Rev. Chris Duckworth

Hello.  I am Pastor Chris Duckworth, the Senior Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church.  I came to Grace in August, 2011, and am truly honored to serve in this congregation and community.

I grew up in the Philadelphia area, running around church basements, singing in church choirs, and serving as a worship leader since the 9th grade.  Though I was nurtured in faith by the church, nonetheless some of my most formative faith experiences happened outside of the church, namely in the hallways of my high school, and working alongside the homeless in a community located just a short bike ride from my home.  And this is to be expected.  God is at work in our lives and in our world, coming to us both in worship and in our daily lives.

As a pastor, I expect God to show up and do something when we gather for prayer and worship on Sundays.  I expect God to bless us, forgive us our sins, and nurture us in faith and hope.  Why?  Because God promises to do so.  But as a pastor I also expect God to show up in our daily lives, to come to us where we might least expect God to show up – walking alongside us in our sufferings, rejoicing with us in our celebrations, leading us to love and serve others.  Indeed, God comes to us through others every single day.

I am excited to be at Grace, and am blessed to see God at work in our congregation and in our community.  I believe that God is on a mission to love and bless the world, and that it is the church’s calling to join in that mission of loving and blessing.

Before arriving at Grace my ministry experiences include serving as an Associate Pastor in Arlington, VA, writing and editing curriculum for Augsburg Fortress Publishers, working in fundraising for our Lutheran seminary in Philadelphia, and serving as a resident chaplain at a hospital in Philadelphia.  It’s been a wonderful, varied road that has led me to Grace.

I am married to Jessicah, and we have three children – Talitha, Cana, and Naaman.  In fact, it was my wife that brought us to Minnesota from Virginia.  She is an ordained pastor and a professor at Luther Seminary in St Paul, teaching in the Congregational and Community Care Leadership department.  She teaches both in the PhD program and in the Masters degree program.

Apart from church, I am an avid baseball fan, political junkie, and on-again-off-again runner.

I am excited to be here at Grace, and look forward to sharing in God’s love and grace with you, with this wonderful congregation, and with the people of our East Side community.

Peace to you, and thanks.

Pastor Chris Duckworth

pastor@gracelutheranstpaul.org,
http://www.facebook.com/gracelutheranstpaul
http://www.facebook.com/chrisduckworth