Pastor Luke Kuenzli
Senior Pastor
Phone: (712) 323-7173
Email: revluke@saintjohnelca.org
Hello and blessings to all of you from the newest addition to St. John, Council Bluffs!
Thank you all for the warm welcome you’ve given me and my family. We are thrilled to be here to join you in serving God and our neighbors. As I get settled in, I thought that it would be good to tell you a little bit more about myself and my family. Some of you have parts of heard this through the Call process already, but not everyone was able to attend the Q&A before the congregational vote on November 9th. Rather than inundating you with all the info at once, I’ll give you the basic stuff now, and include a section or two in subsequent Caller articles
Who Are We? I’m Luke Andrew Kuenzli; son of Tim (a retired ELCA pastor of German/Swiss heritage) and Linda (a retired Art educator of Welsh/English heritage) Kuenzli of Pickerington, OH; youngest of 4 siblings (two older brothers and a twin sister); husband to Rachel since August 2010; father to Jeremiah (13, 7th grade), Isaac (11, 5thgrade), Selah (8, 2nd grade), since their births and to Eden (4, Pre-K) and Esther (4, Pre-K) since their adoptions on November 19, 2023… and Pretzel, a 4-year-old, 20 pound “toy” red-tri Australian Shepherd.
Rachel’s folks live in NW Iowa, where her mom works at Spencer Hospital and her dad has a small engine mechanic’s shop. She’s the 2nd of 4 siblings, with two brothers and a sister.
Education: Winton Woods High School in Cincinnati, OH, c/o ‘03
Capital University in Bexley, OH; B.A. in Religion, music minor, c/o ‘07, ΦΜΑ Sinfonia Fraternity
Ministry in Context at Jacob’s Porch, Lutheran Campus Ministry at Ohio State University, ’10-12
Clinical Pastoral Education at Ohio State University Medical Center, summer ‘12
Internship at First Lutheran Church in Muskegon, MI with Rev. Bill Uetrecht, August ‘12- 13
Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Bexley, OH; Masters of Divinity, Global Church focus, c/o ‘14
Rachel has a BA from Simpson College & Master’s in Public Health from Des Moines University. She completed her MPH Internship at Mills County Public Health.
Work History: I did lawn care and lifeguarding through high school and into college.
Camp Counselor at Camp Wapo and Ox Lake Bible Camp, Amery, WI, summers ‘07-09
Youth Encounter team member (traveling relational and music ministry)
New Dawn (East Coast & Midwest US, Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan) ‘07-08
Crossfire (East Coast & Midwest US, Cameroon, Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso) ‘08-09
Foreign Expert (English teacher) at Xinyang Agricultural College in Xinyang, Henan, China, ‘09-10
On-call Chaplain, Ohio State University Medical Center, ’12-‘14
Pastor, St. John Lutheran Church, Mineola, IA, September ’14-December ‘24
Rachel has worked as a camp counselor; Youth Encounter team member (Crossfire to Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania in ’07-’08); Activities Director at The Plaster House surgical rehabilitation hospital in Arusha, Tanzania; childbirth instructor with the Bradley Method; and substitute teacher. She works now with Lutheran Services in Iowa as a case worker to support foster care providers.
What I’m excited about right now: Getting to know you, the people of St. John, and figuring out together what kinds of ministry we can accomplish; making our new house our “home” in truth; my Buckeyes winning the CFP Championship (O-H…!); the February 15th Prime Rib Dinner to support our St. John Youth; no longer driving 25 minutes one-way to get kids to/from school; the cup of tea I’m drinking as I write.
As I indicated when I introduced myself on January 4 and 5, I will get to know your names and stories more quickly if I meet you in small groups or one-on-one. I’m humbled and honored to be your new pastor, and give thanks to God for this opportunity.
Peace ><>, Pastor Luke