Clergy and Staff
Father Alan Crippen, Rector
Father Alan Crippen is an ordained presbyter, archdeacon, and one of the most experienced clergy in the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word. He has a background in both parish ministry and church planting as well as non-profit organization work. A U.S. Army veteran, his military service includes artillery platoon and battery command. Additionally his background as a non-profit executive and collegiate level teacher enhance his ministry. Fr. Crippen has worked for International Students, Inc., Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Family Research Council in Washington D.C., the John Jay Institute (of which he is the founder), and most recently American Bible Society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he directed content development and exhibits for the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center and served as general editor of the Faith and Liberty Bible, an American historical application study Bible. Fr. Crippen was graduated from Cairn University with a bachelor’s degree and Westminster Theological Seminary with his master’s. He is the father of five children and twelve grandchildren with his late wife, Michelle, who tragically died of cancer in 2020. He has since been remarried to Leonor Lee of Alexandria, Virginia, the widowed mother of four children and five grandchildren. Together they make their home in Hillsdale, Michigan.
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Affiliated Clergy: Fr. Adam Rick, Chaplain at Hillsdale College
Fr. Adam Rick has served as the Chaplain of Hillsdale College since 2016. In that role, he focuses on spiritual formation, teaching, Christian unity, and leading the college in worship and prayer. Fr. Adam is passionate about equipping the saints for the work of the ministry, especially through the ancient wisdom of spiritual disciplines and rules of life. He also has a deep love of the liturgy and bringing Christians together in the common worship of our one God and his Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. In his priestly ministry, he has served Anglican parishes in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. He is married to Dr. Katherine Rick, Assistant Conductor and Accompanist of the Christ Chapel Choir at Hillsdale College, and together they enjoy their two young children.
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Chaplain (LTC) Ralph Bieganek, Interim Director of Children's Catechesis
Dr. Derek Stauff, Director of Music and Organist
Dr. Derek Staff is an associate professor of music at Hillsdale College and teaches music history and organ. He began his music career as a pianist in kindergarten, when his parents first signed him up for lessons. In high school, he developed an interest in organ and began alternating weekly lessons between piano and organ. While studying at Grove City College, an influential teacher nudged him in the direction of the organ. In 2014 he completed his Ph.D. in musicology from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, with a dissertation on music, confession, and politics during the Thirty Years War. His ongoing research on this topic has been published in the Journal of the American Musicological Society, the Schütz-Jahrbuch, the Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music, and Bach Perspectives. Dr. Stauff has also edited or is in the process of editing editions of music by several composers working in seventeenth-century Leipzig. Dr. Stauff and his family make their home in the City of Hillsdale.
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Carol (Benge) Bieganek was born in Hillsdale Hospital during fair week, thus considering it a celebration just for her. She is the youngest of five raised on a farm in Allen township, so she was driving tractors long before cars. She met her husband, Ralph, in a campus ministry while studying at Central Michigan University. They were married after Carol graduated, and she began her PHT (Putting Hubby Through) his Bible college and seminary studies.
After 17 years in the Army Reserves, Ralph entered active duty, taking Carol and their kids around the world for 25 years. Their duty stations were located in Kentucky, South Korea, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington D.C., Germany, Colorado and Hawai’i. Carol managed the household and volunteered in many chapel ministries, including an international women’s ministry for military spouses. In 2015, while in Hawai’i, Carol and Ralph began worshiping in an Anglican Church. The liturgy, weekly communion, and close knit fellowship refreshed their souls and drew them into the Anglican Community. Carol and Ralph have three young adult children whose good looks and godly character far surpass their parents. Both daughters studied at Hillsdale College, Allison (2017) and Carrie (2019) while their parents were living elsewhere. Allison is married, teaches piano and works for a non-profit ministry. Carrie is a Latin and Greek teacher at a Great Hearts School in San Antonio, Texas. Their son, John, graduated from Wheaton College, commissioned into the Army, and is currently serving in South Korea. The summer of 2021, Carol and Ralph moved to Hillsdale County and joined the Holy Trinity Parish. They’ve since bought 60 acres where they enjoy hosting families from the church. Aside from spending time with extended family and serving her beloved parish, Carol enjoys reading, quilting, walking in the woods, cruising in her red convertible, and lounging pinned to the couch by her 85 pound labradoodle. |
Wendy Coykendall, Parish Administrator
Wendy Coykendall grew up in a missionary family, and has lived in four countries, three states, and is content to remain in Hillsdale, Michigan. She graduated from Hillsdale College in 2010 with degrees in English and Latin, and has been a tutor, a nanny, a bakery assistant, and a contract writer. She and her husband Eric, who is a Hillsdale alumnus and employee, were married shortly after graduating. Wendy homeschools their five children, and in her spare time, she reads, bakes, knits, sews, and helps Eric in restoring their Victorian home.
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Timothy Green, Accountant
Timothy Green is a native of Winchester, VA where he was raised in a large Christian family of 14. They faithfully attended a non-denominational church, where Timothy found his faith and roots in the Word. During his college years, he met and fell in love with Gianna, who is now his cherished wife. Together, they decided to make Hillsdale their home, drawn by the people and their strong values.
Since 2016, they have been active members of Holy Trinity Parish. They have participated in the choir, children's ministry, coffee hour, and other ministries. Professionally, Timothy serves as an accountant at Bailey, Hodshire, and Co., bringing his economic expertise to the financial realm. Gianna, on the other hand, thrives as the GM of the Dawn Theater, showcasing her heart for hospitality and event management. Their spare time is dedicated to their community, playing pickleball, performances at the Sauk, and other activities. |
Sam Negus
Leah Novak
Grant More, Tech and Sound Director
Grant More has been a resident of Hillsdale since his family moved here in 2019, though he became more settled in 2021 after finishing school in his native state of Oregon. He now works in Human Resources for Meijer and is happy to be working in-person again, as opposed to working remotely since COVID. He enjoys the slower pace of life in Hillsdale (compared to big-city metros), the tight-knit community of neighbors, and the unique focus on family values, local business loyalty, and civic engagement. Grant finished his Business Management degree from George Fox University in 2021, and has a passion for arranging people's talents with the tasks set before them.
While in college, he began attending a newly affiliated ACNA church nearby, called Church of the Vine (Churches for the Sake of Others Diocese). He had no prior exposure to Anglicanism or the Book of Common Prayer, but he became very interested in how church tradition had formed over the centuries through his church history classes, which were complementary to this new Anglican experience. Having grown up attending Baptist churches, he found a richness in Anglican tradition he felt he had missed out on. He thoroughly enjoys the liturgy and fellowship at Holy Trinity. In his spare time, Grant administers a (currently) very small ancient-future bat and ball sport called 21st Century Townball, plays guitar, listens to the likes of Jordan Peterson and Aaron Renn, occasionally does brazilian jiu jitsu, and takes his canoe out on Baw Beese Lake in the summertime. |