Leadership
Erin Coleman Branchaud Pastor
Pastor Erin Coleman Branchaud (she/her/hers) has served as the pastor of St. Luke's since 2018. Pastor Erin is a graduate of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, where she focused on faith-based community organizing as a transformational methodology for mission and discipleship. Erin brings to St. Luke's a deep sense of call to work with God for transformative economic, racial, and gender justice. She loves to tell stories and sing songs.
Before moving to Chicago in 2014, Pastor Erin worked as a Young Adults in Global Mission volunteer in Grand Bourg, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Prior to that she lived in Nebraska, where she served in congregations, outdoor ministries, and campus ministries.
Outside of church, you can find Pastor Erin playing board games, spending time with her spouse Josh, and being a human to her two cats. She is a proud member of common pulse vocal ensemble and a leader with the Faith Liberation Movement of The People's Lobby. You can catch some of her work in recent panels on Lutheranisms and Socialisms.
Call Pastor Erin: (773) 235-5515
Bev Jedynak
Cantor
Bev Jedynak (she/her/hers) has been the primary musician at St. Luke's since 2012, and was named "Cantor" in 2016. She was previously minister of music at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Chicago and before that spent 21 years as Cantor at Park View Lutheran Church – her home congregation.
The role of cantor is one well-suited to Bev – as “leader of the church’s song” she seeks to include everyone in the music making – whether the smallest toddler just starting to demonstrate rhythmic skills or the most advanced musician – all are welcome and invited to be a part of the church’s song.
In addition to staff duties at St. Luke’s, Bev provides investor relations and public relations services to a number of clients through her firm, Bevlyn Consulting. She started Bevlyn in 2014 following decades of experience at a national firm .
Call Bev: (773) 350-5793
River Cook Needham
Administrative Assistant
River Cook Needham (she/her/hers), the administrative assistant, is a graduate of and student at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, studying transgender oral histories. She comes to Saint Luke’s ambitiously blending her theological education with her office experience. Previously, River worked as an office manager for a theological journal, and as a research assistant studying student debt.
Outside of her work and studies, River lives in the Northwest Suburbs. She’s rarely away from a good book.
Sharei Green
Pastoral Intern
Sharei Green (she/her/hers) is a Womanist theologian currently pursuing her MDiv at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Sitting at the intersection of fat, Black, femme and queer, Sharei has committed herself to creating spaces of community healing and sabbath, especially for Black women/ femmes and all their intersections. She is the co-author of God’s Holy Darkness, a children’s book that deconstructs anti-Blackness in Christian theology by celebrating instances in the story of God’s people when darkness, blackness, and night are beautiful, good, and holy.