The Rev. Franklin Wilson

Senior Pastor

Franklin Arthur Wilson was born and raised in St. Helens, Oregon. He and his wife, Marcia, have three children:  Katharine (husband, Thomas) Hill of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Andrew (wife, Sebrina) of Denver, Colo., and John (wife, Dilara) of Madison.  Marcia is a retired elementary school teacher.  The Wilsons have four grandchildren.

Wilson earned an undergraduate degree at Pacific Lutheran University, a Master of Divinity degree at Luther Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., and a Master of Arts  in Pauline Eucharistic Theology at the University of Durham, England. He wrote his dissertation (Walker Percy’s Use of the Bible: A Colliberative End) under the supervision of Dr. Paul Waddell of St. Norbert’s College and Dr. Jane Shaw of New College, Oxford, and received the Ph.D. from Foundation House/Oxford. Wilson has served at parishes in Olympia, Wash., Silverton, Ore., and Salem, Ore., and has been Luther Memorial Church’s senior pastor since 2008.

His recreational activities include reading, baking bread, fly-fishing, cross-country skiing and backpacking.

The Rev. Brad Pohlman

Associate Pastor

pohlman@luthermem.org
(608) 258-3160 ext. 13

Brad Pohlman was born and raised in southern Wisconsin, first in Middleton and later in Fort Atkinson. He and his wife, Joy, have two daughters; the eldest is at St. Olaf College and the youngest attends Madison East High School.  Joy is a librarian at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Pohlman earned an undergraduate degree at St. Olaf College and a Master of Divinity degree at Yale University. Since 1995, he has served congregations in the ELCA South-Central Synod of Wisconsin.  As an assistant to the bishop, he served nine congregations as an interim pastor.  He has been on staff at Luther Memorial since 2007.

His recreational activities include reading, home improvement projects and family trips.

 

 

Bruce Bengtson

Director of Music

bengtson@luthermem.org
(608) 258-3160 ext. 22

Bruce Bengtson is the director of music at Luther Memorial Church, a position he has held since 1978.  Besides the duties of organist, he is responsible for the choral and instrumental program of the parish.  An organ CD made at Luther Memorial presents literature from the Church Year.

Bengtson’s organ study was begun at the age of 11 with William Fawk of Salem, Oregon.  Undergraduate work was in organ performance under Dr. Robert Anderson at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.  Graduate work in organ and church music was done at Valparaiso University with Dr. Philip Gehring.

Bengtson is recognized as an accomplished organist throughout the United States.  He has also claimed an international audience through concerts in Mexico, Canada, Finland, Sweden, France, Austria, and Denmark.  An award winning musician, he has played for the National Convention of the Organ Historical Society, and the National Conference of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM).  He has also led hymn festivals across the country.  Bengtson is an active clinician and member of the ALCM.  Augsburg Fortress Publishing Company has two of his anthems in print.  He has appeared in broadcasts of Wisconsin Public Radio.

Suzanne DuChateau

Director, Luther Memorial Preschool

duchateau@luthermem.org
(608) 258-3160 ext. 32

 

 

Sandra Briesath

Administrator, Luther Memorial Preschool

briesath@luthermem.org
(608) 258-3160 ext. 32

 

Kim O’Leary (FCBA)

Church Administrator

oleary@luthermem.org
(608) 258-3160 ext. 14

Kim O’Leary has served Luther Memorial Church as Church Administrator since 2001. Through continuing education funds, she has maintained her national certification in church administration through the National Association of Church Business Administrators. A copy of her 2006 publication, “Socially Responsible Investment: A Biblical Perspective,” is in the Luther Memorial Library. At the 2011 NACBA annual conference in Washington, D.C., O’Leary was recertified along with more than 100 other church administrators from across the United States. Her primary responsibilities are building and financial management and supervision of the administrative staff.

Suelyn Swiggum

Mission Resource Coordinator

swiggum@luthermem.org
(608) 258-3160 ext. 15

In her role as Mission Resource Coordinator, Suelyn works with staff and church members to enhance Luther Memorial’s culture of generosity through relationship building, program development and gift discernment. She coordinates many of the large congregational events and you can often find her behind the welcome desk on Sundays.

Prior to coming to Luther Memorial, Suelyn worked in corporate communications at Goshen College and Everance, both in Indiana. She is currently pursuing a graduate degree in philanthropy and development.

Suelyn came to Luther Memorial in 1996 and is married to Douglas Swiggum, also a church member.

Anne Ehlers

Program Assistant

ehlers@luthermem.org
(608) 258-3160 ext. 11

Anne Ehlers began working for Luther Memorial in October of 2008 and has loved every day.  Her responsibilities include maintaining the church calendar, running the front office, administrative assistant to the pastors and church administrator, coordinating weddings and wedding bulletins, maintaining the church membership database, coordinating the office volunteers and much much more.

Ehlers lives in Janesville with her husband and daughter.  Despite the distance she loves the daily challenges that present themselves and is proud to be a part of Luther Memorial Church.

 

Robin Wagner

Communications Coordinator

wagner@luthermem.org
(608) 258-3160 ext. 12

Robin Wagner produces print and web publications for Luther Memorial Church. She studied jazz performance at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and the University of Minnesota. She and her husband Craig have two children, Owen (7) and Talia (5). In her free time, she enjoys biking, boxing, reading, motorcycling, music and spending time with her family.

Dan Zerger

Custodian

Laurie Swimm

Archivist