Rev. Sue Allen, Lead Pastor
Pastor Sue was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minn., and transferred to Illinois in 1979. She received her master of divinity degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and served several suburban congregations prior to her call here to Living Lord. “My passion is communicating God’s love, grace, and forgiveness. I look forward to helping you find your passion in ministry so that together we can grow deeper in faith and serve a world in need.”

 

 

 

Rev. Jean Marie Durán, Associate Pastor (Pastor Jean is taking a leave of absence this summer.)
Pastor Jean studied at Trinity College in Bellevue, Wash., and earned her undergraduate degree in biblical studies. She earned her master of divinity degree in theology from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and was ordained. A true servant of the Gospel, she is a valuable member of our pastoral team. She provides creative, caring direction as she preaches, teaches, counsels, and administers her day-to-day responsibilities. According to Pastor Jean, “I have been truly blessed by the people I have met here at Living Lord. The commitment of the congregational members to the ongoing ministry here has been phenomenal! I thank God for allowing me to serve in such a special community of faith.”

 

 

Pastor Jennifer Fisher, Interim Associate Pastor
Pastor Jennifer earned her master of divinity degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in May 2010. She is filling in for Pastor Jean this summer on a part-time basis. Her duties include preaching, teaching, and pastoral care and visitations. Pastor Jennifer enjoys meeting new people and collecting their stories. “I find it rewarding to help people see how God intersects with their story and how our stories intersect with God’s story, purpose, and plan,” she says. Recently engaged to be married, Pastor Jennifer is “delighted to be starting a new journey, both in terms of this interim ministry at Living Lord and planning for a new life with Greg, my fiancé.”

 

Bob Esmail, Director of Youth and Family Ministries
Bob’s main responsibility is to oversee the development and growth of Living Lord’s Youth and Family Ministry. This ministry focuses on the faith development of the entire family. Under this model, the church provides resources and helps build relationships within families and the church community. Bob also leads teen Bible studies and a variety of weekly youth activities, coordinates the teen small group ministry, plans and leads mission trips, assists with the Confirmation Program for seventh and eighth graders, and helps with Midweek MANIA, our ministry to fifth and sixth graders.

Bob and his family have been members of Living Lord for more than 16 years. Before joining the church staff, he was actively involved in working with the youth of Living Lord for more than 10 years as a volunteer. Bob finds the most rewarding part of his job is that “the youth trust and accept me as a friend and mentor. They invite me into their lives.” He’s found that these relationships have brought him closer to God through the teens’ “authenticity and honest love for Christ.”

Nancy Collins, Director of Preschool and Sunday School Ministries
Nancy is in a unique position at Living Lord. She is the director of both our Preschool and Sunday school programs. As Preschool director, she is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Preschool as well as its curriculum and staff. She oversees the teachers and ensures that all standards from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services are met. She also keeps the lines of communication open among the Preschool parents, board, and staff. As Sunday school director, Nancy oversees programs for preschoolers, grades K-5, and grade 6. She is responsible for planning, recruiting volunteer staffing, coordinating training, purchasing supplies, and facilitating communication among the parents, church staff, and church council.

Nancy earned a bachelor’s degree in child development/family life from Western Illinois University, Macomb. She is also a certified parent educator (University of Missouri, St Louis), and she completed the Parents as Teachers program of Illinois School District U-46. Nancy loves children of all ages and has worked with children and families for more than 20 years. “Witnessing the joy children find in learning and their love of life is the best reward. I learn something new from them every day.”

Senja Morgan, Choir Director
Senja ("Senya") conducts the Praise Singers choir and plans worship music for the 9 AM service. Her ministry objective includes assisting others to know Christ and helping those with gifts in music find a place of service in worship. Her goals for the choir program include building and growing a community of faithful singers to lead congregational music and musical offerings to their fullest potential. She envisions worship as a place where God's "congregational choir" joyfully and confidently expresses their praise through song.

Senja first discovered a passion for music ministry in 1982 while leading worship music for 10 summers at a Christian camp near Jaffrey, N.H. She previously served as music director in two local churches, and has helped lead choir residencies at four different cathedrals in England. Senja earned both a bachelor's degree in music education and a master's degree in sacred music from Boston University.

Susan M. Rankin, Administrative Assistant
Sue is a long-time member of Living Lord who has been active in a variety of ministries, including congregational care and social ministries. Sue enjoyed a long career as an executive level administrative assistant before joining our staff. Her caring manner complements her strong organizational and administrative abilities as she serves our congregation. Her main responsibilities are to keep the church office running smoothly, support pastoral and lay staff, assist members with questions and other needs, maintain church financials and support the church financial officers, and manage the church database and office volunteers.

Sue enjoys working in the church office because, “Everything about the job is challenging. It is a busy position and requires good organizational skills. The job is perfect for me because I like to be busy.”

Laura Christensen, Office Assistant
Laura serves as the office receptionist, assists in managing worship-assistant schedules; helps prepare weekly worship materials, coordinates mailings; performs data entry; copies bulletins and other printed items, and assists with recordkeeping and special projects that come up on a daily basis. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business management and administration from Bradley University, Peoria, and her business acumen shows in the efficiency of her work.

Laura and her family have been members of Living Lord for nearly 12 years. Currently, she is involved in many ministries at Living Lord, including Confirmation, Faith Quest Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, the Bread of Life program, and the Food Ministry. Her warm and caring personality makes visitors feel welcome. “I enjoy meeting the members of Living Lord and putting a name with a face,” she says. Laura also finds it interesting to be a part of what happens “behind the scenes” at the church. “I am a people person, so it is a fun job for me.”

Kris Mainellis, Director of Communications
Kris and her family have been members of Living Lord for more than 15 years. Her current volunteer activities include participation in Living Lord’s music ministries and the Faith Quest Sunday school program. Kris works to help our congregation communicate internally and externally. She publishes the weekly and monthly newsletters; creates brochures and other informational pieces for church and preschool ministries; handles media communications; develops and updates the content for the church Web site; and explores and implements ways to improve communication at Living Lord. Kris earned a bachelor’s degree in English and communications and a master’s degree in communications from the University of Illinois at Chicago.