Rev. Kerri Parker (she/her) has been Executive Director of the Wisconsin Council of Churches since 2017. During her tenure, the Council has become known nationwide for its leadership in faith-based COVID19 response, fresh ecumenical vision, and collaborations for racial equity. In 2023 she was honored by the United Church of Christ with its Avery D. Post Ecumenical Award. She has served as local church pastor in McFarland, WI and YWCA executive.

Her wider church work includes the Christian Unity & Interfaith Ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Board of the Wisconsin Conference of the UCC, church camp and United Church of Christ General Synod Delegate. Rev. Parker preaches widely around Wisconsin and has co-authored study-action guides on Faith & Gun Violence and Jesus & Justice in Public. She contributed to the book “There’s a Woman in the Pulpit” (Skylight Paths, 2015). Rev. Parker earned her MDiv from Chicago Theological Seminary.

She is a DMin candidate at Iliff School of Theology. Beyond church and her family, Rev. Parker’s passions are stories, show tunes, and justice.

The Rev. Dr. Niveen Ibrahim Sarras, is pastor at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church.  Prior to her call here, she served as the Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Wausau, WI, since 2016. As a Palestinian woman, born in Bethlehem (in the West Bank), a member of a Christian family among a population of Muslim majority, Pastor Niveen has experienced the war between the Israelis and the Palestinians firsthand.

Her first bachelor’s degree in Biblical studies was earned in Cairo, Egypt, to which she had fled during hostilities. This was followed by her first master’s degree earned in theological studies at a Presbyterian seminary in Cairo. When she returned to Bethlehem, she was aware that in her country, a woman cannot be a spiritual leader. Her heart led her first to Chicago, IL, and then to Berkley, CA, where she would earn additional master’s degrees in theological studies and in divinity.  A PhD in Old Testament Studies of the Hebrew Bible from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago completes Pastor Niveen’s educational background. 

Proficiencies in Hebrew, English, and German languages afford her the ability to study Biblical texts (and the writings of Luther) in their original languages. Learning, teaching, and sharing messages of love and hope are a core part of who she is; however, so are gardening, hiking, and sharing a good cup of tea with friends. Sharing the Word is integral to who Pastor Niveen is. She has presented papers on topics from the Bible and taught classes in continuing education at several Wisconsin universities.

The Rev. Dr. Philip C. Hirsch is working to bring about the revitalization of ELCA congregations in the United States by recruiting, training, and supporting leaders. He has a passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for helping new people find faith and Christian community. He believes the church can and will grow younger and more diverse and that there is nothing more powerful than God’s love because it can transform first the human heart and then the world.

Pastor Hirsch is the Executive Director of Christian Community and Leadership (USA) for the ELCA (since February 2019). His responsibilities include starting new churches, developing congregational vitality, leadership and candidacy, seminaries and colleges, youth and young adult ministries including the national youth gathering, multicultural ministries, disability ministries, and the directors for evangelical mission who work in synods for congregations.

Pastor Hirsch graduated from Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove PA in Sociology and Psychology and received a Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. He earned a Doctor of Ministry from United Theological Seminary in Dayton Ohio in preaching with a focus on alleviating violence in the inner city. He was awarded a Leadership Grant from the Lily Foundation to continue his work and study in South Africa.

Pastor Hirsch was assistant to the bishop and Director of Evangelical Mission for the Metropolitan Washington DC Synod where they launched an effort to grow the synod by 10% and started new churches to make that happen 2009-2019. He was pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Fairfax, VA 2000-2009 and of Christus, Epiphany, Grace, La Trinidad and New Life Lutheran Churches in Camden, NJ 1990-2000.

He was Vice President of the Camden Lutheran Housing and President of Dooley House, a series of homes for sick children and their families. He was a leader in Camden Churches Organized for People, a church-based community organizing effort that brought millions of dollars to the city for housing, safety and job creating businesses. He worked on the burned churches project with the National Council of Churches.

He is married to Dana M. T. Hirsch, and they have three adult sons. He is a cabinet maker and enjoys bicycling, hiking, skiing, and photography. He and Dana live in Chicago, IL.