MEET PASTOR MELINDA WAGNER:
“I find it exciting to share Christ’s ministry with the people of First Immanuel. This is a congregation with a good heart and many gifts. Our urban setting allows us to reach out to diverse people and communicate God’s Word in an ever-changing culture.
I’m especially excited about First Immanuel’s focus on transformational ministry. It means that our members and leaders are actively seeking to make Christ
known in every way possible – through our service to others, our presence in this Northwest/Pearl District neighborhood, and most of all through personal relationships in which we live and share the good news of Jesus’ love for this world. I pray daily for this outreaching ministry, and I invite you to join me. God has led us on a lively journey already, and there’s more discovery yet to come.
I have been a pastor for sixteen years and consider it a great privilege. After growing up in Indiana and Philadelphia, I graduated from Bates College in Maine and earned my seminary degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. As part of my pastoral training I spent one summer in Portland as chaplain at Emanuel Hospital. At the time, I never imagined I would return to the city one day to serve a parish, much less to serve the same parish that founded Emanuel Hospital back in 1909!
Before moving to Portland I served for many years in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Then in 2001 my husband, Pastor Aaron Couch, and I were called to leave the sunny desert for the mossy Northwest, to become a pastoral team at First Immanuel. Some of my greatest joys in ministry include preaching, teaching, Bible study, leading worship, and walking with people through the significant events of their lives. I hold a Doctorate of Ministry in Preaching, and each summer I teach a course in the preaching program of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools.
I treasure my family and celebrate my husband and our two sons, Nathan and Andrew, as God’s most precious gifts to me. I’m an avid reader of novels and literature. I enjoy international folk dancing and contra dancing. I also love gardening and being outdoors. As a family, we spend as much time as possible exploring the beauty of this region.”