Pastor Luke S. Smetters, ordained on January 23, 2010, began his ministry here just one week before Christmas in 2009. Pastor Luke graduated from Valparaiso University with a Bachelors Degree in Theology and Pre-Seminary Studies in May 2004. He is a 2009 graduate of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) where he earned a Master of Divinity degree. From October 2005 to September 2006, Pastor Luke took a leave of absence from his studies to work at the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Geneva, Switzerland in the Department of Theology and Studies as well as the Office for International Affairs and Human Rights. He has worked in the Office of the Secretary at the ELCA Churchwide Office in Chicago for the planning of three national assemblies. Pastor Luke was born and raised in Mundelein, Illinois. He has three younger siblings who live in the Midwest. He loves to sing and is the current president for the Dubuque Chorale in Dubuque, Iowa. Pastor Luke has a wide range of hobbies and interests. Right now, the hobby he is most focused on is training for triathlon races. He competed in the Ironman Race in Louisville, Kentucky on August 24, 2014 and finished with a time of 11:29:01. He is an Ironman!