Pastor Dan Smith was born in 1973 in Lynwood, CA (L.A. County).  He spent the first four years of his life in Iowa, and the rest in California.  The son of a pastor, he grew up in Oakland and Davis, attending Davis High School (class of 1991).  He majored in Biochemistry/Cell Biology at the University of California San Diego (class of 1995) and earned his Master of Divinity degree at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in 2000, along with a Master of Arts in theology.  One of those years he spent at the University of Hamburg, Germany, where he became fluent in German and got engaged to his wife, Nele, who was born and raised in Germany.  They were married in May, 1998.  Pastor Dan was ordained in 2000, and his first call was to King of Glory Lutheran Church in Fountain Valley, CA (near Huntington Beach, 2000-2004), where he was associate pastor for discipling ministry.  He served at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church from July, 2004 to January 2010 and began his ministry at Lutheran Church of the Incarnation in February of 2010.  Pastor Dan and Nele have two sons, Jakob (6) and Lukas (3).  Dan is working concurrently on his doctorate in systematic and historical theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA.  He is a lover of jazz, an avid reader, jogger, and guitar player, and he loves children, especially his two boys.  If you'd like to reach Pastor Dan, you may call the church office or email him at pastor@lcidavis.org.

Greetings LCI and thank you all so very much for the warm welcome you have given to my family and me!

It will naturally take a while to get to know one another, but here is some information about me to get us started!

Before I became Kirsten Moore I was originally Kirsten Stangeland and spent the first 11+ years of my life in a Chicago suburb where I was baptized into a Lutheran congregation, attended Sunday school and received my first communion.  When I was 11 years old my family and I moved out to Walnut Creek where we joined Saint Matthew Lutheran Church. This is where I was confirmed and became very active with the youth group.  This is also where I began to form my belief that the Church isn’t only the “House of God” but a “Home to God’s People” and as such it is like extended family.

I graduated from California Lutheran University where I majored in Religion because someone told me to major in what you love best.  Originally I had no personal aspirations for youth ministry simply because I had kept my own youth pastor on such a high pedestal.  (I think some of you may remember one of LCI’s past interims: Pastor Bill Griffin and his wife Joanie who was our Youth Director).

Well the way to make God laugh is to tell God your own plans, and when I felt the call it was undeniable and a blessing. I served over four years at Trinity Lutheran Church in Santa Barbara, during which time I became certified as a Youth Minister through Wartburg Seminary and Recognized by Region 2 as a Youth Minister.

Eventually my husband, Matthew, and I found ourselves drawn home. Matt is from Lodi and so we settled in the Sacramento area.  Matt was able to transfer to the ITT Technical Institute in Rancho Cordova where he recruits students and I landed at St. John’s Lutheran Church for just under 2 years before going to Gloria Dei Lutheran Church and School in South Sacramento.

Matt loves to golf and fish; I like to play in my rose garden.  Together we love to travel and play with our two boxers.  A little over three years ago we found that our favorite joint activity is to spend time with our Mikayla Grace.  She is the joy of our hearts and has already decided that she really likes it quite a lot here at LCI.

In the short time I have been here I have truly enjoyed the beginning of getting to know the Youth. . . and those of you who might just be young at heart. With the youth group we have been discussing who we are, unity, and the Body of Christ.  We are also working on naming the group and are presently tied between two names!  This summer will be spent in fun and fellowship and growing in our relationship with God, Self and Others.

I am thrilled to be a part of Lutheran Church of the Incarnation and excited at what God has in store!

The first choir I accompanied was in the third grade for a Christmas concert.  I remember that the piece had 3 flats.  The first Church liturgy that I played was in seventh grade at St. Jean the Baptiste Catholic Church in Duluth, Minnesota.  That is where I was born and lived until I was 13.  The cold weather allowed for lots of piano playing and ice skating with my 3 younger sisters.  My Mother had to budget very carefully to come up with the $1.25 for my weekly lessons.

Through high school I played regularly for church services and served as accompanist for all the school operettas, musicals, and other concerts.  I went on to the Eastman School of Music where I studied Organ with David Craighead and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Organ Performance.  As was the custom, I got married along with graduation and moved to Bad Kreuznach, Germany where my husband was stationed with an Army Band.  Later we returned to Rochester, NY, where he earned a doctorate in Music.  When he took a job with the Music Department at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, I became both a faculty wife and a student and earned a Master's degree in Piano Performance.  During that era I played with Episcopal, Methodist, and Catholic churches.  I also played regularly with the NC Symphony, various local composers and choirs, and joined St. Mary's College in Raleigh, NC as Chapel Organist and Music faculty.

In 1987 we moved to California.  By then we had a daughter and within weeks had a son.  He is a recent UC Davis graduate now living in Orinda with his Father.  Natalie graduated from Colgate University in 2005 and lives and works in San Francisco.  She was Concertmistress of the Colgate Town-and-Gown orchestra.

I directed the entire Music Program at St. John Vianney in Walnut Creek for 12 years and then graduated on the side with a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology.  I work now as a licensed therapist with Contra Costa County Children's Mental Health.  I was also the organist at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Pleasant Hill and accompanied for the Oakland based Cantare con Vivo for a production of the Brahms Requiem.  I play for various soloists, instrumentalists and chamber groups throughout the Bay Area.

I am delighted to be at LCI.  I needed a creative renewal and put it in God's hands this summer.  Music is my language and hopefully will serve to open new levels of your understanding in our quest for knowing our Creator.

The Holy Spirit is alive and at work in the worship and music life of LCI and I am excited to be a part of it.  I have served as Choir Director here since January 2003 and have been overwhelmed by the blessings I have received.

I was raised in Pennsylvania and attended Cabrini College.  I taught middle school English for two years before moving to Davis.  After teaching K-12 in Vacaville for another 11 years, I resigned to assume caregiving responsibilities.  Recently I have worked as a nature educator with Camp Putah, Explorit, Yolo Basin Foundation, and the UC Davis Arboretum, as well as a nursery caregiver at the Episcopal Church of St. Martin.

I am really pleased to be a part of the LCI community; thank you for your warm welcome!

I am an East-Coast transplant and have been in the Land of Perpetual Heat for 12 years. I have two teenagers, Isabelle and Andrew (so far, so good!), and a strange but sweet cat, Panda.  I am a member of Davis Community Church (Presbyterian USA).  When I am not in Davis, I can usually be found stuck in traffic on I-80 or running around the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, where I am inching towards a Ph.D. in New Testament and theory.  In my spare time (insert sound of laughter), I enjoy wandering around in beautiful, quiet spaces, hanging out with my kids, reading and writing fiction, and baking.

I look forward to being of service to the people and mission of Lutheran Church of the Incarnation.