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our staff
Reverend Benjamin Meyer: pastor
Pastor Meyer is the fourth of six children, the son of a pastor and brother to two pastors. He
has served as missionary pastor in the boot heel of Missouri; pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran
Church and School in Woodworth, IL; and was installed as Pastor at Hope on June 25, 2016.
He attended Concordia University Texas, Austin, Texas, graduating with a communications
major and Biblical languages minor, and then attended Concordia Seminary St. Louis, gradu-
ating in 2005. He has lived in Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Michigan, Texas, Oklahoma,
Missouri, Illinois. Pastor Meyer and his wife, Christine, are blessed with four children:
Timmy, Lucy, Cooper, and Boaz.
In addition to regular pastoral duties, including leading Divine Services and Bible study on
Sunday mornings, teaching confirmation classes, and visiting homebound members, Pastor
Meyer also teaches: a young-adult Bible study for college-aged young men and women; Bible
lessons at Hope's Anchored Summer Day Camps;and leads youth group meetings and events
for our 1st-6th grade, and 7-12th grade youth groups. He writes frequently about Christian
faith and life on his blog, Baptized into Christ; and produces catechism and other teaching
videos on Hope's Youtube channel. Pastor Meyer also serves our church body as a speaker for
LCMS Rural and Small Town Missions conferences and webinars.
Dr. rebecca abbott: church pianist
Dr. Abbott has studied music, English, and theology, combining them all with a love of church
music for all ages. She also enjoys traveling and languages. She, her husband, and two
daughters began attending Hope in 2010.
Tracy Chesney: church Secretary
Tracy and her husband been members at Hope since 1991. They have two grown daughters,
a new son-in-law, and a nineteen year old son. Tracy recently retired from 23 years of home schooling, began filling the secretary's role in August of 2017, and manages Hope's website.