The Rev. Dianne O. Loufman came to Duluth from Philadelphia in January of 2016 having lived on the East coast for 30 years.  She is excited about doing ministry in a new setting alongside people seeking to figure out what it means to be a Christian in the 21^st century and helping the congregation root itself in the surrounding community.  She has served the church in a variety of ways:  pastor of African-American and multicultural churches; interim pastor in urban, suburban and small town settings; assistant to the Bishop for the call process in the Metro New York Synod; most recently a redevelopment pastor in Wilmington, Delaware.  Outside of the church she is one of the founders of an environmentally-focused charter school in Philadelphia.  She has been trained as a healthy congregations’ facilitator, spiritual gifts’ coach, a rape crisis counselor, and in community organizing.  She is married to Dr. Erik M. Heen, retired from the former Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia as Professor of New Testament and Greek.  They have two adult sons, Kai and Per and a hound dog JuJu adopted from a prison program in Richmond, Virginia.

Her favorite Biblical passage changes depending upon her life circumstances and the worldly context.  Right now, she believes the world could use people who found these adjectives worthy of cultivating.

Contact Pastor Dianne at the church office at 218-728-3668 or by email at pastordianne@flcduluth.org

Karen Hanson Sande and her family joined First Lutheran as members in 1998. She began to substitute as organist and accompanist when needed. As her position grew over the years, she started a youth handbell program, began leading the children’s choir, and served as interim musician for several periods of time. Karen became the Director of Music at FLC in 2018.

As well as years of experience and a love for music, Karen has a Bachelor of Music degree from St. Olaf College and a Master of Music degree from Westminster Choir College.

Karen’s favorite Bible verse is Micah 6:8 “God has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” She lives out these words in her ministry as she loves involving young musicians in music ministry, collaborating with musicians of all ages, and forming instrumental ensembles to play for worship in order to make worship the most inclusive experience possible.

When Karen isn’t teaching piano and organ students or playing the Jackel pipe organ at FLC, she enjoys accompanying her cellist sons and violinist daughter, and walking her dog.

The best way to reach Karen is by email: karen@flcduluth.org.

Michael Fuchs has enjoyed an active career as a conductor, educator, and singer.  He is currently the Director of Choral Activities at First Lutheran Church, conducting the Soli Deo Gloria Choir. He also conducts the University of Wisconsin-Superior Singers, Chorale, and teaches courses in conducting, choral methods, aural skills, and music history.

Michael was just beginning his full-time position at UWS when he received an email from Karen Sande, Director of Music at FLC, asking if he would be interested in directing the Choir on an interim basis. As church music has always been an important and rewarding part of his professional life, he agreed to help out. After several months of working as an interim director, there was mutual desire for the situation to become permanent. He has been the Director of Choral Activities at First Lutheran since 2018.

Previous professional positions include Director of Choral Activities at Clayton State University in Morrow, GA, Artistic Director of Musica, the premier chamber choir of Dayton, OH, and the Founder and Artistic Director of the Westminster Bach Consort.  Dr. Fuchs has held church music positions in Georgia, Ohio, North Dakota, Virginia, New Jersey and Minnesota. He earned degrees from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey and Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. He has studied conducting with René Clausen, Joe Miller, James Jordan, Andrew Megill, Earl Rivers, Brett Scott, and Mark Gibson.

Michael’s favorite Bible verse is Micah 6:8 because it immediately and directly gets to the heart of what it means to follow God. He also loves it’s emphasis on humility – which, he feels, is a characteristic not often valued in our society today.

Don’t know Michael that well? Ask him about fishing, National Parks, J.S. Bach, and home repair and remodeling.

Contact Dr. Michael Fuchs at: michael@flcduluth.org

Bryan first came to First Lutheran when he was asked to play guitar for the Praise Band.  After playing with the band for three years, Bryan was asked to lead the band.  He accepted the position of Director of Contemporary Music in 2017.  Bryan enjoys planning many different styles of music and working with a wide variety of people at FLC.

Bryan’s favorite Bible verse, Matthew 19:14, reminds him that Jesus breaks through social and political hierarchies to stand up for the children, and by extension, all those voices that are without power.

The best way to contact Bryan is by email at bjgatten@gmail.com

Kelly started working at First Lutheran in 2019.  She saw an online ad and was looking for a second job.  Her favorite part of working at FLC is the entertaining people.

Kelly is a mom with two boys, Frankie and John.  They have three dogs named Brick, Shadow and Echo, and two cats named Lincoln and Luna.

Her favorite verse is Proverbs 35:25, “She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.”  Kelly has always loved this verse, but after her son was diagnosed with severe, nonverbal Autism, it meant more because she believes she has to just live for today the best she can and not stress or worry about what the future will bring.

An interesting fact about Kelly you may not know is that she has a SERIOUS Starbucks addiction.

Kelly can be contacted at FLC at (218) 728-3668 or by email at finance@flcduluth.org

Duane was looking for employment in 1988 and found at job at FLC.  His favorite part of working at FLC is the pace of work that makes his day go by quickly.

Duane is married and has three children, two dogs and three fish.  His favorite activity outside work is hanging out with his family.  He loves to eat burgers and watch all three of the Lord of the Rings movies.

One interesting thing you may not know about Duane is that he would rather drink coffee than tea.  If you want to know more about Duane, ask him about the MN Vikings or his kids (not necessarily in that order).

Duane can be reached by calling the church office at (218) 728-3668

Carl is one of the custodians at FLC.  (He is the tall one.) He joined the FLC staff in 2014.  His main responsibilities are cleaning, building maintenance, set up and take down for meetings, gatherings and events.  He always has everyone’s safety in mind.  He says his favorite thing about his job is that he gets to care for God’s house and all the great people that make up this house.  He has fun messing with the staff members with his impish sense of humor, pulling gags on everyone.

Carl is married to Leah and has two adult sons, Joshua and Jacob.  They have an English Springer named Wyatt and a grey cat named Ash.

His favorite verse is I Corinthians 16:13, Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.  He likes this verse because he thinks it fits all aspects of one’s life.  No matter what you are up against, keep alert.  Stand firm.  Be courageous. Stand Strong.  You will be okay in the end.

One thing you may not know about Carl is that he loves critters.  He likes taking pictures of animals and insects.

Carl is really happy to be here and looks forward to seeing everyone again.  He’ll have the coffee on for you!