Pastor Emily Stelling grew up in Milltown, WI with her mother, Rhonda-a special education teacher at Unity Schools, and David-a supervisor at a local dairy, along with two sisters, Holly and Isabelle. They attended Milltown Lutheran Church under the pastorate of US Navy Chaplain Reverend Danny Wheeler. It was Pastor Danny who encouraged Pastor Emily to discern the ministry. On October 23, 2005 Pastor Emily was baptized and, on that day, she felt called to the ministry. Soon thereafter, Pastor Danny took her on a tour of Luther Seminary. At 12 years old, Pastor Emily became the youngest prospective student at the seminary, according to the admissions office. Pastor Emily enjoyed theatre, golf, band, student government, and all things high school while at Unity. She graduated in 2011. Pr. Emily was thrilled to attend St. Olaf College, a college of the Lutheran Church located in Northfield, MN. The four years of academic rigor, epiphanic experiences, personal growth, and lifelong connections cemented Pr. Emily’s theological foundation. 

She graduated in May 2015 and by July 1^st she was settled into her Stub dormitory at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. Pr. Emily graduated with honors from Luther Seminary in May 2019. Throughout her time in seminary, Pr. Emily had the opportunity to study under Dr. Mary Jane Haemig in Germany as well as attend Kirchentag and the Jubilee festivities in Wittenberg in 2017. She served her vicar year in Bratislava, Slovakia. The call was to teach religion at the historic Evanjelické lýceum (a Lutheran high school, est. 1606) in tandem with being the vicar at Bratislava International Church. Pr. Emily completed her Clinical Pastoral Education at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, during the Minnesota nurses’ strike of 2016. Pr. Emily has a long-standing discipline of attending retreats and monasteries. She is a fellow with the saints at Saint Augustine’s House in Oxford, MI—a Lutheran monastery. She loves living back in the great north woods—close to family and friends, and where one can fish peacefully!

You can contact Pastor Emily at pastorstelling@sirentel.net