.png)
Dear Ones,
Last month, I announced that we were accepting applications for two Assistant to the Bishop positions in our synod. Thank you to those who prayerfully discerned and participated in this call process. I am excited to announce that Pastor Jana Howson is joining the Northern Illinois Synod staff as the Assistant to the Bishop for Mobility and Congregations in Transition.
Pastor Jana is a familiar face in our synod, bringing a love for the people of God and a commitment to Christ’s work in the world to this role. Pastor Jana’s ministry in the synod will focus on being in conversations with those discerning where they are being called and with congregations as they discern who will lead them next.
Pr. Jana currently serves as Pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Joliet and previously as Pastor of United Lutheran Church in Gardner, where she nurtured creative intergenerational ministries and community outreach. Ordained in 2014 in the Northern Illinois Synod, she brings more than a decade of pastoral experience and a deep commitment to faithful discernment about God’s calling to congregations in this time and place.
Pr. Howson holds a Ph.D. in Christian Education and Congregational Leadership from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and a Master of Divinity from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. A 2025 Horizons Fellow recognized as an emerging scholar in religious education, she combines practical leadership with thoughtful scholarship and theological grounding. When not pastoring, you can find her with her family, playing board games, or sword fighting.
Pastor Jana reflected on joining our staff in this way, “With our rapidly changing society, all congregations today are in some form of transition as we faithfully answer God’s invitation to be the church as it is called to be in this time and space. With the Spirit’s help, I am excited for the chance to accompany congregations in the Northern Illinois Synod that find themselves in the midst of being called into something new.”
Pastor Jana will begin her ministry with us on April 15th and will spend her first few weeks working alongside Pastor Jen Henry as she begins her role. We give thanks for Pastor Jen and the work she has done during this transition.
As we continue in our Lenten wilderness, I am grateful for the ways that we journey together as the body of Christ in the world. Please hold Faith in Joliet in your prayers as they begin a time of transition, and join me in welcoming Pastor Jana to her new role.
Walking together,
Bishop Stacie
