Greetings in the name of our Lord, Jesus the Christ!!
I’m Pr. D. J. Rasner, and I will be working with you as you prepare for your next pastor. I want to use this article to introduce myself and let you get to know me a bit.
I am married and have four rambunctious, energetic, loud, busy, far-from-sedentary children!! My wife, Amanda, is the Camp Director for Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp, where she has been managing an incredibly weird summer without summer programing and the energy young people bring to that place of grace. Our children are Dietrich (11), Solomon (11), Reuben (9), and Evie (6), and they are students at Forest Park in Crystal Falls where we live. We have been a family that likes to be active in as many outdoor activities as we can. Consequently, our children have been involved with soccer, baseball, swimming, camping, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking and anything else we can imagine. (Oh yeah!! I almost forgot hunting and fishing!) We thought it an ideal time during the COVID shutdown to raise a puppy, so we injected the energy of a Goldendoodle into our home. So far so good!
My wife and I moved our family to Crystal Falls in the winter of 2019 because of her position with Fortune Lake. Prior to moving to Iron County, we had been living in Dollar Bay while I was serving as the settled pastor of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Hancock for nearly seven years. I got my start with a congregation in rural Chippewa Falls, WI called English Lutheran Church of Bateman. I received my undergraduate degree in Business Administration (Management emphasis) from the University of Wisconsin—Green Bay and my Masters of Divinity degree from Warburg Theological Seminary. In 2013, I completed the Intentional Interim Pastor training and received my certification from the National Association of Lutheran Interim Pastors (NALIP). I have been interim pastor for Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chassell and, most recently, Mission United Lutheran Church in Pelkie, MI.
I’m looking forward to working with you as you go through yet another interim process. I am already aware of how frustrating this is for you. Please know that 1) working together with your leaders and our bishop, I hope to make this transition as smooth as possible, and 2) I am just down the road and am here for you if you need anything, if you want a cup of coffee, or just need to vent. I am hopeful that as we work together during the interim we will discover more ways to further God’s reign of love in the Iron River area.
Peace be with you,
Pr. D. J. Rasner