Bring the Love of Christ - Specialized Pastoral Ministry

Rev. Joel Hempel is Director and Religious Endorser of LCMS Specialized Pastoral Ministry.  As director, the Rev. Joel Hempel facilitates ecclesiastical endorsements, recruits specialized pastoral ministers, provides opportunities for continuing education and peer support, and offers mentoring and pastoral care as needed. Hempel is a certified clinical pastoral educator (CPE) with the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (AC... Read more

Rev. Arthur Werzner grew up in Houston, TX.  He completed M.Div. Studies at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis in the Spring of 2000.  In the summer of 2000, he did 1 unit - 10 weeks / 400 hours of Clinical Pastoral Education at St. Louis University Hospital in St. Louis.  That was followed by a 3 unit Clinical Pastoral Education Residency with Lutheran Senior Services at Laclede Groves in St. Louis.  In the Spring of 2001, Chp. Werzner... Read more

Rev. Brad Thomas lives with his wife and twelve-year-old son in Collinsville, Illinois, where they are members of Holy Cross Lutheran. He graduated from Concordia Seminary St. Louis in 2008 and was called by Lutheran Senior Services to serve as chaplain for the people of Meridian Village in Glen Carbon, IL. As chaplain, he brings the Word of God to the residents of the community through worship services, Bible studies and one-on-on... Read more

Rev. Kenneth N. Hessel has been a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod minister for 30 years and is Chaplain at the Good Samaritan Society-Millard NE and Chaplain for Papillion Fire Department. He moved from Long Island NY after spending 19 years there. He has served congregations in Schleswig, IA; Omaha, NE; Huntsville, TX; and Old Westbury, NY. He has served as a firefighter, EMT and chaplain for the Westbury Fire Department, served as... Read more

Deaconess Gayle Truesdell attended Concordia Seminary to become a deaconess After being a stay-at-home mother of seven children for nearly thirty years. She hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Missouri—Kansas City. After doing fieldwork at Breeze Park, a Lutheran Senior Services older adult community, and a deaconess internship in Clinical Pastoral Education at Laclede Groves also a Lut... Read more

Rev. David Ficken began full time parish ministry July 2007 at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Plover, Wisconsin. His first police ride-along was in August of that year when became a police chaplain. He became a fire chaplain in June 2016. In the Spring of 2017 his chaplaincy expanded to include Portage County Sheriff Office and Plover Police Department. Chaplains play an important role in the lives of people who are hurting, ... Read more

Rev. Jeffery Scheer serves Lutheran Senior Services (LSS) in St. Louis, MO as the Administrator for Clinical Pastoral Education.  Jeff is a 2004 graduate of Concordia Seminary St. Louis and was fully certified as a CPE Supervisor (now called Certified Educator) by the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) in 2011.  He also became a Board Certified Chaplain (BCC) with the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) in 20... Read more

Deaconess Tiffany Manor is called by the New England District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod to be the Deaconess for Human Care, her work is focused on caring for rostered church workers and their family members.  She previously served Mill Neck Family of Organizations as Lutheran Friends of the Deaf’s Director of Ministry Support Services where she and other Lutheran Friends of the Deaf staff members provided chaplaincy ser... Read more