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Mailing Address:
First Lutheran Church
10207 NE 183rd Street
Bothell, WA 98011
Phone: (425) 486-2314
Fax: (425) 489-2047
Email: Office@flcbothell.org
Office hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 4:30pm.
Pastor Berg says it is a joy to be serving a congregation with a mission:
Care, Grow, Serve, Proclaim!
He was born and raised
in the Redmond, Washington area and attended Redmond Elementary, Junior
High, and High school graduating in 1983. He has four brothers, John,
Paul, Svenn and Carl (he falls between Svenn and Carl).
After high
school he received a scholarship to run Cross Country and Track for
Eastern Washington University and received his Bachelor of Arts in
English in 1988. After college he worked for a printing company for two
years before grudgingly acknowledging God’s call to ministry.
Pastor
Berg graduated Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary, St. Paul,
Minnesota with a Masters in Divinity in 1994.
Susan and Tor were
married on August 24, 1991 and their son Micah was born on March 25,
1994. His first call was to serve as Associate Pastor at Ebenezer
Lutheran Church, Lake Stevens, Washington in July of 1994. It was a
great place to serve his first call mostly because of Richard Edmonds
who was the Senior Pastor there! Their daughter Hannah was born on
October 20, 1997.
Pastor Berg then
accepted the call to be the Parish Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church,
Pullman, Washington in July of 1998. Susan was then hired as the
Director of Youth and Family Ministries and they served together there
till May of 2010 when he accepted the call to be the parish pastor here
at BFL!
Pastor Berg enjoys
fishing, boating, golfing and watching most sports. His favorite quote
currently is one by Paul Tillich, “The opposite of faith is not doubt,
but certainty.”
I grew up in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio and attended Bethany Lutheran School in Parma, Ohio and Lutheran High School West in Rocky River, Ohio. There were many wonderful Lutheran Teachers and Pastors who influenced my faith and life.
I attended Concordia Lutheran College in Seward, Nebraska and Concordia Lutheran University Chicago in River Forest, Illinois. I graduated in 1983 as a certified Elementary School Teacher (B.A.) and a Director of Christian Education in the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.
From 1982 to 1985, I served as the Director of Christian Education at Christ Lutheran Church in Milford, Michigan. From 1985 to 1997, I served as the Minister of Christian Education at Epiphany Lutheran Church in Kenmore, Washington. In 1998, my family and I joined First Lutheran Church
in Bothell. I worked in retail management with the Bartell Drug Company
from 1998 to 2005.
In April 2005, I returned to full time church work
and joined the staff of First Lutheran Church
in Bothell. As Director of Christian Education and Youth Ministries, I
am very excited about serving our Lord Jesus Christ in this caring and
dynamic congregation.
My daughter Tori is a student at the University of Washington
in Bothell. My son Ryan is a student at Washington State University in
Pullman. I enjoy cooking, traveling and working around my house on
“projects.”
Kristin’s accounting
background prepared her for being the bookkeeper and office
administrator at First Lutheran. Besides balancing the books and keeping
things running smoothly in the office, Kris enjoys interacting with
members and visitors in an informal way during the week. “The door is
always open”, she says with her trademark smile.
Kristin and her husband
Ken, along with their children, Kara, Kyler and Kellen are longtime
members and active volunteers at First Lutheran Church.
Shirley’s
is often the first voice you hear when you call First Lutheran in the mornings. A former
high school teacher, she is now in charge of the front desk and much of
the church office administration. In between composing the weekly
bulletins, answering the phone and running errands,
she takes the time to “listen, talk, and do” in her service to First
Lutheran and the surrounding community.
Shirley and
her husband Dave, together with their children Chloe, Katy and David
have been active members and regular volunteers at First Lutheran for
several years.
Richard
Edmonds leads the Ensemble which sings at the 11:00 service. Richard
is a retired Lutheran pastor, having served parishes in Port Orchard,
Snohomish, Lake Stevens, and Monroe, Washington over a period of 35
years. He is a graduate of the University of Washington and also
studied at St. Olaf College. He was ordained at First Lutheran in 1969
after completing his Master of Divinity degree at Luther Seminary in St.
Paul.
After their retirement and many years away, Richard and his wife
Judy returned to First Lutheran and became members.
One
of Richard’s favorite aspects of parish ministry was planning for
worship and participating in the musical life of the congregations he
served. Coming from a musical family, he studied voice at St. Olaf and
the UW and during his years of parish ministry. Richard enjoys
planning and leading the music for the “blended” service at 11:00, as
well as working with the Ensemble’s group of talented vocalists and
instrumentalists.
First Lutheran's choir director, Steve Stevens, joined
the church staff in 2006. He conducts the Sanctuary Choir and the
children's choir (for children in 3rd-7th grades). Mr. Stevens is a
professional singer, conductor and a frequent adjudicator of choral
festivals in the Pacific Northwest. He earned a BA (voice and all-level
music education) from Houston Baptist University. Following the study
and performance of opera in Europe, he completed his post-graduate
studies at Southern Methodist University, achieving a M.Mus. in Choral
Conducting. His choral conducting career began in 1966 and spans to the
present day. He is the founder-conductor of the Columbia Choirs
organization where he directs the Columbia Children's Choir, Columbia
Youth Vocal Ensemble, Con Brio Women's Choir and Concord Chamber Choir.
In addition, he sings in Male Ensemble Northwest and teaches choir and
Social Studies at Woodinville High School and Leota Junior High School
in the Seattle Area. Choirs under his direction have consistently won
international acclaim for their high standard of singing artistry and
musicianship. His choirs have performed in United States, Australia,
British Isles, Canada, Europe, Japan, Mexico, Russia and Scandinavia.
Dr. Jiyoung Lee was born and raised in Seoul, Korea, and came to the United States in 1995 to study Organ Performance at the New England
Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she earned an Organ Performance Master’s
Degree. She later earned her Doctor of
Musical Arts in Organ Performance degree from the University of Washington in 2005.
Jiyoung and her
husband, Sang-Beom Shim and their daughter, Hyeri have all become active
members here at First Lutheran since Jiyoung brought her musical gifts to us in July 2011.
Bothell native Kevin Kastning, a local office manager, is First
Lutheran’s custodian in his “spare time”. Kevin has long volunteered for
church youth events, leading groups across town or across the country,
and he and his wife Vicki are active in the Military Support Group.
Kevin and Vicki have 2 children, Chris and Brianna who have been active
with various Youth activities.
