St. John's Staff
Rev. Ken Gibson
Pastor Ken Gibson serves as Pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Mendota, IL. Pastor Ken (PK) comes to us with a wide range of experiences both in and outside of the church.
PK has a degree in Agriculture Education and early in his adult life did in fact teach Vo-Ag. Right out of college he worked as an Ag Chemical Representative for Stauffer Chemical Company and served a territory in nearby Henry and Bureau counties. He also farmed part-time while teaching Vo-Ag in Freeport and Lena Illinois. PK served for 4 years as a Country Companies insurance agent prior to attending seminary. When he finally submitted to the call to attend seminary, he and his family moved to Dubuque, IA to attend Wartburg Theological Seminary.
Upon graduating from WTS, PK accepted a call to serve as Pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chassell, MI, way up on the Keweenaw Peninsula which is the upper peninsula of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. After five years, he was then called to serve in the development office at Wartburg Theological Seminary. PK served at the seminary for 7 years; and he concluded his time there serving as the Vice-President of the Mission Support office. PK then served for 1.5 years as Vice President of Mission Support for Hillcrest Family Services which is a Methodist and Presbyterian social service agency in Dubuque.
PK returned to the call most dear to his heart, to serve as a Parish Pastor. He accepted a call to serve as the Senior Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Woodstock, IL where he remained for 11.5 years. If you add up all those years, it equates to over 25 years in service to the Church as an ordained pastor.
Pastor Ken and his wife Yvonne are excited to be in Mendota now and they, along with their dachshund Bob, are thankful for the wonderful parsonage to call home. In many ways, being in this area is a "coming home" type of experience for them both as PK is a Kewanee High School graduate and Yvonne graduated from Elmwood High School.
Yvonne has two children and PK has two children and between them they boast of 7 grandchildren. They enjoy spending time with their children and grandkids. They also enjoy spending time camping in their fifth wheel camper. PK is very much looking forward to local parades or any other event that will allow him to ride his 1939 John Deere B.
PK has a degree in Agriculture Education and early in his adult life did in fact teach Vo-Ag. Right out of college he worked as an Ag Chemical Representative for Stauffer Chemical Company and served a territory in nearby Henry and Bureau counties. He also farmed part-time while teaching Vo-Ag in Freeport and Lena Illinois. PK served for 4 years as a Country Companies insurance agent prior to attending seminary. When he finally submitted to the call to attend seminary, he and his family moved to Dubuque, IA to attend Wartburg Theological Seminary.
Upon graduating from WTS, PK accepted a call to serve as Pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chassell, MI, way up on the Keweenaw Peninsula which is the upper peninsula of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. After five years, he was then called to serve in the development office at Wartburg Theological Seminary. PK served at the seminary for 7 years; and he concluded his time there serving as the Vice-President of the Mission Support office. PK then served for 1.5 years as Vice President of Mission Support for Hillcrest Family Services which is a Methodist and Presbyterian social service agency in Dubuque.
PK returned to the call most dear to his heart, to serve as a Parish Pastor. He accepted a call to serve as the Senior Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Woodstock, IL where he remained for 11.5 years. If you add up all those years, it equates to over 25 years in service to the Church as an ordained pastor.
Pastor Ken and his wife Yvonne are excited to be in Mendota now and they, along with their dachshund Bob, are thankful for the wonderful parsonage to call home. In many ways, being in this area is a "coming home" type of experience for them both as PK is a Kewanee High School graduate and Yvonne graduated from Elmwood High School.
Yvonne has two children and PK has two children and between them they boast of 7 grandchildren. They enjoy spending time with their children and grandkids. They also enjoy spending time camping in their fifth wheel camper. PK is very much looking forward to local parades or any other event that will allow him to ride his 1939 John Deere B.
Susan Garner - Office/Finance
Susan manages the church office and operations, as well as handles all financial aspects for the ministry. Susan is a native of Oglesby and received a degree from John Brown University in Siloam Springs, AR. She has been involved in church and Christian ministry most of her adult life, and served as a Missionary in Belguim. Before coming to St. John's, Susan directed programs for the homeless and was Finance Manager for the AFL-CIO in Memphis, TN. Susan speaks fluent French and loves to travel and sing.
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Karen Goy - Interim Youth Director
Laura Zimmerman - Secretary
Laurie has been the secretary at St. John's since 2010 and she enjoys the variety of responsibilities that come with the position. Whether answering the phone, greeting visitors, or creating the bulletins or newsletters, she feels that the best part of the job is developing relationships with our members.
Laurie and her husband Curt were married at St. John's and their three boys - Grant, Mark & Cole - have all been very involved in the youth program and activities. Laurie enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and reading. James Younger - Praise Band Director
Delle Vercimak - Choir Director Vicki Wujek and Delle Vercimak - Accompanists Karyn Bock, Rob Guardiola & Dawn Kendall - Custodians |
Church Council
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Steve Florschuetz, President
Ken Ladenburger, Vice President Melissa Nosalik, Secretary Carol Wheeler, Treasurer |
Ed Bock
Dorothy Brandner Gary Duttlinger Melvette Jones |
Dawn Kendall
Roberta Wendel Todd Zimmerlein |