I am joyfully surprised to have served as pastor since 2001. I am grateful to be a part of the deeply welcoming community that the Spirit has formed here. After the gift of a 3 month sabbatical, I feel called to boldness in proclaiming and living the fantastic news of God’s inexhaustible acceptance of each and every person. Before becoming a pastor, my work was in the field of human rights and social justice. Participating in God’s vision for a world where everyone lives with dignity brings me life. Our three daughters keep me on my toes and in touch. I enjoy swimming, yoga and reading novels—and our dog, Lucy.
I am passionate about sharing the expansive love of God. I am from Texas and have been pursuing a life in ministry since middle school. Before becoming Lutheran, I worked in various ecumenical churches and nonprofits centered on food justice and environmental justice. I am inspired by God’s good creation and am often found outdoors. My wife Kara and I are so grateful to get to be a part of this community of faith as I am your Vicar for this next year. I am excited to keep expanding here and to minister with all of you as the Spirit continues to form us.
I enjoy hiking, listening to music, spending time in gardens, working on stained glass, and learning from and with others.
I am delighted to have joined this wonderfully welcoming worship community as parish administrator. I am a fiber artist, writer, and family historian. When I am not cutting up perfectly good fabric and assembling it into pictures, you can find me squinting at 19th century handwriting as I research my family’s deep roots. I also serve as Contributing Editor of Dead Housekeeping, an online publication that examines loss through household tasks.
Not anticipating a future as an artist, I earned a BA in Economics from Howard University and an MA in International Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). The extensive travel required as grants analyst at the African Development Foundation may have laid the groundwork for my appreciation of beautiful fabrics.
A sixth-generation Texan who lost her accent decades ago, I love cheese enchiladas, smoked brisket, and chili. I live down the street from the church with my husband and goofball cat; our two beautiful children are adults living their best lives.
After serving a variety of churches during my music education, I am glad to have landed here at Christ Lutheran in 2021. I hail from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, in the western suburbs of Chicago, and from the age of seven, my Mom very wisely enrolled me in piano lessons. Those lessons continued through high school, after which I assumed I wanted to study Mathematics and Physics. However, my interest in music was soon renewed and greater than ever, such that I decided to pursue it at the college level, where I discovered that the organ was my niche. Two degrees later (one from Valparaiso and the other from Indiana University), I am happy to be living out this particular calling to church music. Beyond that, I am particularly pleased this congregation contains so many fellow Valpo grads!
Martha Jewett
Faith Community Nurse
I have worked in hospitals after graduating from Cornell ‘70 as a BSN, mostly in ICUs and ER. I was head nurse at Walter Reed Obstetrics Newborn Nursery, night supervisor at Childrens, retiring after 31 years as an LTC Army nurse. I’ve been serving as faith community nurse at CLC since 2002. I am a lifetime member of Lutheran Faith Community Nurse Association, a member of Am Association for History of Nursing, Former President of Thrivent National Capitol. I have made 9 trips building houses with Habitat/ Thrivent global villages abroad, including North Vietnam, Argentina, Hungary, and El Salvador. I served on the Housing Up board for 23 years.
I am vice president of Alliance to preserve Civil Defenses of Washington, commemorating the battle of Ft Stevens 160 years ago in July ‘24 , which had it gone differently the US would be 2 countries-some might say we are still. I have two children, Andrew and Caroline, and 3 grandchildren, Kahlil, Astrid and Ayida. I love singing (as I am able with pulmonary fibrosis) in my favorite choir at CLC. I am a parish representative to Samaritan Ministry. I serve in our Food Pantry, providing diapers.
I enjoy serving food as a social ministry and building community.