Sunday, January 7, 2018 Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Willow Springs and Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lyons welcomed Rev. Mark Duer during the Service of Installation.
Grace and Zion, historic churches which are 89 years old and 134 years old, respectively, are partnered with one another as sister congregations.
Prior to becoming a pastor, Rev. Duer received his Bachelor of Science from Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska and held several occupations. Notably, Rev. Duer is a military veteran. He served the United States in the Army Reserves from October 1984 to October 1993 and in active duty from November 1990 to June 1991 during Operation Desert Storm.
After completing his vicarage at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Pensacola, Florida, Rev. Duer graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne in 2009. He received his first call to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Cushing, Oklahoma, a town located in between Tulsa, Oklahoma and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was installed in September 2009. While serving Our Redeemer, Duer became the Vacancy Pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Wellston, Oklahoma, a town approximately 40 minutes from Cushing.
Duer served Our Redeemer and St Paul’s through the Christmas 2017 services before moving to the Chicago suburbs.
The congregations of Grace and Zion are excited to have Rev. Duer. We rejoice to the Lord and pray he blesses Rev. Duer as he transitions into his new role and new home in Chicagoland.