Pastor Aimée Appell holds a Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. She has a big heart and is passionate about finding creative ways to share the gospel and to live the gospel in her daily life. (You can check out some of her sermons here.) Her preaching is further enhanced by a rich history of work and travel. She has been employed as a bus driver and travel guide in Alaska; a CDL trainer in Utah; an office worker at a University in Seattle; and yes, she has also done her time scooping ice cream in an ice-creamery. When not focusing on her call at Peace Lutheran Church, she can be found spending time with family, knitting, reading, gardening, or exercising at the YMCA. Mother to four wonderful children – Eli, Holden, Grace, and Abby (as well as three dogs, three cats, a snake, a bearded dragon, a tree frog, eight fancy rats, and three fish), she and husband Nelson have been married since March, 2000. Nelson serves as the Director of the Washington Public Library, where he has worked since 2012. Pastor Aimée served as the Chairperson of Neighbor’s United: Undoing Racism from 2014-2020. NUUR meets on the first Saturday of each month at the Scenic Regional Library in Union. She has moderated a discussion on Interrupting Racism at East Community College, attended the 2009 and 2015 Parliament of World Religions, and is an outspoken proponent of love and inclusion. In 2017, she received the Humanitarian Award from Church Women United of Franklin County. She currently serves on the board of White Lutherans for Racial Justice, an organization of the ELCA. In 2018, she and her family traveled to South Africa for five weeks and to France for three weeks as part of a four-month sabbatical, made possible by a Clergy Renewal Grant from the Lilly Foundation. After returning from sabbatical, Pastor Aimée renewed her commitment to issues of racial justice in the community and the church. In the summer of 2019, she began working on a Doctor of Ministry degree at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. She graduated with her D.Min. in 2023. Her study of ways pastors and congregations can better engage in conversations about race from the pulpit and in their communities was published as her final project under the title “In, With, and Under: Always Preach about Race without Always Preaching about Race.”

Alex Pennock has been involved in various church-wide ministries for over two decades. He has served congregations in Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee, with a focus on outreach ministries in the local communities. Alex is currently enrolled in the Parish Administrator Program which will allow to him to fully lead a service including communion. Currently, he preaches on a rotating schedule with Pastor Aimée, is involved in the music ministry and handles the administerial functions for the church.