The Crossings Community, Inc is supported by an active group of pastors and lay persons who believe in the mission of Crossings. They meet once a month and are involved in working on projects to further the reach of the Crossings Community.
Jerry Burce – President
Dr. Burce is the senior pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Fairview Park, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. He began his ministry teaching Scripture and theology at a seminary in Papua New Guinea, where he had been born and raised as a child of Lutheran missionaries. He was introduced to U.S. parish ministry at Zion Lutheran Church in Southington, Connecticut. Dr. Burce received his MDiv from Christ Seminary—Seminex and his DMin from Hartford Seminary. He is president of the Crossings board and edits “Thursday Theology,” a weekly Crossings publication. He has spoken at several prior Crossings events.
Lori Cornell – Vice President
The Rev. Lori Cornell serves as the new Lead Pastor at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Spokane, Washington. Lori served 3 calls in the Pacific Northwest over the course of 27 years before moving inland to Spokane. She was mentored by the Rev. Dr. Bob Bertram, and has written and edited for The Crossings Community for the past 20 years. Lori has spoken at several Crossings Conferences–most recently the January 2020 Conference: “The Broken Life.” Lori is the mother of two grown daughters, Anna and Elizabeth, who teach preschool and kindergarten.
Cathy Lessmann- Executive Secretary
Cathy has been involved in Crossings – on the board, writing Sabbath Theologies, serving as Executive Secretary – for 38 years, and grateful for every minute. She has a M.A. in Religion from LSTC, and is a licensed lay minister in the Central States Synod. She and her husband Gary divide their time between Littleton CO – where they enjoy their 4 children and 10 grandchildren – and St Louis. “I’m ever so grateful for the gift of learning the sweet Gospel from Bob Bertram, Ed Schroeder, and the other amazing people in our Community. Now, I just want to pass it on.”
Chris Neumann – Treasurer
Chris Neumann joined the Crossings board as treasurer in the summer of 2021. He has also written several articles for Crossings’ Thursday Theology blog. Chris, his wife, and their four children are all but lifelong members of Messiah Lutheran Church in Fairview Park, Ohio where Chris has served in various leadership capacities including congregation president. Chris has held senior management positions in operations and process improvement for several organizations in Northeast Ohio. He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Kent State University.
Chris Repp
Dr. Repp is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Champaign, Illinois. His first call was to teach church history and theology at a Lutheran seminary in St. Petersburg, Russia. He then served as pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Carbondale, Illinois, before accepting his current call. He received his MDiv from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and a PhD in Russian history from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is a member of the Crossings board.
Steven Albertin
Steve Albertin is a Board Member of Crossings and a writer of text studies and occasional offerings for the Crossings Blog. He is a retired ELCA pastor now residing in Zionsville, Indiana and currently serving as Interim Pastor at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, Carmel, Indiana. Steve holds M.Div. and S.T.M. degrees from Christ Seminary-Seminex and a D. Min. Degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Over the years, he has written several new hymns and published several collections of sermons.
Robin Lütjohann
Rev. Lütjohann hails from Berlin, Germany, and has been serving as pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, since 2015. He graduated from nearby Harvard Divinity School in 2013, where he now co-teaches Lutheran Confessions to ELCA seminarians and others. He is board chair of common cathedral, a street church for unhoused people in Boston, and a member of the Crossings board.
Kris Fahey
Kris Fahey is currently and has been an interim pastor for the La Crosse Area Synod (ELCA) for ten years out of thirty-six years serving as an ELCA pastor. Recently I served an interim call at Mindoro/Lewis Valley Lutheran churches in the La Crosse Area Synod of the ELCA. I have also been a settled pastor for twenty-one years in the following congregations: St. Paul’s, La Crosse; Looney Valley and Cedar Valley, Houston, MN; Hope Lutheran, St. Charles, MO, and St. Mark’s, Clayton, MO. I earned an M. Div. degree from Eden Seminary in 1987. While studying at Eden, Dr. Ed Schroeder (co-founder of Crossings) taught my Lutheran theology courses.
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