Staff

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Thom Kalb
Senior Pastor
tkalb@faithumchurch.org

Thom grew up in the United Methodist Church as a pastor’s kid. He felt a call into ministry in high school. He attended The University of Mount Union, where he earned his undergraduate studies in elementary education. Thom continued to follow his call to ministry by earning a Master of Divinity at United Theological Seminary. His pastoral ministry has called him to three different churches before arriving at Faith. Thom is married to Melissa, and they are the proud parents of two sons, Noah and Bailey and look forward to welcoming Bailey’s fiancé, Capri, into the family. Thom enjoys all sports, particularly Cleveland and Ohio State teams. He also enjoys connecting with others by hearing and understanding their stories, and of course, telling his fair share of Dad Jokes.

Alex Parisher
Associate Pastor
aparisher@faithumchurch.org

Alex grew up in the United Methodist Church attending services with her grandmother. Her call was first recognized by her pastor at a young age. She attended Malone University where she earned her Bachelor of Social Work. She obtained her license of social work but continued to follow her call to ministry right out of college by earning a Master of Divinity from Duke University and a Master of Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Right after seminary she married Michael, whom she met at Duke, and they now live with their cat Henri. She served two years as the Associate Pastor and the United Methodist Church of Chagrin Falls before coming to Faith. She was ordained an Elder in the UMC in 2024. Alex enjoys spending time outside in God’s creation, drinking iced vanilla lattes and going thrift shopping.

Sharyl Syler
Administration and Finance Director
ssyler@faithumchurch.org

Sharyl is the Director of Administration and Finance. She has worked in several positions at Faith Church during her 27 years of service. She began in 1989 as a part time membership secretary. Later she added the role of finance secretary. In 2007 she began working full time. As Director of Finance and Administration Sharyl manages the busy church calendar, schedules meeting rooms and events, oversees the work of the custodians, pays weekly invoices for both church and preschool, processes payroll for 35 employees, keeps track of all pledges and donations, and “anything else that comes her way.” The various requests she receives daily keeps her on her toes! She is a staff liaison to Finance Ministry Team and Trustee Ministry Team. Sharyl met her husband, Scott, when they were both students at Ohio Northern University. He is a pharmacist at Alliance Hospital. They have been married 34 years. They live near Louisville and have one daughter, Melissa, and son and daughter- in- law, Greg and Alexandra, who live in Cleveland. In her spare time, she likes to read and go out to dinner and movies with her friends.

Deb Stimer
Administrative Assistant
dstimer@faithumchurch.org

Dennis Sarver
Worship Arts Coordinator
dsarver@faithumchurch.org

Dennis earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Science degree in Elementary Education from the University of Akron. He retired after a 39 year career in music education. Dennis, his wife Julie, and their three sons have been members of Faith United for nearly 20 years. He is excited to be serving on staff as the Worship Arts Coordinator at Faith United.

Alex Evanoff
Modern Worship Leader
aevanoff@faithumchurch.org

Grace Goff
Faith Friends Learning Center Director
gberry @faithumchurch.org

Grace is a native of Akron, Ohio. She graduated from Malone University with a Degree in Public Health and now resides in Canton. Grace previously served as Director of one of the Akron Area YMCA's Child Care Centers. Similar to Faith Friends, the center was also church based and served children toddler age through school age. Grace has a strong passion for children and families. She is very grateful for the opportunity to serve in this role, and looks forward to getting to know the families at Faith Friends. In her spare time, Grace enjoys hiking, camping, working out, gardening, and time with family and friends. Grace was recently married to her husband Josh in October 2023.