Pictured (from left to right):  Mitch Gowen, Lisa Mancini, Marsha Egbert, Bill Swift, Dan Truesdell, Don Busse, Deanna Sako, Bill Abbott, Mike Lange, Rob Weller, Eric Van Scharrel, Christy Wood, Jared Eggebraaten. Not pictured:  Gabriel Molina, John Standley Pastor Mitch Gowen  serves as pastor at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Aiea, Hawaii, and as the First Vice-President of the District. Now in his second term, he brings steady leadership and a heart for ministry across the

Trinity Lutheran School in Paso Robles, California recently held a week-long readathon fundraiser called “Bounce into Books”. Each day, the school hosted activities that encouraged and celebrated children reading books. One of the activities was called The Book Bistro. Classes would take turns coming to a book “tasting” activity. Students sat around a table, were provided with some snacks, and would then have the opportunity to quickly “taste” a variety of books. Each “c

President Mike Lange recently visited Addis Kidan Lutheran Church in San Francisco and preached during worship. His visit was followed by a rich and encouraging time of conversation with congregational leaders, focusing on the training and development of new pastoral leaders. One of the highlights of the visit was meeting Ms. Bazawit “Bezzy” Muluneh , the congregation’s 27-year-old children’s and youth minister. Bezzy brings exceptional organizational skills and a remarkable

MAP Training – Mission Applied Practice  celebrated its 11th year as a cooperative project of the West Coast Districts to educate and orient our newest pastors to both the ministry and the unique missionary context of our three Districts. This training is designed to closely connect our pastors with all three West Coast staffs and to provide them with a stronger support network. MAP is an intentional extension of the LCMS PALS program (Post-Seminary Applied Learning). Over th

Silas Perez, who serves as the Administrative Assistant for Education, was installed on Sunday as a Vicar at Good Shepherd in Hayward. We pray for Silas and Good Shepherd in their ministry journey.

St. Paul in Merced is building stronger bridges between church and school by empowering students to lead worship. On Oct. 19, students from preschool through sixth grade took over the planning and execution of Sunday morning service. This was the second such event in the past year. Since Principal Ruth Sebastian took leadership in Fall 2024, she has worked intentionally to integrate all three ministries: church, school, and preschool. Beyond the Kids Takeover services, studen