Pastor Mark Olsen
Pastor
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Pastor Mark began his call as pastor of Emanuel Lutheran Church on May 1, 2023.
A life-long Lutheran, born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, he received his undergraduate degree in International Relations from Syracuse University. He served in the U.S. Army as a Military Intelligence Officer with assignments in Arizona, the Republic of Korea, and Washington, DC and as a civilian intelligence officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, DC.
He left federal service in 1997 to answer the call to rostered ministry in the ELCA and attended the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. In 2001, he graduated with his Master of Divinity degree, and was called and ordained a minister of word and sacrament. In his four calls prior to serving Emanuel Lutheran Church, Pastor Mark served as the Senior Pastor of Peace Lutheran Church (Alexandria, VA – Metropolitan Washington DC Synod), as Director of Admissions at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (now United Lutheran Seminary), as pastor of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church (Haymarket, VA – Metropolitan Washington DC Synod) and most recently as a member of the ELCA churchwide staff where he served as Senior Director, Congregational Stewardship and Generosity and before that as Director, ELCA Fund for Leaders.
Since 2018, Pastor Mark and his spouse, Kari, have made their home in Stratford, CT, and he is rostered in the New England Synod. Pastor Mark and Kari’s adult son and daughter live in Arlington, VA and Trumbull, CT respectively.
Jonathan Reuning-Scherer
Director of Music
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Jonathan studied piano and horn at Oberlin College, and later studied organ and choral conducting at Yale University. He was music director in Manchester, CT for 13 years until arriving in Hartford in 2009. Jonathan also leads “GodSong” an ecumenical auditioned choir in the Greater Hartford Area. In his spare time, Jonathan teaches Statistics at Yale University.
Naomi Ngoma
Community Life and Outreach Coordinator
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I am very pleased to be joining Emanuel Lutheran Church as its community life and outreach coordinator. I will be responsible for furthering the mission of Emmanuel Lutheran Church to be in the city for good through faith-based creation and implementation of programs in the community and for our youth. I studied Mass Communication at Iona college and my past experiences have included working with youths, United Nations and Hilton to name a few. I am originally from Africa and I have a desire to give back to the community that I have come to love after moving here from New York. I am passionate about God, social justice, empowerment and education. I look forward to investing in the community, youth and being involved with what God is doing in the City.
Kate Bozzo
Operations Manager
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John Michael Walker
Administrative Assistant
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Rachid Chelali
Sexton
Rachid Chelali as been the Sexton at Emanuel since 2000. Born in Algeria, Rachid is now an American citizen. As he cares for buildings and grounds, he has a ready smile and provides a warm welcome.