Pastor's Corner

Get to know Pastor Jen:
During her time at seminary, Pastor Jen did her student ministry by working for a downtown Columbus, OH homeless shelter as an overnight host and by serving as the intern at St. Marks Lutheran Church in Delaware OH. While at Delaware, she worked with both homeless shelters and food pantries to provide services to the local area. She currently serves on the board of the Lutheran Office of Public Policy for Wisconsin, which is the advocacy branch of the ELCA to the state government. We focus our advocacy on issues and legislation that relates to hunger and poverty.

A brief biography and message from Pastor Jen:

Dear new family and friends in Christ-

It has been a blessing being with you for worship these past few weeks. It will take some time to get settled in to this new position, so please bear with me as I learn your names, your traditions and your routines. To help you get to know me a bit better, here are a few facts:

• My husband, John, is also an ordained minister with the ELCA, so you won't be seeing him around very often, as he has his own congregation for which to care for. We have been married for 15 years.

• We have no children, though we have been involved in the adoption process and do hope to bring children into our family at some point in the future.

• Our farm consists of one spoiled dog (Logi); three spoiled horses (Apple, Angel and VanGogh); a couple of beef cattle and some meat chickens.

• I graduated from Clintonville High School, Cornell College (Mt. Vernon, IA) and Trinity Lutheran Seminary (Columbus, OH). In college, I double-majored in English and Theatre.

• My first job was as farmhand on a neighboring dairy. Since then, I have worked as a housekeeper, a childcare facility director, a housekeeping manager, a waitress, a fieldhand on a ginseng farm, a youth minister, and a pastor. I was ordained in 2000.

• I was raised on a small farm in Wisconsin, along with my three brothers and two sisters.

• During our free time, John and I enjoy camping, canoeing, horseback riding and backpacking.

• I serve on the Executive Committee of the ECSW synod council and as a member of the board for the Lutheran Office of Public Policy in Wisconsin. I have formerly served as the dean of the conference.

• My first parish was a two-congregation parish in the Appalachian Mountain region of Southern Ohio. I served there for five years. My second parish was a seven-congregation parish in Shawano County. I served as the lead pastor of that parish for 4 ½ years.

• Though I am commuting a fair distance to Oshkosh, I intend to be available and responsive to the emergencies of the congregation. When I am not in the office, you may reach me via cell phone (920-642-3050: this is a local Oshkosh number), email (pastorjen@stjohnsonmain.com), or Facebook (send friend request to Jennifer Czarnota).

Thank you for so graciously welcoming me to your family of faith. I look forward to our time as we walk our faith journeys together.

May God richly bless you and yours in this upcoming school year!

Pr Jen