Join Us At Our Gathering

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah is the President and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS). She served in the Obama White House as Policy Director for First Lady Michelle Obama, leading the Let Girls Learn initiative, and at the State Department as Senior Advisor under Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. At the State Department, Krish coordinated the development and implementation of multiple programs including those concerning refugees and migration, engagement with religious communities, the legal dimensions of U.S. foreign policy, and regional issues relating to Africa and the Middle East. Before joining the White House, Krish practiced law at Jenner & Block in Washington, DC, clerked for Chief Judge Michael Boudin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and taught at Georgetown University as an adjunct. She holds a B.S. in Molecular Biology and an M.A. in Political Science from Yale College, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and an M.Phil in International Relations from Oxford University (Marshall Scholarship).

The Rev. Deborah K. Hutterer is a life-long Lutheran brought to the denomination by default who stayed by choice. Prior to her 2004 ordination, Hutterer created and launched two businesses, worked in the insurance industry, and held many positions at then Augsburg College (now Augsburg University) in Minneapolis, Minn. She served as chief development officer for Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest in Phoenix from 2012 until her election as bishop of the Grand Canyon Synod of the ELCA in 2018. Previously, she was executive director of Faith in the City in Minneapolis from 2008 to 2012 and served as pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Pontiac, Ill., from 2004 to 2007. Bishop Hutterer holds a Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from Augsburg University.

If you usually don’t listen to rap music that may change once you hear Dr. Kelly Glow. Her unique style is fun and full of energy, her lyrics are clear and easy to follow, and her universal style appeals to all ages. This 2015 Gospel Choice Award winner was born and raised in Southern California by Rev. O. Dennis Mims (ELCA) and Doris Mims where she fought against the odds to become a first generation Doctor of Education in her family. Her passion for both Jesus and Hip Hop fuels the purpose behind her musical movement and fan club “GLOW GANG” which stands for “God’s Leading Our Way, Go and Never Give Up.” In 2017, she released a Hip Hop version of Martin Luther’s A Mighty Fortress is Our God and appeared on the cover of Living Lutheran to commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation. Her mission is to represent the light of God through urban art as described in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

The Rev. Angela T. !Khabeb is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Raised in Omaha, Nebraska, she received her Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago where she was a Bridges Scholar and received the James Kenneth Echols Prize for Excellence in Preaching. Since her ordination, she has received the seminary’s designation of Distinguished Alumna and the 2018 Emerging Voice Award.

Pastor Angie’s ministry experiences are varied. She has served as pastor in three congregations. She is a frequent contributor to Women of the ELCA’s Gather magazine and Bold Café e-zine. She has also written the Grounded in Grace column in the Living Lutheran for three years. Pastor Angie has also enjoyed appearing on ABC’s GMA3 nearly a dozen times.

Pastor Angie also served as a missionary in Namibia for more than 2 years where she met her husband Benhi. They have three beautiful children and live in Minneapolis.

The Rev. Tiffany Chaney is an ordained minister in the ELCA. She lives in Montgomery, Ala., where she serves as Pastor Developer for Gathered by Grace, a mission community of the ELCA, and as Chief Diversity Officer for Baptist Health, a three-hospital health system.

Committed to serving the community, Tiffany is a board member for the Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama and Inspiritus. Tiffany is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Beta Nu Omega Chapter.

Pastor Tiffany is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she received the Bachelor of Science in finance, the Master of Business Administration, and the

Master of Science in Health Administration degrees, and she is a graduate of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Seminary) where she received the Master of Divinity degree.

Erin Strybis is a freelance writer and coauthor of The Beauty of Motherhood: Grace-Filled Devotions for the Early Years. She spent over seven years as an editor of Living Lutheran, the magazine of the ELCA, where she edited and wrote dozens of faith stories. Her writing has also appeared in Gather, Bold Cafe, Sparkhouse, The Washington Post, Coffee + Crumbs and elsewhere. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two children. Connect with Erin on Instagram (@erinstrybis), and at erinstrybis.com, where you can subscribe to Nourish, her monthly newsletter. She’s co-presenting the workshop, Tell Your Story: A Writing Workshop for Women.

Kimberly Knowle-Zeller is a writer, ELCA pastor, wife, mother of two, and the co-author of The Beauty of Motherhood: Grace-Filled Devotions for the Early Years. A graduate of Wittenberg University and Trinity Lutheran Seminary, she lives with her family in Cole Camp, Missouri. When she’s not at the park with her children, walking around town, or tending to the garden, you can find her with a pen and paper. Or a good book and a cup of coffee. She believes in the power of words, unearthing the extraordinary in the ordinary, and encouraging others to follow their passions. Read more of her work at kimberlyknowlezeller.com. She’s co-presenting the writing workshop, Tell Your Story: A Writing Workshop for Women.

Dr. Jacqueline Bussie is an award-winning author, professor, theologian, and student of life in all its messy beauty, as well as a much sought after speaker and workshop facilitator. She’s the author of three books, including Love Without Limits: Jesus’ Radical Vision for a Love with No Exceptions which Publisher’s Weekly described as “a must-read for all Christians interested in inclusivity for their communities.” Love Without Limits was released in 2^nd edition paperback and also on Audiobook with Jacqueline narrating on August 2, 2022. An active servant-leader in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Dr. Bussie spent the last twenty years teaching religion to undergraduates at ELCA colleges and serving as the founding Director of the Forum on Faith and Life at Concordia College. Today Dr. Bussie is the Executive Director of the Collegeville Institute in Collegeville, Minnesota.

She will lead the book discussion: Love Without Limits: Jesus’ Radical Vision for a Love with No Exceptions