Synod Staff Updates - Spring 2022
March 01, 2022
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| Bp. Kevin Strickland |
Dear Church,
It is a joy and a blessing to do this work together and work that I alone as your bishop could or would not be able to do alone. I am grateful for a dedicated and faithful staff. In January, Pastor Matt Steinhauer retired as a parish pastor from Faith Lutheran in Lebanon, TN. He also concluded his call in serving as our Assistant to the Bishop for Advocacy. Pastor Steinhauer’s work in adding and aiding the voice to the voiceless, pointing of systems of oppression, and the intersections of where the church stands with its public voice, is and will be forever a gift to this synod and our wider church. We were gifted a grant from the ELCA to allow us to have Mr. Hilton Austin and Pr. Steinhauer serve in that role. We will now discern next steps for that grant and its best usefulness for our synod.
Another staff update that I wanted to share is the Ms. Carolyn Davis, Executive Assistant to the Bishop, will be retiring July 31, 2022. Ms. Davis, has been a long fixture of this synod office, first as a volunteer and then moving into the crucial role she has now. I am grateful for her mastery of organization, managing our roster files, coordinating assembly, and most importantly helping to assist the bishop. In retirement, Ms. Davis will be moving to Minneapolis, MN to be closer to her daughter, Stephanie. I will be interviewing for this position in March and April and then synod council has approved to have the new hire overlap for the month of July to be trained and transition with Ms. Davis, prior to her departure.
At the June 2022 Synod Assembly, we will have an opportunity to give thanks for both Pastor Steinhauer and Ms. Davis and I invite you to join me there and in your own way to give thanks for their faithful ministry among us. May God bless them in their next chapters and may they always know the Southeastern Synod is their home.
Thank you!
+Bishop Kevin L. Strickland
It is a joy and a blessing to do this work together and work that I alone as your bishop could or would not be able to do alone. I am grateful for a dedicated and faithful staff. In January, Pastor Matt Steinhauer retired as a parish pastor from Faith Lutheran in Lebanon, TN. He also concluded his call in serving as our Assistant to the Bishop for Advocacy. Pastor Steinhauer’s work in adding and aiding the voice to the voiceless, pointing of systems of oppression, and the intersections of where the church stands with its public voice, is and will be forever a gift to this synod and our wider church. We were gifted a grant from the ELCA to allow us to have Mr. Hilton Austin and Pr. Steinhauer serve in that role. We will now discern next steps for that grant and its best usefulness for our synod.
Another staff update that I wanted to share is the Ms. Carolyn Davis, Executive Assistant to the Bishop, will be retiring July 31, 2022. Ms. Davis, has been a long fixture of this synod office, first as a volunteer and then moving into the crucial role she has now. I am grateful for her mastery of organization, managing our roster files, coordinating assembly, and most importantly helping to assist the bishop. In retirement, Ms. Davis will be moving to Minneapolis, MN to be closer to her daughter, Stephanie. I will be interviewing for this position in March and April and then synod council has approved to have the new hire overlap for the month of July to be trained and transition with Ms. Davis, prior to her departure.
At the June 2022 Synod Assembly, we will have an opportunity to give thanks for both Pastor Steinhauer and Ms. Davis and I invite you to join me there and in your own way to give thanks for their faithful ministry among us. May God bless them in their next chapters and may they always know the Southeastern Synod is their home.
Thank you!
+Bishop Kevin L. Strickland
Ms. Carolyn Davis
Rev. Matt Steinhauer
Rev. Matt Steinhauer