Dear Pastor Culbertson, and all Brothers and Sisters of Saint Luke’s,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! It is with great joy that I accept my placement for 2025-2026 as a vicar at your congregation. I have heard excellent things about your congregation from many of my classmates, the faculty and staff of Concordia Seminary, and last year’s vicar Rob Choate, and am excited to experience all that your congregation has and does for myself.
I am originally from Germantown, Wisconsin, and completed my undergraduate studies in Political Science and History at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. Before coming to the seminary, I worked in Milwaukee for a company named Derse performing accounting and software development tasks. During my first year of seminary education, I met Rachel, a student in the diaconal program, and we are getting married on May 31. We are both thrilled to embark upon the adventure of marriage and, shortly thereafter, move to Florida and begin the adventure of our vicarage and deaconess internship. Both of us are looking forward to engaging with the myriad of opportunities that Saint Luke’s offers.
I pray that all the ministries of Saint Luke’s would continue to bear much fruit and that I am able to contribute, in whatever small way, to their ongoing success and growth as I am formed as a vicar over the next year.
Grant Burnham
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Pastor Elliot and Congregation of St. Luke’s,
I am thrilled to accept this assignment to Saint Luke’s for my deaconess internship. Multiple people with connections to Saint Luke’s have shared their love of the congregation and excitement for me to serve there. Even professors at the Seminary have assured me that it is a great congregation. The long history of having vicars and a few deaconess interns gives me confidence that this will be a positive experience.
I grew up in Michigan, and have lived in Illinois, lowa, and Wisconsin. After life in the Midwest, a year in Florida will be a big change. This size of congregation will also be a new experience for me. While I’ve attended churches of varying sizes, the congregation I have been doing field work at during my studies is one that worships about 50 people each weekend. The multiple ministries at Saint Luke’s are sure to provide lots of opportunities to learn and grow.
Grant and I will be moving to Florida less than two months after our wedding. We met at the Seminary even though we discovered that we had been living about half an hour apart in Wisconsin for a couple years. We are excited to serve the church together and support each other in ministry. Our wedding in Wisconsin will be followed by a relaxing honeymoon and then a laid–back celebration in Michigan, mostly for my extended family. The next few months contain a lot of excitement and transitions!
In my free time I love to read, backpack/hike, work on jigsaw and word puzzles, and play the flute. I’ve already noticed some trails on the map that I want to check out! I have some family in Tampa and Sarasota that I haven’t seen in years, and I look forward to connecting with them while I’m closer.
I pray that you are doing well, and that the Lord will continue to bless the people of St. Luke’s and the ministry there.
God bless,
Rachel Wegener Burnham
