration History; in fact, living in Nauvoo turned her into a coffee drinker. Wendy’s go-to coffee is from her beloved Deer Isle, Maine, 44 North, a small women-owned business that celebrates small-scale farmers around the world.