Clergy
The Rev. Seth Dietrich – Rector
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Fr. Seth was born and raised in Austin, TX. He graduated from Wheaton College in the suburbs of Chicago. After college he fell in love with the Episcopal Church through the beauty of the liturgy, the hospitality of the people, and the room to ask hard questions about God and the Christian faith. After discerning a call to the priesthood at St. Luke’s in Madison, WI, he went to Virginia Theological Seminary near Washington D.C. At VTS, Fr. Seth rediscovered the richness of the Bible, freed from the literal interpretations of his childhood. He also encountered a God who draws near to the vulnerable and those on the margins. He came to Christ Church as the assistant priest in 2007, and has been the rector since 2011.
He is also drawn to contemplative spirituality. He is an Associate of the Episcopal Order of Julian of Norwich; he has completed the program for Spiritual Direction from the Shalem Institute in Washington D.C.
Fr. Seth loves spending time with his wife, Maggie, a pediatric physical therapist, and his two children, Ella and Isaiah. He is grateful for the ways they help him discover God’s presence in the everyday mess of life. Currently, he is learning to cook. He thinks camping and fishing are forms of prayer, and his family tries to canoe in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota as often as possible. He reads fiction and nonfiction (and does his fair share of t.v. binging). He has been surprised by how much joy can be found in Milwaukee’s winter, and he has learned to lean on others in the midst of a cold, slow spring.
Rev. Deacon Nancy Hills -
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Deacon Nancy Hills was born in McCook, Nebraska, started first grade in Philadelphia, moved to Pittsburgh at age 9, and spent the rest of her childhood there until college. She moved to Milwaukee in 1980. Her earliest memories of the church include singing with the other preschool kids in Sunday school, and attending daily evening prayer with her dad when he was a seminarian at Philadelphia Divinity School. After graduating from Oberlin college (Spanish) and studying commercial art at MATC, she spent most of her working career as a graphic designer, most recently completing nearly 25 years at the City of Milwaukee.
She was ordained to the Episcopal Diaconate in June of 2016 and officially became a deacon serving Christ Church in January of 2017.
As a visual artist, calligrapher and deacon, she draws inspiration from the Greatest Artist and Creator of All That Is, and one of her passions is to help others to discover and express the unique gifts that God has given them. She’s also crazy about cartoons, fiction, illustration, and is a sucker for just about any living creature (still working on spiders). She and her husband Julian live in Milwaukee with two happily spoiled cats.
The Rev. Oswald Bwechwa - Associate Rector
Youth Ministry 6th Gr. - High School
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Fr. Oswald was born and raised in northwest Tanzania, East Africa. His education includes a BA in Philosophy from Dublin, Ireland, a BS (Economics) Marquette University, BA Theology form Catholic University Nairobi Kenya, Master of Theology from Jesuit School of Theology, Berkley CA, and Master of Social Work from UWM.
He grew up Roman Catholic, and at the age of twelve, he entered a Roman Catholic preparatory seminary to become a priest. After high school, while in compulsory military service, he was run over by a military truck. While recuperating in the hospital, he was given a book about St. Ignatius and he promised God he would become a Jesuit upon his recovery. Miraculously he was healed, and he was a Jesuit for 13 years. He then met the woman who would become his wife, Rosemarie.
He joined the Episcopal Church in 1995 and became an Episcopal priest in 1998. He tells people that he became attracted to the church because of the fellowship at “coffee hour” after the service!
Fr. Oswald loves spending time with his family, including his two sons Derrick and Mugi. He loves playing and watching sports including soccer, basketball and football. He describes ministry as, “A shared journey in the building of the Kingdom of God here on earth, a Kingdom that will be fulfilled when we meet our Creator face to face. This journey cannot be done alone. We need the support and encouragement of others.”
The Rev Drs. Jim and Mary Trainor - Clergy in Residence
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The Rev. Drs. Jim and Mary Trainor are Episcopal priests, who have served parishes (together and separately) in New Mexico, Texas and Wisconsin. They are also both former scientists. Jim was a professional physicist (PhD, Univ of California), who served as deputy director for physics at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He is also the author of seven books. Mary was a biologist (also a PhD from Cal), who served as a scientist at Los Alamos and most recently on the faculty at UW Stevens Point. They both have published extensively in scientific journals. They have three grown children and four grandchildren (ages 4-11), who they work hard to spoil.
Staff
Lori Sinclair - Parish Business & Office Administrator
Bailey Steger- Children’s Ministry Coordinator
Bailey has a B.A. in Christian Studies, professional experience as a teacher of little ones and hands-on experience as a leader in formation programs from vacation Bible school to summer camp. Her resume is here.
Julie Davis- Children’s Sunday School Coordinator
Julie loves collaborating with the Sunday School volunteer team to make faith and spiritual practice accessible to the children of Christ Church. With degrees in English, Anthropology, and Journalism, she has worked in a variety of nonprofit settings in marketing and project management roles. In her free time she enjoys hiking and biking with her husband and 2 daughters.
Michael Batcho- Director of Music and Organist
Michael served as the Director of Music for 26 years for the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist on Milwaukee's "cathedral square." He grew up in West Virginia and began playing the organ in church while in Catholic elementary school. After earning a Bachelor of Music (Music Education) from West Virginia University, Michael moved to Maine and worked in a Catholic church and taught elementary music in a local school. He then moved to Richmond, VA to work in a large Catholic church (over 7000 members). While in Richmond he completed a Master of Music degree with a choral conducting emphasis from Virginia Commonwealth University. Michael moved to Milwaukee in 1995 to take the position at the cathedral. He went on to be the interim music director at St. Jude's, Wauwatosa and then St. Mark’s Episcopal, Milwaukee.
Karol Rehm - Director of Handbells
Karol has degrees in piano and organ performance and one in elementary vocal music education, she has been organist, choir director, hand bell director and children’s music director for about 43 years. Karol loves the tradition and dignity of the Episcopal Church.
Karol resides in Mequon with her husband Tom. They have been married for 45 years and have two married children and four grandsons. Karol’s avocation is riding her horse to music.
Julie Thauer - Communications Director
Julie’s experience stems from a love of letterforms and color combined with the power of words and ideas. With a BFA degree in Communication Design, her career has led her from Art Studios to Advertising Agencies and to freelance design business before coming to Christ Church. Julie enjoys playing her ukulele and singing, as well as spending time wandering many art museums and galleries with her husband.
Alex Konkol - Facility Manager
Alex has lived in the Milwaukee area since 2014. Graduating with honors from MATC’s Sustainable Facilities Operations program, he has a passion for sustainable practices in facilities management.
This includes implementing cost-effective energy-saving options, sustainable purchasing, energy audits to inform future decisions.
Beyond the role as Facilities Manager at Christ Church, Alex is also employed with the Urban Ecology Center as the Sr. Facilities Coordinator.
Starting with the UEC in 2014, he has been a big part of many projects including installation of LED lights to replace halogen and fluorescent lamps and fixtures, energy audit and payback estimates, modernizing the cleaning program, vehicle purchasing, staff hiring and training, and asset management implementation.
In his free time he enjoys spending time outside especially in summer, riding bikes, restoring bikes from the 80’s and 90’s, listening to all kinds of music be it live, radio, or vinyl, movies and video games, as well as being a tourist in his own city, finding new fun things to do or eat.