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Lutheran Church of the Redeemer
731 Peachtree St. NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
Church Office: 404-874-8664
Fax: 404-874-8228
The office hours are 9:00am to 4:00pm Monday through Thursday and 9:00am to 1:00pm Friday. In case of emergency, please call a pastor at 404-874-9759.
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Pastor Mary Peters grew up in Salem Virginia, studied at James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA and for many years worked as a speech pathologist and special education teacher. Not a “cradle Lutheran”, it was in college that she joined the Lutheran Church.
Pastor Mary cautiously responded to God’s call, wanting to make sure God had not called the wrong person by mistake. During seminary the opportunities for hospital ministry training were her favorite.
Pastor Mary served her first parish in Shamokin, Pennsylvania where she also served as a hospital chaplain. She went on to further her clinical pastoral education with a year’s chaplain residency at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. At year’s end the discernment between hospital chaplaincy and congregational ministry was not easy. Fortunately, a congregational call from St. John’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, North Carolina provided the clear answer and was a great blessing.
In 2000 Pastor Mary and Pastor Donald Miller married and moved to Winchester, VA. On leaving St. John’s the farewell roast focused on her lousy singing.
Coming back southward was made possible by a call to serve on the North Carolina’s Bishop’s staff. Donald however, found employment in Atlanta, GA with Emory Healthcare and living apart was a challenge. Pastor Mary finally joined Donald in Atlanta and was called to Redeemer. Following the transitions after Pastor Sims’ retirement, Pastor Mary went on to serve as transition/interim pastor for two congregations. In 2010 Redeemer Lutheran issued a call to Pastor Mary to return and it is her hope to remain for a long time in her role as Associate Pastor for Member Care.
Mission Developer/Atlanta Bar Church
Besides being the Associate Pastor for Outreach and Evangelism, Karen is a mother and wife. She thinks Jesus probably looked like Sayid from LOST. She has aspirations to live in a yurt and raise chickens. Karen is also the proprietor of Atlanta Bar Church, a twice monthly gathering of seekers, sinners, and saints who get together and sing old school hymns in a bar.
Bio – The Rev. Mark H. Larson
Senior Pastor, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Saint Charles, IL, 2004-Present
Senior Pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church, Park Ridge IL, 1997-2004
Pastor, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Riverdale, IL, 1988-1997
Div. in Religion from Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA, 1987
A. in English and Religion from Augustana College, Rock Island, IL, 1984
Pastor Mark Larson knew he wanted to be a parish pastor when he was eight years old. Having a father who was a pastor probably had something to do with that early calling, but probably even more important was the congregation where Mark and his family worshiped. Reen Memorial was a small Lutheran congregation in the inner city of St. Louis, and in the 1960’s, was right in the middle of many of the struggles and questions being faced by the entire nation: the war in Vietnam, the civil rights movement, school busing, gangs, drugs and the war on poverty. Reen was a congregation dedicated to welcoming all with the love of Christ, working on behalf of the poor, especially young people, and joining with other churches to improve the quality of life in its neighborhood. That early experience of how a congregation could be relevant and central to people’s everyday lives has remained a foundation for Pastor Mark’s vision of ministry from the beginning.
After graduating from Lane Tech. High School in Chicago and Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, Pastor Larson, enrolled in Harvard Divinity School for his seminary education. Firm in his Lutheran identity, he wanted to learn from other religious perspectives. Harvard certainly fulfilled that hope. Even as he worked as a Vicar for Students at University Lutheran Church in Harvard Square, Mark studied with students from all over the world from every kind of religious perspective imaginable. Another central part of his vision for ministry was formed during this time; when we are clear about what we believe and why we believe it, we can meet other beliefs with openness and respect rather than fear and judgment.
While serving his first parish as pastor, Our Savior’s Lutheran in Riverdale, IL, Mark met someone who shared his commitment to building community and faith active in love. Cindy Holler was hired by New Cities Community Development Corp. to help churches deal with the overwhelming amount of abandoned housing in the south suburbs of Chicago. While working together to build a senior housing complex on land that his church owned, Cindy and Mark fell in love and were married in 1994. Cindy now runs her own national consulting firm in the affordable housing sector, but until last year she worked to develop housing for the poor and homeless as Vice President for Real Estate Development for Mercy Housing, a national non-profit housing provider.
Associate Interim Pastor
Rev. Tom Kenny served as senior pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Alpharetta, GA for twenty years until his retirement in September 2015. Prior to coming to Georgia, Tom served as pastor of St. Luke Lutheran Church, Hialeah Florida for 10 years.
Tom is married to Barbara and they have one daughter and two granddaughters.
Tom was born in Ireland and raised in the Roman Catholic tradition. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1967.
Since retirement Pastor Tom has become a volunteer chaplain at Emory Johns Creek Hospital and at Sunrise Assisted Living in Alpharetta. He is honored to be invited by Pastor Dave to assist with the pastoral work at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.
dosborne@redeemer.org
