Rev Rob Kieselowsky, a graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN, was installed as pastor of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in 2012. Before accepting a Divine call to St. John, he served Immanuel Lutheran Church and School (Alexandria, VA) as Assistant Pastor and Headmaster.
Prior to seminary, he taught high school history for several years at Trinity Christian School in Fairfax, VA. In addition to his Masters of Divinity from CTS, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies from the Philadelphia College of Bible (now Cairn University) and a Masters of Education from the University of Virginia. In addition to serving St. John’s congregation as pastor, he also leads Philadelphia Lutheran Ministries (PLM) as Executive Director. He has written for the Lutheran Witness, been interviewed on Issues Etc, and presented at Concordia Seminary. You can read about his journey to the Lutheran tradition in this Wittenberg Trail column. More recently, he was elected to the board of directors for the English District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and serves as regional Vice President.
Pastor Kieselowsky and his wife Allison are blessed with four lovely girls, Sofiya, Ella, EvaMarie, and Lily. His passions include the study of theology and church history, following his favorite football and baseball teams, travel, and the great outdoors of Pennsylvania, the land of his youth. Pastor Kieselowsky treasures meeting new people and loves to share the wonderful hope of the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ that drives his life and work. To invite him to meet for coffee or inquire of St. John church drop him a line at info@stjohnspringfieldpa.org or call the church at (610) 543-3100.
Vicar
Adam Thiel was born in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1996, the second son of Rev. Steven and Susan Thiel. He has spent most of his life living in the northern lower peninsula of Michigan surrounded by forests and rivers. He married his beautiful bride, Jessica Thiel, in August 2018 before they moved to Canton, MI, for him to study business at Concordia University Ann Arbor. Where he graduated Summa Cum Lauda with a Batchelor’s in business in 2021. While there, he took several theology classes in preparation for the potential of further seminary studies.
When he was not studying at Concordia Ann Arbor, he could often be found working as a project manager for North Point Fisheries Management. As a project manager, he led a crew building new and restoring old trout habitat throughout several branches of the AuSable and Manistee rivers.
He started his theology studies in earnest at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the summer of 2022, where his father graduated thirty years earlier. Through his studies at the seminary, he has been given the honor of being the vicar of Philadelphia Lutheran Ministries.
In his spare time, he enjoys working on fine art and photography, collecting and playing board games, and exploring nature. He and his wife hope to get a good start on learning the German language together during their year here in Philly.
Adam is excited to explore Philadelphia, especially its art and history, and to experience a new way of life in the big city. However, he is most looking forward to growing and learning from his time serving the people of St. John’s and Logos under Pastor Kieselowsky.
