Atonement Lutheran Church, Wyomissing, PA Worship + Learn + Serve

Atonement Lutheran Church: Staff Biographies

Rick Summy - Senior Pastor at Atonement Lutheran ChurchThe Rev. Rick Summy, senior pastor of Atonement, Wyomissing, was ordained in 1985, served St. Luke's, Freeland, from 1985-90 and St. Michael's, Sellersville, from 1990-1995.  He was the Region 7 Coordinator and Deployed Staff (Synodical Relations and Division for Ministry) for the ELCA from 1995-1999.  From 1999 -2007, he was the Director of Admissions at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.  He graduated from Wittenberg University in 1980 and from The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in 1985. 

As Senior Pastor, Pastor Summy is the executive head of the staff and congregation and is also responsible for carrying out and/or delegating to appropriate staff the duties of a pastor of a congregation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). 

His churchwide experience includes service on the First Call Theological Education Advisory Committee and as a voting member to the 2003 Churchwide Assembly.  During the 1990s he was active in leadership of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Academy of Preachers.  He has led workshops on vocation and Mutual Ministry in a variety of settings.  Published materials include sermons, sermon reviews, devotional materials and articles.  He was co-author of the Augsburg Fortress Senior High Outdoor Ministry Curriculum for 2007 and of Connect: Calling Faithful Leaders for a Changing World, a successful $3,000,000 grant request on behalf of the Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries.  He wrote a chapter ("Mutual Ministry") in the book Pastor and People: Making Mutual Ministry Work which was published by Augsburg Fortress in 2003. 

Pastor Summy is married to Christine Summy, who serves Atonement as the Director of Adult Ministries.  They have two daughters, Ashley, 22, and Haley, 19.  He enjoys golf, roots for the New York Yankees, and is a rabid Penn State football fan.

Jason Lee - Associate Pastor at Atonement Lutheran ChurchPastor Jason Lee came to us from the land of the South - South Carolina to be exact.  After graduating from Newberry College in 2003, he received his Master of Divinity from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC in 2007.  While in college and seminary, he spent five summers working at Lutheridge, a Lutheran camp located near Asheville, NC.  During those summers, Pastor Jason worked as a camp counselor and as an Area Director. 

Pastor Jason has been with Atonement since July, 2007.  His chief responsibilities are organizing and leading the youth groups, youth education, and the Catechetics program, along with other pastoral duties. 

He and his wife Dana enjoy cooking and their cats, Malachi and Sophia.  Pastor Jason also enjoys racquetball and disc golf, as well as video games and computers.

Mark Rigg - Intern at Atonement and Incarnation LutheranVicar Mark Rigg was born in Wisconsin and raised in New Jersey.  He’s a twin and a pastor’s kid.  He went to Amherst College and majored in English and then received his Masters in Religion from Yale Divinity School.  He has been an English and religion teacher at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, for the past fifteen years; for the last three years he has also been their associate chaplain.  In the fall of 2008 he was named the initial holder of The Rev. Dr. John W. Riegel Chair in Religious Studies.

In addition to his call to teach, Mark began to discern a call to ordained ministry about three years ago.  He graduated with his STM from the Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia in 2008.  Mark’s wife Suzanne is a diaconal minister at St. James Lutheran Church in Pottstown, and together they have two terrific kids – Mary, who is in 3rd grade, and Paul, who has just started kindergarten.  Mark is willing to take a lie-detector test that Mary is the most imaginative child and Paul the funniest child on the planet!

Mark loves being Lutheran, drinking coffee and talking, reading books to his children at bedtime, eating his wife’s cooking, and getting to hear people’s faith stories.


He is very excited about this joint ministry at Atonement and Incarnation.

Tom Yenser - Director of Music at Atonement Lutheran ChurchTom Yenser, an Associate in Ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has served for nine years as Director of Music at Atonement Lutheran Church in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, where he plans and accompanies worship, leads choirs of children, youth and adults, and oversees an annual concert series.  He previously served congregations in Allentown and Northampton, PA. 

Tom earned a B.A. in music from Haverford College and an M.M. in organ performance from Westminster Choir College.  His principal organ teachers were Robert Plimpton and Eugene Roan.  Tom has planned and led worship and offered workshops on worship and music topics throughout the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA.  His skill as an accompanist has brought opportunities to collaborate with everyone from opera singers to chimpanzees on roller skates. 

Tom resides in Wyomissing with his wife Kathy, a Christian education director, and his daughter Lydia, a third grader.

Christine Summy - Director of Adult Ministries at Atonement Lutheran ChurchChristine Summy is a commissioned Associate in Ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America since 2003. She received her seminary training at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia with a dual emphasis in liturgy and church history. She serves Atonement Lutheran Church as Director of Adult Ministries which includes, among other things, adult faith formation and spiritual growth, pastoral care, several small group ministries, Stephen Ministry, Atonement's Prayer Team Ministry, and the Women of Atonement. She also enjoys the opportunity to assist in leading worship and preaching every now and then.  

Christine lives with her husband Rick, who serves as Atonement's Senior Pastor, her mother Emmy, stepdaughter Ashley, and her cats Max and Miss Olivia Spots.

Kathy Yenser - Director of Children's Ministries at Atonement Lutheran ChurchKathy Yenser is the Director of Children's Ministries at Atonement since November 2007.  Kathy oversees the Sunday school, nursery, Vacation Bible School, First Communion program and other ministries for children from birth through Grade 6.  She especially enjoys using her talents to help children and adults nurture their faith through the richness of worship and scripture. 

Kathy has been an Associate in Ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America since 1998.  She is a graduate of Moravian College and worked as a computer programmer/trainer for 15 years before being called to ministry.  By joining her husband Tom on staff at Atonement, the Yensers are once again a one-congregation family. 

She enjoys traveling, going to movies and shows, and playing at amusement parks with Tom and their daughter Lydia.

Cynthia Bickley - Director of Atonement Lutheran Church's Pre-schoolCynthia Bickley accepted the position of Director of the Atonement Christian Preschool in July of 1996.  A graduate of Briarcliff College, she has taught and directed Early Childhood Programs in the Berks County area for over thirty years.  She and her husband, Ray, enjoy gardening, golf, and grandchildren!

Jo Sturgis - Parish Administrator at Atonement Lutheran ChurchJo Eileen Sturgis has been the parish secretary at Atonement over 30 years.  A native of Berks County, she is a graduate of Governor Mifflin High School and Muhlenberg College in Allentown.  As parish secretary she is responsible for greeting people, answering plenty of phone calls, preparing bulletins and newsletters, and supervising the very dedicated volunteers who help out with printing, collating, stuffing envelopes, and many other clerical needs. 

In her spare time Jo enjoys gardening, collecting dolls and sewing clothes for them, reading, and relaxing with her cat, Willow.

Tom Gresh - Property Manager of Atonement Lutheran ChurchTom Gresh has been Property Manager since August of 1998. He is a 1972 graduate of Boyertown High School, Berks Vo-Tec East in Instrumentation Technology, United Wesleyan College Allentown with a B.S. in Bible, and M.Div. from Evangelical School of Theology, Myerstown, Pa.

Tom learned the building trades over the years, first as a hobby working with his Dad remodeling homes, then working for Triple H Construction in Ephrata. After serving churches with the Evangelical Congregational Church for thirteen years, he started his own business in 1990 doing small residential and commercial repairs and construction, work he now carries over to the maintenance of the property of Atonement Lutheran Church.

Tom married Betty Licht in 1974, has four children and one grand-child. They are members of Salem Evangelical Church, Voganville, Pa. His hobbies include biking, basketball, tennis, and fixing cars.

Art Wyse - Visitation Pastor at Atonement Lutheran Church Visitation Pastor - Art Wyse

Lois Hein - Congregational Health Advocate of Atonement Lutheran ChurchLois Hein is a registered nurse with 25 years of experience in the field of coordinating care and advocating for patients, and families in need of support due to acute and chronic illness, aging process, and bereavement. Past experiences include staff nursing at St Christopher's Hospital for Children on the adolescent/ young adult unit and advancing to management on the same unit.

After moving to Berks County Lois took on the challenge of practice administration at Berkshire Allergy & Asthma Center in Wyomissing. As a practice manager Lois became acutely aware of the complexities of accessing care and medications due to an increasingly complex health care delivery system and an even more challenging insurance industry. Congregational health advocacy is a means to assist our neighbors in accessing quality care and providing support during the challenging and frightening process of making health care choices when facing one's own illness or the illness of a loved one. 

Not a native to Berks County, Lois grew up in Suffolk County, Long Island and was raised as a "country girl with my toes in the sand." Lois knows the need for a healthy dose of sea air and a dip in the ocean. She will settle for a dip in the pool, but becomes restless for the sea. She has a passion for the importance of recognizing life's seasons and transitions and tries to balance her life with mental, physical and spiritual nurture. She is not always successful in her endeavor but knows how to persevere.  She can be found at the bookstore, taking a Sunday drive with her hubby Ed, petting her golden retrievers, Brandy and Alex, or studying into the wee hours of the morning in pursuit of her Bachelor's of Science in Nursing at Eastern University . She will obtain her degree in December 2008 and plans to walk tall at her graduation, though, she confesses, not as tall as her husband.

When asked about her blessings she will tell you about her three grown daughters, four grandchildren, train loving husband, three step children, fabulous sons-in-law, wonderful friends, and a full plate of activities. Lois spends time writing, reading, praying, listening to music, but her greatest love is people. Atonement is where Lois heard the voice of God say, "Comfort, comfort ye my people, says your God."  With God's grace she will step forward every day trying to follow his lead.

Alf Pettit - Business Manager at Atonement Lutheran Church Business Manager (volunteer) - Alf Pettit

Mick Bryan - Sexton at Atonement Lutheran Church Sexton - Mick Bryan

 

 

Atonement Lutheran Church - 5 Wyomissing Boulevard - Wyomissing, PA 19610
(610) 375-3512 -
atonement@atonementwyo.org