Faith Lutheran Church believes that we are better together. Our staff has a blast serving Jesus, His people, and each other. Let us know how we can help you grow in your relationships, develop your gifts, and find success in your life. Faith Lutheran Church is led by our senior pastor, council members, and other church staff.

 

We believe that every member is a minister and the real heroes are the volunteers who give their time, talent, and energy to passionately serve others.

 


 

 

Church Staff

  • Daria Martin
    Administrative Assistant

    Daria is the Administrative Assistant for Faith Lutheran and joined the staff in August 2022. She has been a member of FLC

    since 2012. She has three daughters and six grandchildren.

     

     

  • Angelique Gertig
    Financial Secretary

    Angelique came to CO with her husband, Brian, in the fall of 2020 after Covid forced a change of job for him. While not a stranger to CO being frequent travelers here, this is her first time living here with her CO-born husband. Most recently from NM, Angelique & Brian have many family and friends back in AZ where they met and married over 30 years ago and lived for over 35 years. Together they have three children - a married daughter in AZ who has their only grandchild, a daughter in LA, and a son who recently went to rest in Jesus' loving arms.

     

    Angelique went to high school and college (ASU-go Sun Devils!) in AZ and received a BS in Accounting and then obtained her CPA license. For over 15 years she spent her accounting career in the insurance industry in a variety of accounting roles. Then in 2017, after having taken a 12 year break from work to finish raising their children off to college, she landed her first bookkeeper position for a church & school, and has continued to work for similar organizations over the last 4 years.

     

    Angelique enjoys road cycling with her husband, taking weekend getaways to explore CO, and nearby states, visiting their NM home in the mountains outside of Albuquerque, and visiting AZ to see their grandchild, Harlow.  Angelique looks forward to joining and becoming part of the staff and "family" of FLC.

  • Roman Sanchez
    Facility Maintenance

    He is a Colorado native. He was a varsity football player and a 2018 graduate at Douglas County High School. He enjoys a variety of outdoor activities including snowboarding, camping and fishing. 

  • Ashley Wallweber
    Children and Family Ministry Coordinator
  • Pastor Denton Bennet
    Pastor
  • Pastor Jennifer Bennet
    Pastor

 

 

Church Council

  • Helen Buehrle
    Treasurer

    Helen Buehrle

    Treasurer

     

    Helen grew up in the Pacific Northwest.  While in college, she worked for a retail sales firm in Seattle at their corporate offices while studying business administration and accounting.  Helen moved to Colorado in 1972 and went to work for a real estate development, construction company specializing in multi-family housing.  She worked for the company for 44 years before retiring as Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations in 2016.  Helen moved to Castle Rock with her husband, Willis, in 2008.

    After 40 years of marriage to my Lutheran husband, Willis, finally convinced me to become a “reformed Catholic” when we became members of Faith Lutheran almost three years ago.  Helen and Willis enjoy volunteering as needed.  Leisure time is spent enjoying foreign and domestic travel and visiting many countries around the world as well as all 50 states.

     

  • Randy Penn
    President

    Randy is a fourth generation native Coloradan and grew up in southwest Denver. Randy was baptized and confirmed at Christ the King Lutheran Church. He graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School and attended Colorado State University, where he received a bachelor of science degree in wildlife biology in 1979. That same year he joined the Denver Police Dept. He believed God called him to work with a different type of wildlife. Randy met his wife, Diane, a short time later and they were married and started a family. The family moved to the Sedalia area in 1999. Randy retired in 2017, after 38 years of service. Their son, Matt, is 30 years old and is a Captain in the US Army, currently stationed at Ft. Riley, KA. Their daughter, Cassy, is 27 years old and is currently working locally as a wildlife biology consultant. The Penn family attended Faith Lutheran Church occasionally but kept their membership at Atonement Lutheran Church in Lakewood where they were able to attend church with Randy’s mother. COVID had a big impact on Atonement, which led the family to seek membership here at Faith LC. A few weeks ago, Pastor Ebassa asked if Randy could possibly help by filling the position of president elect. After thought and prayer Randy believed this was an opportunity to help out the church and assist Darin Twete in his request.

     

    Randy enjoys hunting, camping, and trail riding. He enjoys sports of all kinds and loves the outdoors. The Penns have 2 horses, 3 Labrador retrievers, and 1 German Shepard. Randy strongly believes that he has been blessed in many aspects of his life and tries to thank God each day for those blessings.

  • Joe Bush
    Secretary

    Nearly a Colorado native, Joe has been in Colorado since the age of 2. He grew up in Aurora and enjoyed playing all sports, reading comic books and drawing. After high school, Joe earned a degree in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and two master’s degrees in Operations Management and Finance, from Regis University. Although he’s worked in several fields (finance, technology, and healthcare), he knew Colorado was always the place to be.

     

    Joe met his wife, Laura, in 1997 and began attending Faith Lutheran Church as a guest. They were married at Faith in 2002 and have grown their family to include two daughters (Kiley – 9 and Delaney – 6), who were both baptized at Faith.

     

    Joe previously served on the Executive Council as Financial Secretary and Treasurer, respectively, and currently serves as Council Secretary. He’s also “served” on Faith’s now-defunct softball and basketball teams, as well as a few other committees and/or small groups.

     

    When not attending one of his daughter’s numerous activities, he can be found playing with the family dog (Mikey) or watching local sports and / or bad 80s movies.  

  • Colleen Hopwood
    President - Elect

    Colleen grew up "all over" due to her dad serving in the US Army. Her family settled in Colorado Springs in the early 90's and she has called Colorado home ever since. She grew up in the Lutheran church and has been a member at Faith since 2006. Colleen attended Colorado State University, graduating with a degree in Business Administration and later earned her MBA at the University of Colorado at Denver. She's currently an underwriter for Management and Executive Liability at an insurance company. 

     

    Colleen loves all things music and especially loves singing to God's glory at church. She is also active in the FLC Food Pantry ministry. When not working or at church, you can find her cuddled up with her kittens, Pippa and Winnie, hiking and walking around the beautiful state of Colorado, and spending time with her friends or parents and sister who live in Colorado Springs. When not in a pandemic, she loves concerts, theatre and traveling.

  • Brad Becker
    Worship

    Brad was born in Auburn, NY and was baptized five weeks later at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Skaneateles, NY. After a couple years the Becker family found their way back to Wisconsin and their extended families. Brad grew up in Manitowoc, WI attending First Lutheran Church where he was confirmed. Brad and his mother, father and two older sisters enjoyed fishing and golfing. Indeed, Brad married his best friends little sister and golf pro’s daughter, Leanne. Brad and Leanne had two beautiful girls Anna and Lauren and then decided they’d have a third child – well God has a wonderful sense of humor and blessed them with twin boys, David and Daniel. In 2009 work brought the Becker family from Winona, MN to Castle Rock, CO where they quickly began attending Faith Lutheran church.

     

    Back in his 20s, when working in Nashau NH, Brad joined Grace Lutheran church volunteering with the youth and then elected to the Church Council. Brad has been active in every congregation he’s been part of and is sincerely and prayerfully excited to serve Faith Lutheran as the Council’s liaison to everything regarding Worship. It is his wish that Faith offers Spirit filled worship services every week that continue to build one’s personal relationship with our Holy Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit.

  • Sam Petersen
    Community

    Sam Petersen has been an active member of FLC since her confirmation in 2010! Sam was heavily involved in Faith Lutheran Youth (FLY) while in high school, and has been a member of Women on the Rise Bible Study group on Monday nights for almost 4 years.

     

    Sam was born and raised here in Colorado and graduated from Elizabeth High School in 2014. She is the only child to Dan and Julie Petersen who have been members of FLC for 20+ years. She is currently a Prior Authorization Technician for a mid-size Pharmacy Benefits manager in Centennial, CO called WellDyneRX. She is also working on getting back into school to pursue a career in Youth Ministry.

     

    In her free time she likes to watch Netflix, go to Red Rocks shows, and explore all the adventures Colorado has to offer. Sam is a loving dog mom to a handsome pug named Duke who is such a joyful, handful and she loves dressing him in cute outfits! She is extremely excited for the learning opportunity that comes with being a council member, and she cannot wait to be a part of all the changes God has for FLC in the new decade.

  • Stu Bailey
    Spiritual Growth

    Stu grew up in California, living 20 years in Southern California and 27 years in Northern California. He has a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from San Jose State University, and a master’s degree in Industrial Hygiene from Montana Tech University. He married Linda after they met in college and have two children, Adam and Lauren, son-in-law Avery, and a granddaughter, Kylie. Stu and Linda moved to Colorado in 2000 and joined Faith Lutheran shortly after.

     

    Stu was a hospital safety officer at the VA for 10 years and industrial hygienist for Pinnacol Assurance for 18 years. He retired in March 2020.

     

    Stu volunteers at Faith leading prayers during the grocery give away, and leads the morning zoom prayer meetings. He also volunteers at the Buddy Center caring for dogs. His role on Council is Spiritual Growth Liaison and encourages all of God’s children to pray daily as a worship offering.

  • Steve Williams
    Stewardship

     

    Steve was in an Air Force family growing up on airbases in the south (LA, GA, & SC) as well as a
    life changing 2+ years in Japan. In 1955 his father died of cancer at Lowery AFB in Denver, thus
    the family moved to Boulder where some of his mother’s siblings lived. Steve did typical boy
    things of that era, having a paper route, building model airplanes, playing football, having an
    interest in fast cars, and devouring books at the rate of 1 per day (7 th – 10 th grade) in lieu of
    doing homework. Another life changing event was signing up with the Navy Reserve at age 17
    while still in high school, finally retiring 21+ years later. The old adage, “Join the Navy and see
    the world”, ‘tis true. Steve graduated from the University of Colorado and fulfilled his active-
    duty requirement after attending OCS in 1967. In 1973 he started his teaching career in Castle
    Rock at the junior high school, retiring from Douglas County High School and Metropolitan State
    College in 1999. He often says “God made me a teacher in order to pay for my sins when a
    student”. Another and major life changing event was the marrying of Bev, his soulmate, best
    friend, and cheer leader. Truly a match made in heaven, “Thanks be to God”.
    Church was always a part of Steve’s life, attending Methodist churches while in the south,
    Lutheran churches in Boulder, and then at Faith Lutheran starting 2009. Steve’s grandfather, a
    Missouri Synod pastor, was a great influence on his life. One bit of advice gleaned from his
    Grandpa was something he told his parishioners during the Great Depression who had very
    little money but when they asked for giving advice’, just “Give ‘till it hurts,” he said. Steve has
    tried to adhere to this advice.
    Currently Steve volunteers driving people here-and-there for the Senior Center and he also
    volunteers at the Help and Hope Center by checking out donated electrical items before they
    are resold. He is an active bicyclist, still builds models, and does as much reading as time allows.
    Steve’s loose definition of Stewardship is not only concerned with time, talent, and resources
    that one uses in God’s service, but also touches on the care shown for all the gifts with which
    God has blessed us, whether material, such as a home, car, clothing, food, and medical care, or
    with Love for God, family, community, state, and nation.

  • Donna Kime
    Outreach

 

 

Preschool

  • Jean Whisman
    Preschool Director

    Since 2012 as Preschool Director, Jean leads the staff at Faith Lutheran Preschool in helping to build a foundation of curiosity, hope and love for every student in a Christian environment.  As a staff they make sure each child reaches their fullest potential, not just academically, but physically, socially, emotionally, creatively, and spiritually areas as well.

     

    Originally from Virginia, Jean moved to Colorado in 2003 with her husband and two sons.  Baseball is a large part of their lives, both as spectators and players.  Jean left behind a career in business in order to purse her dream of working with children.  With a degree in both Business and Early Childhood, her passion is to really make a difference in children’s lives and provide them with the necessary skills to develop into successful adults.

  • Sandy Vega
    Teacher Assistant & Lunch Bunch Teacher

    Sandy has worked at Faith Lutheran Preschool since 2005.  She has a wonderful husband and 4 adult children.  Sandy’s love is to see how her family serves Jesus and love others with God.  Her favorite verse to pray is Psalm 91.

  • Julie Taylor
    Assistant Teacher

    Julie is originally from northern California and moved to Colorado in 2008 with her husband.  She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Cal Poly and her teaching credential and M.A. in Education at Chapman University.  She taught elementary school before becoming a stay at home mom for her 3 kids, all of whom attended FLP.  Along with Julie’s love of teaching, she enjoys hiking, paddleboarding, reading, skiing and spending time with her family.

  • Kelly Brown
    Preschool Teacher

    Kelly has a degree in Early Childhood Education and over 20 years teaching experience.  She is originally from Indiana and moved to Colorado shortly after college.  Kelly has 3 young adult children and enjoys spending time outside, playing games, traveling and reading.  She loves teaching preschool and connecting with the children, connecting and having fun while learning is what teaching is all about!

  • Suzanne Kenny
    Preschool Teacher

    Suzanne graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Child Development.  She and her husband moved to Colorado in 2012 with their 5 children.  She and her family are very active and love sports and being outside.  Suzanne was a swimmer growing up and has a passion for teaching swimming to all ages.  She has worked in preschool, religious education, substitute taught and home-schooled her own children.

  • Anne Beh
    Assistant Teacher

    Anne is originally from Nebraska (Go Big Red!), and graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Bachelor of Science degree in Fashion Design.  After college she lived in Dallas, Texas before moving to Colorado in 1994.  Anne and her husband have 2 teenagers.  She joined the staff of Faith Lutheran Preschool in 2013 after many years of experience teaching in children’s ministry programs and other child care centers.  Anne loves working with the preschoolers and sharing her joy and faith with them

  • Tania Norby
    Teacher

    Tania grew up in Colorado and attended Colorado State University; she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies, with a focus in Early Childhood Development. Much of her “career” was spent as a stay-at-home mom to her four children, who are now young adults. Tania has worked with young children in many capacities--as a Sunday school teacher, teacher/assistant director at a child care center, in-home child care provider, foster mom, and nanny.  Her biggest joy is sharing God’s love with little ones. In her free time, Tania enjoys reading, cooking, camping, playing games with her family, and serving as a mentor mom with MOPS.

  • Heidi Bradley
    Assistant Teacher

    Heidi is a Castle Rock native and is married to her Douglas County High School sweetheart. They have two children in middle school and a variety of pets. Heidi enjoys taking walks, making crafts, traveling, and camping with her family. She has always had a passion for working with young children, as an elementary school teacher, substitute teacher, Bible study preschool teacher, and Vacation Bible School storyteller. She is excited to share the same love, joy, and faith-based learning with her students that her own children were blessed to experience at Faith Lutheran Preschool many years ago! 

  • Kathy McCurdy
    Pre Kindergarten Teacher

    Kathy has been a part of Faith Lutheran Preschool since 2020.  She is a Colorado Native and lives two houses down from where she grew up, so she has not ventured very far! Her husband Rodney and her have been married since 2000 and have three amazing big kiddos, Michael, Samantha, and Marcus. In her spare time, she loves to garden, cook, play games, and travel.

     

                She has been teaching Early Childhood Education for over 22 years, with a few breaks to stay at home with her own children. She holds her CDA and she is finishing her education in ECE to obtain her director's certificate.  Teaching early childhood education is her true passion and calling.  She loves to support and serve each child’s and family's journey through this amazing time in life. You will often see her singing and dancing or down on the ground in the child’s world!  She feels that each child is unique, amazing, and a true blessing!

  • Lindsay Bragg
    Teacher

    Lindsay is a Colorado Native and lives in beautiful Castle Rock with her husband and 2 growing, school-age kids. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education from Colorado Christian University. With 10 years of working with young children, she joins Faith Lutheran Preschool with thankfulness and a love for children. Her passion is to build a solid foundation in each child by teaching them a love for Jesus and others. When she's not teaching young children, Lindsay enjoys spending time with family and friends, the outdoors, coffee shops, and a good book or movie anytime!

  • Alejandra Bromley
    Assistant Teacher

    Alejandra joined the FLP staff this year and is so excited to start her new journey with all new children. Originally from Southern California, where she married her middle school sweetheart in 2018, and moved to Castle Rock early 2021 with their fur-babies. Alejandra has always had a passion for working with children, as a Sunday school leader/teacher in early childhood, and as a youth leader.

     

     

    She hopes that one day, she can bring all of the joy, love, and knowledge she has gained from being a part of the FLP staff, to her own future children. 

  • Nancy Zak
    Assistant Teacher

    Nancy is originally from Illinois and moved to Colorado in 1990. She and her native Colorado husband have 4 children. Nancy loves working with preschool children as a teacher in Sunday School, VBS, and Bible study preschool teacher. She loves spending time with her family, playing a variety of sports and reading.

    Nancy is so thankful to get a chance to be part of the Faith Lutheran Preschool family! 

  • Nicole Bennington
    Assistant Teacher

    Nicole is almost a Colorado native. She moved from New Jersey to Colorado Springs when she was 8 years old and moved to Castle Rock in 2005. Nicole and her husband Jeremy have three children: Genevieve (15), Garrett (13), and Gabrielle (9).  

     

    She holds a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from the University of Wyoming and taught at the elementary level before becoming a stay at home mom. Nicole also taught kids at her church's Sunday school and preschool at CBS for many years. Nicole loves being able to help children experience the love of the Lord.

     

    In her free time she enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, playing games and baking. 

  • Emily Osburn
    Assistant Teacher

    Emily has lived in Colorado her whole life and moved from Western Colorado to the Front Range in 2018. Emily knew she wanted to be a teacher by the time she was 10 years old. She has a degree in Elementary Education from Colorado Christian University and a background in Special Education.

     

    Hello, my name is Emily Osburn and I have Ian Ray in my preschool class at Faith Lutheran on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons! It has been a pleasure getting to know Ian and his family. 
    I wanted to introduce myself and open up communication with you both to hopefully get to know him better and learn how we can be consistent with what he is doing at school and in your office.
    Ian has been adjusting well to the preschool routines and is very bright. We have noticed some emotional outbursts; mostly when he does not want to transition to different activities. Do you have any pointers or language that works well with Ian for times like this? 
    Thank you so much for your time and partnership! 
    Kindly, 
    Emily Osburn 

  • Daria Martin
    Administrative Assistant

    Daria is the Administrative Assistant for Faith Lutheran and joined the staff in August 2022. She has been a member of FLC

    since 2012. She has three daughters and six grandchildren.

     

     

  • Angelique Gertig
    Financial Secretary

    Angelique came to CO with her husband, Brian, in the fall of 2020 after Covid forced a change of job for him. While not a stranger to CO being frequent travelers here, this is her first time living here with her CO-born husband. Most recently from NM, Angelique & Brian have many family and friends back in AZ where they met and married over 30 years ago and lived for over 35 years. Together they have three children - a married daughter in AZ who has their only grandchild, a daughter in LA, and a son who recently went to rest in Jesus' loving arms.

     

    Angelique went to high school and college (ASU-go Sun Devils!) in AZ and received a BS in Accounting and then obtained her CPA license. For over 15 years she spent her accounting career in the insurance industry in a variety of accounting roles. Then in 2017, after having taken a 12 year break from work to finish raising their children off to college, she landed her first bookkeeper position for a church & school, and has continued to work for similar organizations over the last 4 years.

     

    Angelique enjoys road cycling with her husband, taking weekend getaways to explore CO, and nearby states, visiting their NM home in the mountains outside of Albuquerque, and visiting AZ to see their grandchild, Harlow.  Angelique looks forward to joining and becoming part of the staff and "family" of FLC.

 

 

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