New staff installed in St. Louis

The Rev. Jonathan Manor (left), newly installed director of LCMS Post-Seminary Applied Learning and Support, greets the Rev. Dr. James A. Baneck, executive director of LCMS Pastoral Education, following his installation at the LCMS International Center in St. Louis on Oct. 20. LCMS First Vice-President Rev. Peter K. Lange sits at right. (LCMS/Erik M. Lunsford)

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) International Center (IC) welcomed four new staff members during services of installation at the IC in October.

Pastoral Education

On Oct. 20, the Rev. Jonathan J. Manor was installed as the director of PALS (Post-Seminary Applied Learning and Support), Continuing Education, and Statistics and Data for the LCMS Office of Pastoral Education (PED).

PED Executive Director Rev. Dr. James A. Baneck preached on 1 Corinthians 1, asking, “Is the church really all about Jesus? Is that what The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is all about? … Is that what this building is all about or [what] our congregations or schools or districts or seminaries or universities or missionaries … [are] all about? … Yes, that’s what it’s all about … namely, the holy believers and lambs who hear the voice of their shepherd preaching Jesus Christ for their life and salvation.”

Manor was born and raised in eastern Iowa. He is a second-career pastor whose undergraduate studies and first career were in business management. A 2005 graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, his first call was as senior pastor at Hosanna-Tabor Lutheran Church and School in Redford, Mich. He later served parishes in Illinois, Connecticut and Massachusetts as well as on the LCMS New England District Praesidium and in several appointed district positions.

Manor said the PALS program — which supports new pastors and their families in the transition from seminary to parish life — was “a huge blessing to me and my family in our early years in ministry.” He and his wife, Deaconess Dr. Tiffany Manor, served as PALS facilitators for many years.

“While the position of PALS director is new,” Manor said, “the PALS program has been serving pastors, their families and LCMS congregations since its inception in 1998. I’m looking forward to continuing to get the word out about PALS and the ways it supports and blesses our workers, congregations and Synod.”

Deaconess Manor is the director of LCMS Life Ministry. The Manors have five children and two grandchildren.

National Mission, Mission Advancement

On Oct. 13, LCMS Chief Mission Officer Rev. Kevin Robson preached for the installation of three new staff members: the Rev. Brian R. Heller, manager of Specialized Pastoral Ministry for the LCMS Office of National Mission, and Zachariah Schnare and Krista Young, mission advocates for LCMS Mission Advancement. The St. Paul Lutheran School choir of Hamel, Ill., directed by Kantor Janet Muth, provided special music for the service.

Preaching on Ephesians 4:1–6 (“Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called”), Robson said, “Be who you were declared to be. Live under the precept that none other than God the Holy Spirit has called you by the Gospel to saving faith.

“And then, undertake your life’s journey in courageous commitment to the practice of humility. … After all, God was patient with you. … So, too, you will be putting up with your neighbor’s eccentricities and failings, his foibles and weaknesses … always with a watchful, expectant gaze, trained upon the cross and therefore rejoicing in … that oneness that is already yours by virtue of one Baptism into … the one Lord Jesus Christ.”

Heller was born in Grand Rapids, Mich. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Concordia University Chicago, River Forest, Ill.; a Master of Divinity from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (CTSFW); and a Master of Sacred Theology from CTSFW. He is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry program at CTSFW, focusing on the practical training of institutional chaplains. He also serves in the Michigan Air National Guard as the superintendent of the 110 Wing Command Post in Battle Creek, Mich.

Heller previously served as chaplain at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne (2016–2017); pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Walnut, Ill. (2017–2020); and, most recently, chaplain at Lutheran Senior Services (2020–2022). He and his wife, Jennette, have three children.

Heller said he is thankful for the opportunity to serve “pastors, deaconesses, church workers and volunteers who bring Christ’s love to those who are imprisoned, those suffering with disabilities, the aged, the sick, the dying and those who respond in emergency situations.” He is looking forward to helping ensure that those who work in specialized settings “are equipped with doctrinally sound resources as they share the love of Christ in increasingly secular environments, and that they also receive the support they need to thrive in the vocations that our Lord has called them to.”

Schnare graduated from Concordia University, Nebraska, Seward, Neb., in 2009, with a degree in art education and ecclesiastical art. He chaired the fine arts department at Metro-East Lutheran High School in Edwardsville, Ill., for 11 years and served on the LCMS Southern Illinois District Board of Directors and the Unity Lutheran Christian (St. Louis) Elementary School Board of Directors. He currently serves as an elder at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Hamel, where he resides with his wife, Dawn, and their eight children. Schnare said that, after working in a secular job for the past two-and-a-half years, “I am excited to return to the work of the church.”

Young was born and raised in Papua New Guinea as the child of missionaries. She received her Director of Christian Education (DCE) certification from Concordia University, St. Paul, St. Paul, Minn., and served as a DCE at churches in Missouri and North Carolina. In 2016, she began serving as an LCMS missionary to Africa, first as a volunteer and partnership coordinator in Ethiopia and then in Kenya. Young and her husband, Joel, a social studies teacher, have two adult children. In her role as a mission advocate, Young will be working with contributors to the LCMS in Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland.

The Rev. Peter K. Lange (left), LCMS first vice-president, conducts the installation rite for Krista Young (mission advocate), the Rev. Brian Heller (manager of Specialized Pastoral Ministry) and Zachariah Schnare (mission advocate) on Oct. 13 at the LCMS International Center in St. Louis. (LCMS/Frank Kohn)

Posted Nov. 16, 2022