Staff and Lay Leadership

The Rev. Wilbert "Wilk" Miller

The Reverend Wilbert "Wilk" S. Miller began his ministry at First Lutheran Church in June 2005. Prior to coming to San Diego, Pastor Miller was senior pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Ardmore, PA (1995-2005), Augustana Lutheran Church, in downtown Washington, D.C. (1982-1995), and Calvary Lutheran Church in inner-city West Philadelphia (1977-1982).

Pastor Miller grew up in Wheeling, West Virginia. He graduated from Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio, in 1973, with a B.A. in religion. He received his M. Div. degree from Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Connecticut, in 1977. He has completed his course work for a S.T.M. at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in the area of worship, with particular interest in how the literature of Annie Dillard might inform a "liturgical posture."

Pastor Miller currently serves as the Dean of the West San Diego Conference of the Pacifica Synod and is active with the San Diego Organizing Project (a faith-based community organization comprised of twenty five San Diego congregations). In his free time, he loves reading, hiking in the desert, running, and helping Dagmar in the garden.

Pastor Miller is married to Dagmar, a native of Germany, who is a real estate agent. The Millers have two adult sons, Caspar and Sebastian.

TACO Executive Director Jim Lovell

Jim and Nance Lovell, and their two daughters, Isabelle and Sophia, are back in San Diego and First Lutheran. Both Jim and Nance work for TACO, which is a non-profit agency (associated with First Lutheran and using the church as its headquarters) that provides meals; medical, dental, acupuncture and law clinics; and social services support to those in the downtown area. Jim is the Executive Director of TACO and Nance heads up the "Going Home" project there. See the TACO web page for more information.

Director of Music Jared Jacobsen

As Director of Music at First Lutheran, Jared is has an incredibly wide knowledge of sacred music within the global church. He takes time to teach and motivate as well as direct and lead our volunteer choir. He is an awesome organist and pianist and understands how much music contributes to worship.

Jared is a native of western Pennsylvania who began his keyboard study at age 5 at the historic Chautauqua Institution in New York, where is he is now Coordinator of Worship and Sacred music each summer.

A life-long protégé of the internationally known concert pianists Ozan and Patricia Benkman Marsh, Jared holds degrees in keyboard performance from Westminster College and the University of Arizona. He has served churches in every major denomination.

His concertizing has taken him throughout the United States, and to England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. In 1988, Jared was invited to the Vatican by Pope John Paul II to be an American delegate to the historic First World Congress on Church Music.

Jared also frequently shares his talents with the San Diego community as guest performer on the Spreckels Organ in Balboa Park, the largest fully-outdoor instrument in the world. Whether you are a concertgoer or visitor to First Lutheran, we think you will agree that Jared creates a sense of awe and worship through his musical gifts.

Office Administrator Rachel Line

Rachel Line joined the staff at First Lutheran Church in June of 2008 as the Office Administrator. At the same time, she joined TACO as the Volunteer Coordinator. These two part-time positions allow her to be onsite full-time. Rachel graduated from San Diego State University in 2007 with a degree in Religious Studies. While a student at SDSU, she lived and worked at the Lutheran Campus Ministry Center, known as Agape House. Rachel is the elected Secretary of the Pacifica Synod Council. She is an active member of College Lutheran Church where she serves as one of three music ministers.

Custodian Gregg Rayo

Gregg Rayo began working at First Lutheran in 1997. He plays a vital role in the meals on Mondays and Fridays by cooking, cleaning up, and picking up food from various sources including Albertsons and the San Diego Food Bank.

Gregg also does much of the heavy lifting behind the scenes and keeps First Lutheran clean and safe.

Custodian Mark Best

Mark Best has been First Lutheran's custodian since 1995. He works into the early hours of the morning seeing to it that the church is spotless for Sunday morning worship and other events throughout the week.

2010 Church Council

Richard Phillips, President
Joe Slevcove, Vice President
Chuck Leib, Secretary
Brian Jensen, Treasurer Co-Chair
Kristin Westerman, Treasurer Co-Chair
Kit Brothers
Ginger Hallerberg
Elizabeth Moss
Bob Muballe
Ladonna Piper
Martha Radatz
Marjorie Wahlsten
Pastor Wilbert S. Miller

Many other people contribute in valuable ways to the Christian witness associated with First Lutheran Church and TACO. One of note is:

Dr. Ellen Beck: A member of the medical faculty at the University of California, San Diego, and concerned with the underserved populations in America, she supervises medical students from UCSD who work in the Monday evening clinic. She has been described as a "teacher, healer, wise woman" and says "I see my work as creating environments where the other--individual, family, community--notices change in their life and achieves joy and well-beling."