Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Oxford, Ohio

Members of the Vestry

Gregg Wentzell, Senior Warden

Born in Salem, NJ, Gregg was raised in the Presbyterian church. He moved to Oxford in 1986 and earned his Ph.D. in English at Miami University. Gregg and his wife Amy met at Miami and are a “Miami Merger.” They have 3 children—two Miami grads and one who’s about to begin college there. Since 1997 Gregg has been on the staff of Miami’s Center for Teaching Excellence, where he supports faculty members’ teaching, directs the Lilly Conference on College Teaching, and is editor-in-chief of the Journal on Excellence in College Teaching. Gregg is active with music and is president of the Oxford Community Band; he enjoys performing trumpet occasionally at Holy Trinity. Gregg and Amy were drawn to Holy Trinity by the wonderful music, the spirit of inclusion and community engagement, and the warmth of the parish community. Gregg is honored to learn and serve through the Vestry.

John Schaefer, Junior Warden

John has been worshiping at Holy Trinity since 2021 and currently serves with We Pick Up Litter, attends Adult Forum, and sings in the Choir. He served on the Vestry in 2023. John was raised by missionary parents in Ghana, West Africa, in a broad range of churches that centered on Baptist and Pentecostal congre-gations. He has taught Anthropology at Miami Regionals since 2012, where he has focused most recently on courses in human biological evolution, as well as refugees and the Middle East, although his narrower training is in Moroccan pop culture, with graduate training at Arkansas and Texas. At Miami, John has been involved in the Faculty Alliance union organizing effort (AAUP/AFT).

Prior to coming to Ohio, the family lived in Egypt for three years, where John taught Anthropology at the American University in Cairo. John's siblings continue to live in Ghana off and on with their families, doing Bible translation and church planting. John is married to Rachel, who teaches language arts and literature at the HS/college level. They have two teenage boys, Elijah and Noah, who are active in the marching band at Talawanda High. John and Rachel enjoy gardening together and accumulating books

class of 2025

Michael Reardon

Michael Reardon has been the Executive Director of the Open Door Food Pantry on Front Street in Hamilton's second ward since his retirement from the University of Cincinnati in 2015. He taught psychology at UC for thirty years. He also frequently worked with social service agencies such as Talbert House and Tender Mercies in Over-the-Rhine dealing mainly with the severely mentally ill and with those seeking to recover from addictions.

At Holy Trinity, he serves as lector, eucharistic minister and as an enthusiastic member of the choir. He is proud to say that both his sons have earned doctorates. Nathan has a Doctorate in Nursing Practice and works in the ICU at St. Elizabeth in northern Kentucky. Patrick is an Orthopaedic Surgeon in St. Louis.

He regrets that at 70 he can no longer handle the 50-mile bicycle rides which took him throughout Ohio and Indiana and to Vermont, the eastern shore of Maryland and Canada.

Alex Nyquist

Alex Nyquist grew up in Kansas City, MO and was raised in the LCMS. She came to Oxford in 2014 to work on her PhD in clinical child psychology. She was drawn to Holy Trinity by the genuine welcoming and warmth of this community and the beautiful music. Alex also joined the choir and serves as an LEM.

After 2+ years away, Alex returned to Ohio in 2021 upon accepting a position at Cincinnati Children’s. She is also a proud dog mom, bread baker, and birder.

Bill Ubbes

Bill Ubbes is a cradle Episcopalian from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Until recently, he was a member of St. Patrick’s Lebanon where he served as Warden, vestryman, and in many other roles. He has been a member of the Diocese of Southern Ohio Diocesan Council, and in leadership roles with the Procter Center Board of Directors, the task force on Creation Care and Environmental Justice, and the Southern Ohio Lay Leadership Initiative. At Holy Trinity he sings in the choir and sits on the building and formation committees.

Bill is recently retired after 30 years as a project manger with the Parsons Corporation, twelve years as a scientist and project manager with the Battelle Memorial Institute and ten years as an engineering consultant for the development of utility-scale solar energy projects in the United States and internationally. He was instrumental in restoring and expaning the electrical grid in Haiti following the devastating 2010 earthquake.

Bill and his wife Valerie, who recently retired from Miami University, are looking forward to spending their retirement working on their property in Hanover Township, traveling, hiking and bicycling, and especially spending time at their cabin in the woods in northern Michigan.

Class of 2026

Jeffrey Wayne Ittel
Jeff was raised and currently resides near College Corner in Preble County. He has always attended church, was brought up in the Church of Christ and Christian Churches. He has always been active in the churches he attended.  

Jeff earned an Associate’s Degree in Agricultural Business from Clark State Community College. He is currently the manager of the family business, Green Prairie Turf, Inc. located in College Corner and operating since 1982.

 Jeff is active in many organizations: the College Corner Community Club, Talawanda FFA Alumni, Oxford Museum Association, Oxford Chamber of Commerce, Oxford Men’s Club, and Oxford Lions Club. He also serves on the Bath State Bank Board of Directors.

 He and his wife Michele, a registered nurse, have been married since 1988. They are the parents of four children and enjoy four grandchildren. Michele wanted more from church than she had found. Through her search, Jeff found that he also was looking for more in a church. They found it here at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, where they have both been active in a variety of ways.

Stephanie Southard Stephanie is a cradle Episcopalian who grew up in Oxford attending Holy Trinity, where she was very active. She was the first female acolyte while Dick Mansfield was rector. She sang in the adult choir and started a children’s choir, participated in decorating the Undercroft, especially with the Christmas mitten tree but also cleaning up with others after parish dinners. She took part in many youth and young adult activities and retreats, gave a sermon from the pulpit, and was even part of a reenactment of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem—complete with palms and donkey. “My life has been greatly influenced by the Episcopal church and this parish.  I am so grateful to be back, and look forward to helping Holy T welcome our new priest-in-charge and returning to community involvement.”

Runcie C.W. Chidebe

Runcie is a Ph.D. student of Social Gerontology and a research assistant at the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University. His research interests include aging and access to cancer care, workforce issues of older adults, and veterans’ health. He is an external academic board member of the Birmingham and Lewisham African and Caribbean Health Inequalities Review, United Kingdom, and a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Graduate Student Advisory Board, Miami University. Prior to Miami, Chidebe was founder and executive director of Project PINK BLUE—a nonprofit focused on cancer prevention, policy advocacy, oncology training and research in Nigeria. Chidebe holds a diploma in Social Work and BSc in Psychology/Sociology & Anthropology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and an MSc in Transforming and Leading in Health Care from Birmingham City University, United Kingdom.

Runcie and his wife Sunshine are the proud parents of daughter Chinua, who was born in Oxford and baptized at Holy Trinity in 2022.

class of 2027

Bob Benson Bob grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, graduated from the University of Kansas and attended graduate school at the University of Michigan. Bob, his wife Rosalyn, and their son Michael came to Oxford from Ann Arbor in 1985. Bob taught history and theory of architecture at in the Department of Architecture and Interior Design at Miami, and was appointed chair 1992-2006. He served as interim Dean of the College of Creative Arts 2006-7. He retired from full-time teaching in 2015.

Bob is an avocational composer with some 100 pieces of sacred music in print from six publishers. His music has been performed locally, regionally, and internationally. He is past Dean of the Cincinnati Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and an active member of the Association of Anglican Musicians. He has served as interim organist and choir director at Holy Trinity and other churches in the area. 

At Holy Trinity, Bob has served four terms on the Vestry, has been a convention delegate and served as Senior Warden twice, is a member of the choir and coordinator of Eucharistic ministers.  He has served on several committees, most recently on the Arts Committee and the Rector Interview Committee. He designed and maintains the parish website. He served the Diocese of Southern Ohio as a member of the Commission on Ministry 2004-7. He looks forward to helping Vestry realize our triune goals: worship, learn, and serve.

Elaine Brandner
Elaine Brandner has been worshipping at Holy Trinity for more than 40 years. This is her third term on Vestry. She has also served as Junior Warden and currently is known as the “building lady” attending to building-related systems and maintenance. She serves as the organizer of the ushers, is a lector and has twice been a delegate to convention. She was on the Rector Search Committee and the Interview Committee for Priest-in-Charge. She retired from Miami University after 26 years as the Sr. Interior Designer for Housing, Dining, Recreation and Business Services. She is proud Mom to Whitney and Kirsten who between the two of them were either baptized, confirmed or married at Holy Trinity, and Grandma E to four grandchildren. She enjoys long walks, reading, plein air painting and attending art workshops.

Bolaji Ayeseni Omobolaji (bolaji) Ayeseni, originally from Ogun, Nigeria, born in Lagos, had a diverse upbringing across several states in Nigeria including Nasarawa, Ogun, Osun, and Abuja. It was during her return to Lagos to stay with her grandmother that she met her husband. Their friendship blossomed into a decade-long courtship before they tied the knot on July 14, 2022. Following their marriage, Bolaji embarked on a new journey to the United States to pursue her Ph.D. in Chemistry at Miami University.

Raised in the Anglican church, she has been actively involved in various roles within her religious community. During her undergraduate years, she served as the welfare coordinator for the youth parish and was a member of the ushering unit. Additionally, she held the position of financial secretary for the Obafemi Awolowo University Chemistry Student Christian Fellowship.

Currently at Holy T, she is an integral part of the choir, despite never having sung in public before. She finds great joy in being a member of the choir and has recently taken on the role of lector. Furthermore, she obtained an AED certification through Holy Trinity. Engaging in these activities has not only allowed her to connect with others in new ways but has also helped her overcome any nervousness stemming from language barriers.