The Rev. Emily Williams Guffey, Rector
The Rev. Emily Williams Guffey (she/her) joined Christ Church Detroit as its nineteenth rector in October 2018, the first woman to hold the position. She grew up in the area and is honored to serve in the city where her family has lived and worked for generations. Emily loves liturgy, preaching, pastoral care, education, and community development. At one of the oldest church campuses in the city, Emily is also fascinated by historic preservation and architecture. Before coming home, Emily served as associate rector at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Chicago, and program director of its 501(c)3 hunger relief organization, Ravenswood Community Services, and as seminarian at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Capitol Hill, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Alexandria, and Sibley Memorial Hospital. Prior to seminary, Emily led music at several parishes in Chicago and Virginia and managed national clinical research projects. She holds degrees from Virginia Theological Seminary, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and Northwestern University, and certificates in Godly Play, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, congregational development, and nonprofit administration. She and her husband, the Rev. Andrew (Andy) Guffey, PhD, are the proud parents of two young sons, and when not at church, are often found at the baseball and soccer fields.
The Rev. Dr. David D. Dieter
The Rev. Dr. David D. Dieter (he/him) joined Christ Church as a long-term supply priest prior to Rev. Emily’s arrival in 2018. Prior, David served as senior associate rector and lead priest at Christ Church Grosse Pointe. A native of Maryland, he attended Indiana Wesleyan University completing BS degrees in Psychology and Sociology with a minor in music. David then spent 25 years as a Nursing Home and Retirement Housing developer in Maryland and Michigan. In 1987 David was hired as Executive Director of St. Luke’s Episcopal Home from which he led the development of Canterbury-on-the-Lake as CEO. Having discerned a call to ordained ministry with support from the Diocese having spent many years in active service, David was accepted at The General Seminary in 2000. While there, he was staff seminarian at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, elected as the seminaries’ Chief Precentor and President of the Community Council–positions not held simultaneously for 117 years. After completing his Masters of Divinity degree, David was then hired by Christ Church Grosse where he served for a decade. In 2010, David was awarded the Doctor of Ministry, having read for the degree at Christ Church College. Oxford, David lives in St. Clair Shores with his partner and husband of nearly 4 decades, Richard P. Thomas, who also serves as CCD’s Floral Iconographer. They share their home with Silky Terrier, Ramsey.
Dr. Edward Maki-Schramm, Director of Music
Dr. Edward Maki-Schramm (he/him) joined the Christ Church staff in February 2016. As Director of Music, he brings not only his many talents, but a depth of experience within Detroit and Michigan and well beyond. He received his Bachelor of Music in organ performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in organ performance from the University of Michigan. Formerly, he was Director of Music at Central United Methodist Church (Detroit) for 16 years, and also held various music staff positions in Episcopal, Lutheran, and Baptist churches. Since 2012, he has been the director of the Community Chorus of Detroit. In addition, he is a Senior Major Gift Officer at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Beth Ann Tesluk, Associate for Communications
Beth Ann (she/her) joined the staff in August 2019, and feels privileged to be able to tell Christ Church Detroit’s stories in new ways, and share them with new audiences. She graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in English Literature, with an additional focus on the History & Literature of Religions. Beth Ann’s marketing career has evolved with the times, and she has worked in print, direct mail, visual display, and database marketing. Beth Ann lives in Dryden with her husband (John) and daughter (Ella), and loves reading, gardening, and cooking. She regularly attends St. John’s Episcopal Church – Dryden.
Joshilyn Hoisington, Parish Administrator
Joshilyn Hoisington became the full-time Parish Administrator of Christ Church in August, 2024. Before coming to Detroit, Joshilyn was a verger at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City (and she would love it if you asked her about the ministry of vergers!) A pastor’s kid, Joshilyn grew up immersed in behind-the-scenes church work, and has since supplemented that formative education with degrees in Latin, Law, and Information. She especially loves liturgy and liturgical history, and believes that the rhythms of the church office can be a worshipful act in their own right. She has taken up residence just two blocks from the church and is excited to become part of this community.
Cleo Pratt, Kitchen Manager
Tiyansa Cleopatra Pratt, known as Chef Cleo, joined Christ Church Detroit as Kitchen Manager in 2026. Born and raised in Detroit, Cleo’s relationship with food began long before it became her career. At ten years old, she had a dream that she owned her own restaurant, and that dream became a source of inspiration that has continued to guide her life. Her love for food, creativity, culture, and bringing people together has shaped the path she continues to build today.
As Kitchen Manager at Christ Church Detroit, Cleo is excited to help create a kitchen where hospitality and community come together. She looks forward to supporting the life of the church through meals, celebrations, community gatherings, education, and opportunities for people to connect around the table. Cleo is a ServSafe Certified Food Protection Manager and continues to grow as a chef, educator, entrepreneur, and community leader.
In addition to her work at Christ Church, Cleo is the founder of SOFE Soul, a culinary brand born from her creativity, love of soul food, and entrepreneurial spirit. She is also a co founder and Cultural Executive Chef of Sankofa Sistahs, where she works alongside her partners to celebrate African and African Diaspora food traditions through cooking, education, sustainability, youth and senior programming, and community centered food experiences. Through this work, Cleo enjoys learning the stories behind dishes, exploring the connections between cultures, and creating food that honors tradition while leaving room for imagination.
Artur Kolc, Facilities Manager
Artur (he/him) joined the Christ Church staff in July, 2023. He moved to the US as a teenager, and has lived in Hamtamck ever since. In addition to caring for the historic properties belonging to Christ Church, he manages several other properties, both his own and those belonging to his family. He’s looking forward to learning more about the ins & outs of the Christ Church and putting his experience and education to good use.
Sandy Flanagan Zull, Pastoral Assistant
Sandy’s (she/her) roots are in Southwestern Indiana. Evansville sits along a huge bend of the Ohio River. Her family was more Southern than Northern in speech and culture as most of her ancestors had left farms in Kentucky and Southern Illinois to work in factories. The Ohio River Valley was settled by Germans whose cultural impact remains to this day. All those influences made for an interesting mish-mash of “how we do things.” It never occurred to Sandy that she would ever leave, but leave she did. Sandy attended Indiana State University in Terre Haute and from there her world expanded exponentially. In the decades that followed her life wound through Ann Arbor, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Lancaster, and to her family’s home of twenty-three years, Detroit. They moved here in 1999. Sandy attended Christ Church Detroit from that time until 2008. She married her husband, Aaron, in 1979 when he was the rector of St. John Oak Ridges, Toronto. Single adventures led to a two-some adventuring and then four of us spreading our wings far and wide. They have two grown sons who live in the Detroit area. Sandy had two degrees in elementary education collecting dust as it were. Upon moving here she decided she would drop herself into the Detroit Public Schools at age fifty-five, even thought she had not been in a public school classroom for twenty-five years. Her twelve years in Southwest Detroit combined with specialized work with the Michigan Department of Education have been one of her life’s greatest joys. God’s winds blow us to surprising places. “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.” She is delighted to be here, again.