Meet the C3 Board of Trustees

Tabitha Blanski

My family and I started attending C3 in October of 2022. We were looking for a vibrant community that was intellectually and emotionally wrestling with questions around what it means to be human, the nature of God, and how to be a spiritual elder. C3 is a place exploring those kinds of questions.

Professionally, I’m a filmmaker and photographer and the owner of my production studio, Inkling Pictures. While most of my time over the last 10 years has been spent making wedding films and taking family photos, I’m moving into documentary filmmaking. My first film, The Birth of a Mother, is currently in post-production and follows three women as they navigate life’s changes after becoming pregnant and having their first babies.

My husband and I live in Grand Rapids with our four young kids. When I’m not making documentaries or keeping my children alive, you will find me singing with my choir (The Choral Scholars), at the movie theater, reading a good book, or working on a puzzle of some kind.

Beth Buelow

Teresa Colbry

I have been attending C3 since about 2015. Before joining the board and the outreach team in 2021 I was on the membership committee. I have also contributed time to chair the auction committee in 2022, and occasionally offer a meditation. And-I love to bake, so I bring small bites in once a month.

My professional life is in health care as a home palliative care nurse with some peer leadership and committee positions along that journey. I have volunteered time on the board of a local charter school, and been a host family 5 times for international exchange students. Personally I am settling into an empty nest after my 6 kids became adults. (By replacing them with dogs! A warm happy distraction while I wander with curiosity and intention towards meaning.)

Joining this inspiring community at C3 has enriched my life and I believe we have a collective consciousness worthy of rippling out into West Michigan. C3 has lived the values and put forth action for many years that promotes our rich and meaningful just cause statement: C3 inspires spiritual, intellectual, and creative exploration and action, led by the questions, “what are the biggest challenges we face on our shared journey, and how do we respond to those challenges? I’m excited to see what’s ahead!

Andy Cawthon

I have been a C3 member since 2003 and have experienced the lead teacher transitions from Dick Rhem to Kent Dobson. I value this community for its openness to many beliefs and strongly value its continued existence. My religious pedigree is mongrel (Lutheran, United Church of Christ (in Pennsylvania), Christian Science (Grandparent).

I have been involved with the C3 Finance Committee since 2009, a member of the Board of Trustees from 2012- 2018 and from 2020 to the present. I served as C3 Treasurer from 2013 to 2018.

I participate in in many of the Community’s events and fundraisers including Highway Cleanup, Dine with 9 and Sunday Gathering Hosting and Ushering.

My main focus and passion is to insure that C3 remains on a sound financial footing so that we can continue to be influential in and welcoming to the wider Tri-Cities community.

Karen Cotton

Our family began attending what is now C3 in 1995, shortly after moving to Grand Haven from Montpelier, Vermont. We actually joined the day the congregation voted to leave the denomination! I’ve been involved in the children’s program, the outreach commission, a variety of fundraisers and am currently a greeting host and provider of small bites.

Ryan and I have parented three “children” (now all in their thirties!) and have two granddaughters, all living in the Pacific Northwest. We get out there as often as we are able. I am a GHAPS retired educator and have been in the local steel drum band, Steel Doin’ It, for over 20 years. Creating things from recycled materials is another thing I enjoy doing as well as biking for local transportation and travel.

Growing up in the United Methodist Church, I appreciate having an “alternative to church as usual.” C3 continues to challenge and inspire. Our values and questioning resonate. I am proud of our openness and the community we have created as we continue to grow both individually and collectively.

Kim Crozier

I’ve attended C3 regularly since 2008, at that time commuting from Grand Rapids, where, in addition to Southern California, I had mostly lived and worked.

For over a decade, I have resided in Spring Lake and been in partnership with Bob Kleinheksel, who was on staff at CCC/C3 for 25 years. We enjoy spending time with friends and our respective families in West Michigan. My personal enjoyments include tennis, travelling, acting, movies, music, and I have been a Pez collector since 1982.

Professionally, I’ve worked as a licensed attorney in Michigan and California in the public and private sectors. I started my own practice in 2008 and presently offer consulting and mediation services.

Over my years at C3, I have been involved with various activities and fundraisers, and I joined the Finance Committee in 2020 and the Board of Trustees in 2021.

I am honored to be a part of the C3 community and have become a better person for it.

Cheri Eshenaur

Cheri has a Masters degree in Business Management and worked in banking 40 years with experience managing Old Kent and Huntington banks. She retired after 14 years from her position as Vice President of Macatawa Bank. She is licensed to teach driver’s training, which she has done part-time for six years.

Cheri was born and raised in Grand Haven. She and her husband got married by Reverend Rhem at Christ Community in 1990. She was married 28 years. Her husband died five years ago in a snowmobile accident.

She said, “I’m new to C3, but felt now was my time to reach out and get involved with a spiritual community.” Cheri is also a member of the Finance Committee and provides Small Bites on Sundays.

Kathy Humphrey

I have been a member of the C3 Community (formerly known as Christ Community Church) since shortly after moving to the Tri Cities area in the mid ‘80s. In addition to being a regular attendee at Sunday Morning Gatherings, I have served on the C3 Board of Directors for several years.

Outside of C3, I serve in several other Board volunteer and leadership capacities at the local and state level including the ACLU of Michigan, Progressive Lakeshore, and the Tri Cities Family YMCA.

Wayne Johnson

Rod Van Abbema

Cheryl and I have enjoyed living in Grand Haven for well over forty years. Our two children live in west Michigan as well as four grandsons. For most of our years here I had the pleasure of traveling beautiful West Michigan selling industrial supplies. I am now retired and enjoy writing poetry, bicycling in the Tri-Cities area, and actively participating in life at C3.

Cheryl and I have been active members of C3 and its predecessor Christ Community Church for many years. I am currently serving on the Board of Trustees, the Sunday Gathering Team, and as chairperson of the Outreach Committee. My favorite C3 Outreach activity is helping the kids every Tuesday in the library at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Muskegon Heights. I also enjoy ushering at Sunday Gatherings once every five weeks. I was usher coordinator for a number of years.

I have long loved C3 for its inclusiveness, its willingness to probe hard questions and its efforts at social action. I would be excited to continue working for a great future for C3 for the next two years as a member of the Board.

Tod Wyn

I have attended C3 regularly since 2021, and have enjoyed participating in the “Pre-Talk” discussion group and “Dine with Nine”. I have found C3 to be a unique and very special group of people and teachers and I am grateful to be a part of it.

For the first 17 years of my career I was an Emergency Physician in West Michigan. For the past 12 years I have been Medical Director of Hospice of Holland and Keystone Medical Services (palliative care). I have found this field to be very rewarding and I hope to continue to practice for many years. I live in Grand Rapids and in my free time I enjoy fishing and hiking.

I have enjoyed taking part in various aspects of C3 over the past couple of years and hope to be of service in continuing to promote its sense of community, its core values, and its excellent teachings.