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OUR STAFF

John Anderson

Pastor

Hello VELC!

I am overjoyed to be called to Pastor our Church.  My family and I are so excited to see what God will do in and through our Vernon Community.  A little about me and my family: I was born and raised in Kenosha, WI.  I attended UW-Stevens Point and UW-Parkside acquiring a degree in Vocal Performance.  I then attended Grand Canyon University for Graduate School majoring in Elementary Education.  From 2009-2011, I worked for two years in the Kenosha Unified as an Elementary School music teacher.  I was then called to St. Mary’s Lutheran Church in Kenosha were I served as the Youth and Family Minister, Worship Leader, and Lay Preacher from 2011 until 2019.  From 2019-August of 2020, I served as the Pastoral Intern at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection.  In the Spring of 2020, I Graduated with a Masters of Divinity from Luther Seminary. I was raised in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and I continue to call this faith community my home.  It is through the ELCA that I see the best expressions of what I believe we are called to be and do as the Church in the world. I met and married my amazing wife Andrea while we were both in college.  We celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on July 28th of this year.  Andrea is a Nursing Director at Advocate Aurora in Kenosha, WI.  My boys and I are beyond blessed to call her wife and mom! We have three boys: Johnny (7), Owen (7), and Henry (5).  They have taught me more about grace, kindness, curiosity, and unconditional love than anyone I have ever met.  They have also taught me a lot about patience…Finally, we have a puggle named Wrigley.  He thinks he runs things. Depending on the day, he might be right…As I said above, My wife and I are extremely excited to call Vernon Evangelical Lutheran Church our home and cannot wait to see what God will accomplish here!

John 13:34-35

34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Our Ministry Staff

PastorJohn Andersonpastorjohn@vernon-elca.org
Office AdministratorShari Higginsoffice@vernon-elca.org
Youth DirectorShari Higginsyouth@vernon-elca.org
Education DirectorKay Johnsonkayheine@yahoo.com
Senior MinistryDeb Teresinskiseniors@vernon-elca.org
Emergency ContactShari Higgins262-547-7872
Emergency ContactDebby Plehn262-363-4229
PresidentMike Simonson
VP FinanceChris Peterson
VP PersonnelTom McKeever
TreasurerDebby Plehn
Council SecretaryBecky Bachhuber
FellowshipAnn Galinsky
StewardshipCouncil
TrustMarilyn Ottum
Worship & MusicDenise Peterson
PropertyShari Higgins
Youth MinistryBrittany Kreger