Ministry Staff at Grace Lutheran Church

Pastor Edward P. Skutshek

Pastor Skutshek has served as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church since June 1st, 2000. He was born in St. Boniface, Manitoba, in 1956. He was baptized at Lutheran Church of the Cross, Winnipeg, Manitoba, that same year. His family was active in church life. They moved to Kelowna in 1968. They became members at Christ Lutheran Church in Kelowna, BC, where Pastor Ed was confirmed in 1970. He graduated from George Pringle Senior Secondary School in 1974. Ed graduated with a BA from Simon Frazer University, Burnaby BC in 1979 with a major in Psychology.

He graduated from Western State University College of Law in San Diego, California, USA in 1983. He practiced law in California for some 13 _ years. Ed met and married his wife Denise (nee Hughes) in 1984. Their one and only son Jonathan was born in 1987. Denise is a Speech Pathologist / Therapist. Beginning in 1993, Pastor Ed experienced a call to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. By the fall of 1996, his family moved from San Diego to Saskatoon Saskatchewan, so that Ed could attend Lutheran Theological Seminary. While at Seminary, Pastor Ed served a one year internship in a vacant three point parish in Saskatchewan and completed a rotation as intern chaplain at Victoria General Hospital in Winnipeg. He earned a Master’s of Divinity Degree and graduated from Seminary with academic distinction in May of 2000.

His wife Denise continues to practice speech therapy. She directs our traditional choir known as the Grace Choir, sings in our Praise Choir and is part of a quartet made up of women from our congregation known as “SOLACE” Their son Jonathan is currently studying at the School of Pharmacy at the University of British Columbia.

Pastor Karen Seifert

Pastor Karen Seifert was born on June 29, 1982, in Great Falls, Montana. She was baptized into the Christian faith in 1982 at Faith Lutheran Church in Great Falls, Montana. She was confirmed as a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in October of 1997 at 
Roseville Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Karen graduated from Roseville Area High School, Roseville, Minnesota, in 2000. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biblical  Languages from Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, in 2004. She began her  theological education in September 2004, at Luther Theological  Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota. She served a year as intern pastor at  Scobey Lutheran Church, Scobey, Montana, and Peerless Lutheran Church,  Peerless, Montana, under the supervision of Pastor Paul Landeraaen.  She graduated from Luther Theological Seminary with a Master of  Divinity degree on May 23, 2009.

On June 18, 2005, Karen was married to Michael Keith Seifert at First 
Lutheran Church in Decorah, Iowa.

Karen was ordained on August 8th at Faith Lutheran Church in Hutchinson, Minnesota and is rostered with LCMC (Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ.) Pastor Karen has applied to be included on the CALC (Canadian Association of  Lutheran Churches) Roster of Pastors, at the 2009 CALC Convention November 6,7, and 8 at Grace Lutheran Church, Kelowna, BC.

© Grace Lutheran Church Kelowna 2006
Grace Lutheran Church is a member congregation of CALC and LCMC