The Reverend Emily K. Stelling
Pastor Emily 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. She 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 1st
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 serving as the vicar at Bratislava International Church. Pr.
Emily completed her Clinical Pastoral Education at Abbott Northwestern Hospital,
during the Minnesota nurses’ strike of 2016. She 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