Short Bios of Pastors Being Received/Reinstated

Photos by Vince Donovan

Ordained in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Pastor Paul Brenner has 30 years of leadership in the hospice movement and 10 years experience as an inner city parish pastor. Paul's notable achievements include developing an innovative national program of All Inclusive Care for Children and Their Families; the the first Palliative Care program for Persons living with Alzheimer's Disease; the first hospice program for the Deaf; and the first Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care in a Medical Center.



A graduate of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and ordained along with Ruth Frost and Phyllis Zilhart on January 20, 1990 with a call from First United Lutheran Church, Pastor Jeff R. Johnson is currently the pastor of University Lutheran Chapel in Berkeley, on the Steering Committe for the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, is facilitating the East Bay Interfaith Immigration Coalition and is a member of the Syond Council. Jeff's notable achievements include founding the predecessor bodies of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries; serving two terms as Dean of the San Francisco Conference; and as member of the Steering Committee for Religious Witness with Homeless People.

A graduate of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary and ordained in 1978 in the Lutheran Church of America, Pastor Ross D. Merkel is the pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Oakland, CA. Prior to being called to St. Paul in 1982, Ross served as a Refugee Resettlement Coordinator with Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest in Phoenix, AZ and prior to that as Associate Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Phoenix.





A graduate of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and ordained February 18, 2001, Pastor Craig Minich is currently serving the East Bay Lutheran Youth Program with calls from St. Paul Lutheran, United Lutheran, Oakland, Trinity-Oakland, Trinity-Alameda, and Resurrection Lutheran.








A graduate of Lutheran Seminary and ordained on June 16, 2007, Pastor Dawn Roginski is the former Associate Pastor and Director of Parish Programs at St. Francis Lutheran Church, San Francisco. Dawn's notable achievements include serving in leadership roles on the Lutherans Concerned/North America board, on the leadership team for the ELM roster, serving for 10 years at a residential treatment facility for seriously mentally ill patients at Boston Health Care in Minneapolis and then as a chaplain at a residential treatment center for children in Kansas City, MO.



A graduate and candidate for the Doctorate of Ministry degree at the Pacific School of Religion and ordained on November 18, 2006, Pastor Megan Rohrer is the Executive Director of Welcome with calls from St. Francis Lutheran, Iglesia de Santa Maria y Marta, herchurch and Christ Church, in San Francisco, the Project Manager of Project Homeless Connect's Growing Home Community Garden and a board member of the Sojourn Chaplaincy at San Francisco General Hospital. Megan's notable achievements include serving as the Director of Candidacy for Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, on the Steering Committee for the San Francisco Trans March, as an author for the Human Rights Campaign's Out In Season: the Church Year Through Transgender Eyes and winner of Out History's Since Stonewall Local History Competition.

A graduate of the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and ordained on May 12, 2002, a is the former chaplain of the Lutheran Ministry to Nursing Homes where she was called by St. Paul Lutheran, Resurrection Lutheran and Trinity Lutheran in Oakland and Trinity Lutheran Church, Alameda.

Pastor Craig Minich

Photo by Vince Donovan

On Sunday, February 18, 2001 Craig Minich was ordained as Pastor of Youth Ministries for the Oakland-Berkeley Lutheran Youth Program. Pastor Minich was called by three Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) congregations — St. Paul Lutheran, Oakland, United Lutheran, Oakland, and University Lutheran Chapel, Berkeley.

Pr. Minich is a 1999 graduate of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California. Pr. Minich established the Oakland- Berkeley Youth Ministry in 1999 and served as a lay director until his ordination. The program has changed over the past decade of its existence, adding a church, losing a church, and even experiencing a name change. The East Bay Lutheran Youth Program (EBLYP) serves youth and families from five East Bay congregations and provides pastoral care and ministry opportunities for children pre-elementary through college age.

Pr. Minich attended Lenoir Rhyne College in Hickory, NC and graduated in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, double majoring in Philosophy with an emphasis in existentialism and English Literature with an emphasis on 20th Century drama. Interestingly, he was baptized as an adult at his college chapel April 15th, 1993, just two months before he graduated from LRC, and his freshly forming faith was impacted greatly by two summers as camp counselor at Lutheridge Summer Camp in Arden, NC. It was there that he felt God's call and honed his passion for youth ministry.

In addition to the Master of Divinity degree from PLTS in 1999, he also took a Master of Arts in Ethics, his thesis "Healing Self, Healing Identity: The Ethics of 'Right Relationship with Self, Other, and God in the Face of Affliction" passing "with honors."

Other ministry opportunities has found Pr. Minich serving on the Sierra Pacific Synod Youth Committee (SPSYC) for the past 9 years, 6 of those as District C adult representative, and the last 3 as adult chair. Most recently in July 2010, he co-led a group of 25 adults and youth on the SPSYC for their annual training immersion - this year in Rwanda in Africa. The SPSYC is working on deepening partnerships with Lutheran Church in Rwanda and is excited to invite Rwanda youth next year to Northern California to the mirror image of our experience this year.

Pr. Minich would like to thank all the members of the Extraordinary Candidacy Project, Lutheran & Lesbian Gay Ministries, and Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries who helped create the infrastructure and support necessary to make extraordinary ordinations feasible and possible. He would also like to acknowledge all the members of the East Bay Lutheran Parish who created a structure to multi-point ministries in the city.

Pr. Minich live in San Carlos with his partner of 7 years, Bruce Baker. He loves to snow board, attend concerts, and make movies.

Pastor Ross Merkel

Ross D. Merkel, the current pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Oakland, CA, is the tenth pastor to serve the congregation since its founding in 1887. Ordained in 1978, he is a graduate of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina. Prior to being called to St. Paul in 1982, Pastor Merkel served as a Refugee Resettlement Coordinator with Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest in Phoenix, AZ and prior to that as Associate Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Phoenix.

A native Californian, he graduated from the University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Arts and then attended Brigham Young University in Provo, UT where he earned a Bachelor of Science and a Masters of Library Science.

Pastor Sharon Stalkfleet

Photo by Vince Donovan
Sharon was ordained May 12, 2002 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Oakland, CA and installed as Pastor to the Lutheran Ministry to Nursing Homes at the same service.

Sharon received calls to this joint ministry from St. Paul Lutheran, Resurrection Lutheran and Trinity Lutheran in Oakland,CA and Trinity Lutheran Church Alameda, CA. Sharon was the first pastor to this ministry. "It was a growthful, challenging experience to start a ministry from its first day. It was a pleasure to work with the people from the supporting congregations to share the love of Christ with so many people of diverse ethnic backgrounds and experiences. I learned that fifteen minutes a week of one's time can make a big difference in one's life." Sharon ended her call to the ministry in December of 2008 for personal reasons. Sharon currently is open to call and preaching most Sundays at congregations in the East Bay of San Francisco.

Sharon, first came to a Lutheran congregation in Iowa City, IA in 1988. "It was a marvelous experience hearing of God's love week after week and that God's love for me was not dependent on what I have done, do or will do. With this good news, I believe Lutherans have much to share with the world."

Becoming a pastor is a second vocation for Sharon. She worked many years as a registered nurse and nurse clinician at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics, in Iowa City. Sharon has experience working with AIDS service organizations and Domestic Violence Shelter while in Iowa.

In 1995, Sharon went to Chicago and studied at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
Many of her activities were focused on urban ministry such as attending ACTs Urban Clinical Pastoral Education program in Chicago and completing an internship as a jail chaplain in Richmond, CA and a vicar at St. Paul's Lutheran in Oakland.

Sharon remains active in the community. Currently she is the is a member of the Sierra Pacific Synod Racial Ethnic Ministry Team focusing on Strategic Planning. She is President of the Northern Alameda County Thrivent Chapter Board and a member of the Board of the Alzheimers Service of the East Bay.

Sharon has been on the roster of ELM since 2001, identifying as bisexual. "I am glad to live out the fullness of my life as I am." She lives in Alameda, CA with her partner Larell Fineren and their most adorable dog Greta. She has one son, Nikolai and his wife Sarah, who have two amazing children, Johnny and Alison. She loves to have contemplative time, as well as walk, do expressive art, swim and read fantasy and science fiction. Sharon has the complete DVD set of the series of Star Trek Voyager.

Pastor Paul Brenner

Photo by Vince Donovan
Pastor Paul R. Brenner, M.Div., M. Mu., is a graduate of Northwestern University, Evanston, Il, Concordia Theological Seminary and Gestalt Therapy Institute of Miami, Fl. With 30 years of leadership in the hospice movement, serving programs in Jacksonville, Florida, West Palm Beach, Florida, Rockville, Md. and Jacob Perlow Hospice at Beth Israel Medical Center, New York City, Paul developed an innovative national program of All Inclusive Care for Children and Their Families; The the first Palliative Care program for Persons living with Alzheimer's Disease; the first hospice program for the Deaf; the first Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care in a Medical Center; and is widely published in the field of palliative and hospice care. Paul has also served ten years as pastor of a Lutheran inner city parish in Jacksonville, Florida, and also served as an interim pastor in that community.

Currently a member of St. Francis Lutheran Church in San Francisco, where he serves as a member of the church council and substitute organist, Paul has also served on the Worship Committee, the Board of the Friends of St. Francis Childcare Center, the St. Vincent de Paul Committee, facilitated the Adult Study Group for over two years, served as an interim pastor for a year and a half during St. Francis' vacancy, and sings in the choir. A motet he composed was sung by the Men and Boys choir of St. Thomas Lutheran Church, Leipzig, Germany. Presently he volunteers in the Creative Healing Project, a program with his son, Matthew, which provides art experiences for children and teens diagnosed with potentially life threatening medical conditions. Paul is our first member of the ELM roster from the LCMS tradition. ELM now officially rosters members of the ELCA, ELCIC and LCMS.

Pastor Jeff Johnson

Photo by Vince Donovan
Pastor Jeff R. Johnson was ordained along with Ruth Frost and Phyllis on January 20, 1990 at St. Paulus Lutheran Church in San Francisco. He was considered ineligible for placement in a congregation because of a newly created ELCA policy requiring a pledge of celibacy from gay and lesbian pastors. First United Lutheran Church (San Francisco) challenged this policy (along with St. Francis) and was expelled from the ELCA in 1995 for calling him as pastor. In 1999, Pr. Johnson was called to be the campus pastor at University Lutheran Chapel which was censured for extending this call. Pr. Johnson continues to serve here and this year, at the 2010 Synod Assembly Bishop Holmerud lifted this censure. Jeff is a 1984 graduate of California Lutheran University where he received degrees in German and History. In 1988, he received a Master of Divinity degree from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley. He helped to found Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministries and the Extraordinary Candidacy Project, which later merged and became Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries. He served two terms as Dean of the ELCA's San Francisco Conference of Lutheran Churches; has been a member of the Steering Committee for Religious Witness with Homeless People; was recently elected to the SPS Synod Council; is on the Steering Committe for the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice; facilitates the East Bay Interfaith Immigration Coalition; and is an Internship Supervisor and Teaching Parish Supervisor for Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. He lives in Oakland's Piedmont District with his partner J. Guadalupe (Pepe) Sanchez Aldaco in their a 1928 stucco bungalow. He enjoys a good mystery novel, gardening in his back yard, fishing, home-repair, relaxing in coffee-shops, salsa dancing Sunday afternoons, and walking around the lake.