INSTRUCTORS

Hi! I’m in my tenth year as the pastor of First English Lutheran Church in Wisconsin Rapids. I was raised in the holiness tradition as a Nazarene pastor’s kid. When I was 16 years old, I penned in my journal, “Salvation is too hard; no matter how hard I try, it’s never enough.”

Nine years later I was introduced to Lutheran theology in a Lutheran Brethren congregation. I knew my heart had come home in the message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. I felt called to the ministry but wasn’t able to answer the call until I joined an ELCA church 24 years later. I graduated from Luther Seminary in 2015 with a Master of Divinity degree and began my first call two months later at First English in Wisconsin Rapids. I truly love being a pastor and an ECSW Lay School teacher! My passion is to bring other hearts “home” as they learn of Christ’s love for them and grow in relationship to him.

I love family time, solitude, reflection, writing, walking, conversations, piano playing, and nature. I’m married to Horace. Together we share four adult children, their spouses, and 13 grandchildren.

Pastor Jen Fite, originally called in 2016 as the Redevelopment Pastor of Good Shepherd in Green Bay (Howard), enjoys accompanying congregations to discern their identity and their calling. She also loves to preach, to teach, and to just be with God’s people. Prior to her call at Good Shepherd, she served with other congregations in Wisconsin, Texas, and Minnesota.

Pastor Jen is married to another ECSW lay school instructor, Pastor Josh Fite. They have two children together, Lydia and Malachi, as well as a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, Scully, who keeps them all in line.

An Art History major in college, Pastor Jen enjoys both making art and appreciating it. Painting with watercolor is her favorite. She also loves to travel and considers it a personal challenge to see how cheaply she can see this wild and wonderful world. Closer to home, Pastor Jen and her husband Josh are in the middle of sauntering all 1200 miles of the Ice Age Trail, segment by segment.

Greetings all!  I’m Josh Fite and I’ve been blessed to serve as Pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Ashwaubenon since 2014, and a part of ECSW since 2009 (I also served at First English Lutheran Church in Wisconsin Rapids.).  While I’ve got deep Wisconsin roots–my mother was born in Portage, and her side of my family’s time in Wisconsin likely predates statehood–I didn’t get here until my 30s.  Before that most of my life was lived in Tyler, Texas where I was born, grew up, and eventually graduated from The University of Texas at Tyler with a degree in English and a minor in Art.  I also sojourned briefly in Bahrain, Chicago, and spent a few years in Minnesota where I attended Luther Seminary and served as Intern Pastor in Rochester before my first call as pastor in New Braunfels, Texas.

As a pastor, I especially enjoy leading worship and preaching, teaching Confirmation, and generally sharing in the lives of my congregation and neighbors.  You may notice that meetings are not on the list; there are no meetings in heaven.

When I’m not doing church-y stuff, I love spending time with my wife Jen (pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Howard), our kids, Lydia and Malachi, and our Wheaten Terrier, Scully (She’s named after Vin Scully because I inherited my mother’s deep and abiding love of the Los Angeles Dodgers!); as a family we especially enjoy traveling and making adventures together as often as we can.  Sometimes they trust me without supervision.  When they do, I’m more likely than not running around a soccer pitch somewhere as a referee.  One of these days, I hope to get back into my basement pottery studio which has been dormant since the pandemic.

My name is Pastor Rachel Knoke and I have been serving at Trinity Lutheran in Green Bay since 2015.Prior to that, I spent a decade in Washington state at a L’Arche community, living and working with adults with developmental disabilities. Academically, I graduated from Luther Seminary in 2007 with an MA in New Testament Studies and then graduated again in 2014 with an MDiv. (I like school.)

I love what I do and love serving alongside the people of Trinity. These years in “official” ministry are beginning to teach me patience and humility, both of which have proven to be far more helpful to service than my natural inclinations towards compulsion and pride. (Funny how that works, eh?)

When not pastoring, I love tinkering outside and gardening in the summer and a good book or jigsaw puzzle in the winter. I currently live with my spouse, our adorably cute, three-legged jerk of a dog, and two teenagers (pray for us!), all of whom I love dearly.

Pastor John has taught as part of the East Central Synod of Wisconsin Lay School of Ministry for all but one year beginning in 2005 until the present. His primary focus has been Martin Luther, Reformation history, and Lutheran confessional theology. Stemming from a deep love of congregational life, his continuing education classes have been focused on exploring and building the health of the local parish and its leaders.

Pastor John served as a parish pastor for 34 years in North Dakota and Wisconsin before accepting the position as the Executive Director of Crossways Camping Ministries in 2011.

Pastor John officially retired in 2017 and lives with his wife Jan in their home south of Rhinelander, WI. 

As a Palestinian woman, born in Bethlehem (in the West Bank), a member of a Christian family among a population of Muslim majority, Pastor Niveen has experienced the war between the Israelis and the Palestinians firsthand. Her first bachelor’s degree in Biblical studies was earned in Cairo, Egypt, to which she had fled during hostilities. This was followed by her first master’s degree earned in theological studies at a Presbyterian seminary in Cairo. When she returned to Bethlehem, she was aware that in her country, a woman cannot be a spiritual leader.

Her heart led her first to Chicago, IL, and then to Berkley, CA, where she would earn additional master’s degrees in theological studies and in divinity.  A PhD in Old Testament Studies of the Hebrew Bible from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago completes Pastor Niveen’s educational background.  Proficiencies in Hebrew, English, and German languages afford her the ability to study Biblical texts (and the writings of Luther) in their original languages.

Learning, teaching, and sharing messages of love and hope are a core part of who she is; however, so are gardening, hiking, and sharing a good cup of tea with friends. Sharing the Word is integral to who Pastor Niveen is. She has presented papers on topics from the Bible and taught classes in continuing education at several Wisconsin universities.

My name is Pr. Justin Smoot and I am a Luther nerd. I have been blessed with the chance to study the Reformation in Germany while in college. I have studied the life of Martin Luther and how he has been portrayed in various eras by various groups. I was able to take a semester in college and study at the Leucrorea which is now part of the University of Halle, focusing on German language and culture in the same building where Martin Luther taught. 

Jennifer Hornyak Wojciechowski is assistant professor of church history at Luther Seminary. Prior to this, she taught in the religion department at Augsburg University.

She is author of the book Women and the Christian Story: A Global History (Fortress, 2022) and numerous articles. Her research focuses on women’s history, American history, and the intersection of religion and social reform. She is also the associate editor of the journal Word & World.

She lives in Minnesota with her husband, two children, and tabby cat. She enjoys drinking coffee with friends, playing her banjo, and traveling.