Staff   

Rev. Dr. Craig A. Meissner

Rev. Dr. Craig A. Meissner was born on December 2, 1975 in Buffalo, NY to parents Gerald and Linda Meissner, and Baptized into Christ on December 21, 1975 at Trinity Lutheran Church, West Seneca, NY.      Members of Trinity Congregation, his parents raised him at their Orchard Park, NY home, from where he attended Trinity Lutheran School from Nursery School through Eighth Grade, while his parents were active in various lay offices in the congregation and the choir.  He publicly confessed the Christian faith at Trinity in the Rite of Confirmation on Palm Sunday, 1990.  Thereafter he participated in the congregation’s youth group while attending Orchard Park High School.

In the Fall of 1994 Rev. Meissner enrolled at Concordia College, Bronxville, New York, where he first majored in History and Lutheran Secondary Education, before changing majors to Religious Studies with a Pre-seminary emphasis.  Rev. Meissner spent his senior year of undergraduate studies at Concordia College, Ann Arbor, MI, through a student-exchange program, returning to Concordia, Bronxville to graduate summa cum laude in 1998.  From there he entered Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana (CTS) in the fall of 1998, majoring in Exegetical Theology.  After receiving the Master of Divinity (M. Div.) in 2002 Rev. Meissner spent the following year at CTS as a graduate assistant for the Historical Theology department while studying toward the Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.) degree.

In 2003 Rev. Meissner accepted the Divine Call to be pastor of Mt.  Calvary Lutheran Church of Franklin Park, IL, and The Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Michael of Chicago, being ordained on June 22 of that year.  While there, he met Rebekah (nee Hintzman) of Dearborn, MI.  The two were married on October 7, 2006.

In April 2008 Rev. Meissner received the Divine Call to Immanuel Lutheran Church of Steger, IL, where he would serve as Pastor for the next fourteen years.  While there, Rev. Meissner served on various committees of the Northern Illinois District – LCMS, including as Chair of the South Regional Pastoral Conference and District Life Coordinator.  Additionally, he was Chaplain of the Steger Fire Department, instrumental in establishing a maternity home for pregnant unwed mothers, and Chair of the Northern      Illinois Confessional Lutherans (NICL).  He has been published in Concordia Theological Quarterly, Gottesdienst, and Logia.  Rev. Meissner also completed his S.T.M. degree from CTS in 2010, concentrating in Systematic Theology with a Historical Theology minor.  After this, he entered the Doctor of Ministry program there in 2015 and received the degree in 2018, concentrating in Pastoral Care and Counselling.  His graduate project focused on parish catechesis and identity.  Earlier this year Rev. Meissner was accepted to study in the Ph. D program (Systematic Theology) at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO.

Rebekah Lynn Meissner was born in Ipswich, S.D. on November 25, 1976, the child of Rev. Harold and Cheryl Hintzman, and baptized on December 5 of that year.  After residing with her family in various small towns of South Dakota, she graduated from high school in 1995.  From there she attended Concordia College, Seward, NE as a Lutheran Primary Education major with a Music Concentration, with the organ as her principal instrument.  After graduating from Concordia, Seward in 2000 with the B.S. in Education, Rebekah taught at Lutheran schools in Colorado, Michigan, and Illinois.  Most recently, she also served the past thirteen years as Music Director at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Steger.

Greta Rachel Meissner was born to Rev. and Mrs. Meissner on February 23, 2012 and baptized into Christ on that year on February 25.  She attended Zion Lutheran School, Beecher, IL through 2021, and then        Illinois Lutheran School, Crete, IL and currently attends Martin Luther Academy.

Jeremy Noah Meissner was taken to eternal rest in Christ Jesus during the first trimester of pregnancy in 2013.  There he awaits the resurrection of the flesh and reunion of body and soul at the Lord’s coming.

Brandi Schaunaman, Church Secretary

Brandi is originally from South Dakota. She and her husband, Michael, moved to Kansas City and joined Holy Cross Lutheran Church in 2002, shortly after getting married. Brandi joined the teaching staff at Lutheran High School of Kansas City and taught Social Studies and Journalism from 2002-2006. She started working part-time at Holy Cross in June, 2006. Her oldest son, Carter was born in September, 2006. In January, 2009, along with her church duties, Brandi was asked to start managing the finances of the Holy Cross Early Childhood Center. In February, 2010 her youngest son, Isaac, was born.  Brandi has very much enjoyed working with the people of Holy Cross, both from the Church and the ECC.