Church Staff

Rev. Dr. Mark Larson was installed as the 8th Pastor in St. Lucas’ 110-year history in January 2017.  He is passionate about how the Bible purely and powerfully expresses God’s grace and love in Christ – and he loves to share that message with everyone.

Before coming to St. Lucas, he served as the Director of United States Ministries for Lutheran Hour Ministries, and as District Executive-Missions for the Rocky Mountain District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.  In that role, he guided the mission and evangelism programs for the district to a diverse population. Under his leadership, the district received the 2008 Executive Director’s Ablaze! Award from LCMS World Mission for a series of evangelism conferences called “Conversations of Grace.”  He began his ministry as Pastor of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in Beecher, Illinois.

Raised near Grand Island, Nebraska, he received a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communications from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. He graduated with a Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois in 2004. He and his wife, Lisa, have two adult children.

Vicar Biruk Kediru was born and raised in Metu, a small town in Ethiopia. He grew up in the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian tradition but converted to the Lutheran faith at about age 19, becoming the only member of his family to do so. Biruk moved to the United States in 2018 to join his wife, Netsi, in Silver Spring, Maryland. They have three young children with the youngest just recently baptized at St. Lucas!

Before becoming a vicar (a pastoral intern) at St. Lucas, Biruk served in various ministries in both Ethiopia and the United States, including roles as a church planter, congregation president, and university ministry leader. He is passionate about sharing God’s love with all, particularly in community service and through street evangelism. Under his leadership, a congregation without a pastor grew and established two outreach congregations. He was also involved in establishing an Amharic-speaking congregation in Washington, D.C. and leads “Yemekeru-LOTH” a child support mission in Jigjiga, Ethiopia.

Biruk is a second-career pastoral formation student at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He holds an MA in Linguistics and has over eight years of teaching experience in Ethiopia.

Janice and her family came to St. Lucas 13 years ago looking for an opportunity to serve in the music ministry. She has been active with the contemporary music program since this time, eventually accepting the position of Director for the program. Janice has been involved with contemporary music ministries for over 40 years, and is ALWAYS looking for musicians and vocalists interested in joining the Praise Team. When not working on music, Janice keeps busy with her work in antiques and estate liquidation.

Kathy Christopher serves as the Parish Administrative Assistant.  She loves her job, because it provides an opportunity to serve our Lord through the Church.  She has served in this position since 2009. Kathy has attended St. Lucas since 1963 and was baptized, confirmed and married here.  She and her husband John have two adult children who live in the area.

Kathy also works in the Early Childhood Center. God brings many young children into her life.

Steve is a life-long member of St. Lucas Lutheran Church.  Since his earliest memories are of St. Lucas, it’s safe to say that he knows the place like the back of his hand.  He serves by assuring that the facility is ready to meet the needs of ministry through rain and snow, heat and cold — and whatever other challenge may arise — to keep the campus a welcoming and functional place for guests, the community and  members.  Steve makes all of our jobs much easier with his care-giving to our campus.