Our Staff

Father Kigozi was born in Uganda.  He attended Grade (Primary) and High (Secondary) School in Uganda.  He attended St. Mbaaga Major Seminary in Ggaba, Uganda from 1983-1987.  He came to the United States in August 1987 and attended the Pontifical College Josephinum and served as a deacon with us during the summer of 1991.  He was ordained a priest in October 1991 and has served in several Parishes, most recently, at St. John XXIII in Canal Winchester until becoming our Pastor in July 2018.

I grew up in Cleveland, Parma actually, and am a huge fan of all Cleveland Sports. I was married on my birthday in 1997 and ordained a Deacon in 2016 (not on my birthday). Like most deacons in the diocese, I work in the private sector.  I spent a lot of time in school and eventually earned a Ph.D. from Ohio State in Political Science and still love to read and study. 

I have been married for 20 years and have 4 wonderful Children.  Our oldest went off to college in 2017, which means I am really old.  I spend most of my free time reading, but my indulgence is that I brew beer, very dark beer.

What I like most about Resurrection is the energy and vitality of the parish, from its music ministry to its fish fry to celebrating the holidays, our Parish is a dynamic community where I feel the Holy Spirit is alive and well.  I enjoy teaching and working with those preparing for the reception of the sacraments, specifically, the sacrament of marriage. 

John was born and raised on Long Island, New York.  He entered the USAF after high school and served out a 21 year career. After retirement from the Air Force, he went back to school at Ohio State and received a bachelor's degree in Social Work.  A few years later he followed that up with a Masters degree from St. Louis University.

He has worked in the areas of family preservation, hospice, and was a clinical supervisor for the Ohio Home Care Program. John was ordained here in the Diocese of Columbus in 1992 by Bishop James Griffin.  He has served at  St. Joan of Arc, St. Pius X, several parishes in Illinois and here at Church of the Resurrection since 2018. 

John has a son, a daughter and four grandchildren who live here in Columbus.

Suanne Gettings has been Pastoral Associate at Church of the Resurrection for the past eleven years. Suanne has been working for the Catholic Church in some capacity for over 40 years including Director of Religious Education for Glenmary Missions in rural Georgia and lay ministry for evangelization projects in the Appalachian region of Kentucky.  Suanne also served at St. Mary Parish in Lancaster, Ohio before coming to Church of the Resurrection.  Along with her lay vocation in pastoral ministry, Suanne’s first vocation is motherhood; she has three adult children: Jenna married to Andy, Cullen married to Leah, and Muriel who is single.  She is now enjoying two grandchildren. 

 Suanne commented:  “I am in awe of God’s profound unconditional love and grateful for the many ways he has revealed himself to me through the circumstances of my life and the lives of others. Every day, I give thanks for the journey that has led me, and continues to lead me, to people, places, and events that draw me closer to Christ.

Serving the Church of the Resurrection family is a joy beyond all telling and I am often amazed at the spirit of this community.  You don’t have to be in this parish very long to feel that the Spirit is alive and well and working through his people!"

Sue Larson has been the Business Manager at Church of the Resurrection since November, 2009.  Prior to moving to Westerville in 2009, Sue and her husband Kevin lived in a suburb of Minneapolis.  After receiving her B.S. in Psychology from Elmhurst College she has always worked for non-profit, spending 17 years as an Executive for the YMCA in Illinois and Minnesota.

Sue grew up in Naperville, IL and met her husband there.  They are both Cubs fans and visit their families in Illinois often.  They also like to vacation in Northern Wisconsin, where Sue’s mother lives.

Thom has been Director of Music at Church of the Resurrection since 1996.  

He was surrounded by church music at an early age as his mother was a choir director/organist and organ teacher.  “My friends would love to come over to our house and see the pipe organ the pipes for which started in the basement and came up through our entire living room floor!”

After receiving a music education degree from the University of Massachusetts, Thom traveled the country in a band and later settled in Columbus. Hospitality management became his career for the next 10 years before accepting a short termed, part time position as Music Director at COR.  That quickly became a full time position, and here we are 21 years later….

Jessica has been a parishioner at Resurrection since birth and grew up involved in many ministries throughout her childhood and adult life.  From music ministry, VBS, C.R.E.E.D. to EOMs, but Youth Ministry has always been her main focus.  Prior to being hired as the High School Youth Minister in July 2019, she volunteered in the program for 12 years. She has a true passion for our youth and their desire to have a personal relationship with our Lord.

Married to Justin for 5 years, not only were they married at Resurrection they met through parishioners,Justin’s Aunt Shaun and Uncle Rick. And the fact that Jessica was a YM leader for all three of their girlshelped put a gold star on the match. They live in Westerville with their 3 fur babies, Brutus, Titus and Seymour (the cat from Gospel Road)

Peggy Kehres has been on staff at Resurrection for 17 wonderful years.  Originally hired as a part time assistant for the Religious Education department, she quickly became full time as the program began to grow.  She now serves as our Coordinator of Children's Ministries, responsible for overseeing First Eucharist, C.R.E.E.D. (our religious education program for children), Journey with Jesus, Vacation Bible School, Children's Masses and coordinating the hundreds of volunteers that make it all possible. Before coming to Resurrection, Peggy was a stay at home mom in a small Massachusetts town. The Kehres family life revolved around the church, school, and friends.  Even though she was originally from Cleveland, the decision to move back to Ohio was a difficult one.  Jumping right back into parish life made it easier to call New Albany home. 

Virginia has been working in Children and Youth Ministry for the last 4 years, first as a volunteer teaching 4th grade CREED at Resurrection, then as a volunteer for Confirmation and Crosstraining, and finally as the Youth Minister for St Paul in Westerville. She has a background in Biblical Archaeology and Comparative Religion and comes with a true passion and love for Sacred Scripture and the Sacraments.

Virginia has been a member of Resurrection since 2014 when she and her husband, Jesse, moved to Westerville after living in Chicago for 8 years. They are currently living in Sunbury with their adorable son, Paxton. She is super pumped about the opportunity to build relationships with the Middle Schoolers at Resurrection and more importantly grow closer to Christ.

Abby Porr has been a staff member at Church of the Resurrection since 2010. After graduating from New Albany High School, she received her Bachelor of Arts in Music from Otterbein College (now known as Otterbein University). She has taught private piano and voice lessons over the years, but is not doing so currently so she can spend more time with her husband, Eric, and their son, Sam.

A lifelong Cleveland Indians fan, Abby enjoys attending baseball games with her family. She also enjoys reading, playing piano and mandolin, camping and hiking, and playing geeky board games with her husband and friends.  She is very passionate about caring for the environment and promoting sustainability awareness. To her, there are few things more important than being a good steward of the earth and protecting and preserving our planet for future generations.

Abby is a born and raised Catholic, and has been singing in church choirs for her entire life. Having the opportunity to share her knowledge of music and passion for Jesus has been one of the biggest blessings in her life. She still can’t believe that she gets to make music for the Lord for a living!

Chris has been with the Church of the Resurrection for the past eleven years.  Chris is from a family of 13 children, originally from Pickerington.  She now lives in Ashville (just north of Circleville) with her husband Mike.  She has four children, two daughters and two sons.  Both her sons serve in the service, Zach is an Army Ranger and her son Cody serves in the Navy. She also has three grandchildren which she helps watch on her days off.  Chris loves spending time with family and scrapbooking.  You might know Chris, not just as our bookkeeper, but she has built the Vacation Bible School set for eight years now and seems to just have that artistic talent which she loves to use.  

It has been a joy working for the Church of the Resurrection and getting to know the parishioners.  I feel blessed and thankful every day for where God has put me.

Thomas Arnett has been a Parishioner of the Church of the Resurrection since 2002. In 2004 he became a part-time member of the Maintenance Team working on his days off. His ability to fix practically anything combined with his love for the church and the community encouraged him to retire from his day job after 35 years and become a full-time member of the staff in 2014. 

Thomas has been married to Parishioner Cathy for 35 years and together they have two daughters, Lindsay Press and Lauren Arnett. Lindsay is married to Michael Press and together they have Thomas' first grandchild, Wright Press. Lauren is a proud veteran of C.R.E.E.D, TEC, and Gospel Road.

Kathy Maguire

Kathy and her husband Pat have been members of the church since 1991.  Kathy has four sons and seven grandchildren.  She retired from New Albany High School in 2014.  She started working as the Bulletin Editor for Resurrection in October 2018.  If you have something you would like put in the Bulletin, send it to her at bulletin@cotrna.org. Kathy is also the Coordinator for the Homebound Ministry, a Sacristan at the Saturday Mass and an EOM at the 11:00 Mass.