I officially graduated from Luther Theological Seminary in December of 2023, with a Master of Divinity, having enrolled in the fall of 2017. That enrollment came five months after I entered the doors of Central Lutheran Church in downtown Chippewa Falls and decided that I had found my faith home in the teachings and beliefs of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

I currently live in Chippewa Falls with my wife Stacy – who I married in 2022 – and my identical twin sons, Jack and Clark, who live with me half the time. We also have a cat, Bailey, who is about six years old.

In my past, I earned two undergraduate degrees. The first of which was a Bachelor of Arts – which I received in print journalism from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire in 2001. That degree led to me working as a sportswriter for The Chippewa Herald for approximately four years, before I decided to take a job with Hutchinson Technology Incorporated in 2005, working there until March of 2011, when I was laid off with approximately 200 other workers. That layoff led me to my second degree, a Bachelor of Science in vocational rehabilitation, which I received in 2013.

That second degree led to me working for Workforce Resource, Inc. (WRI) – out of the Job Centers in both Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire – for nearly nine years before I left to begin my internship for seminary in October of 2022. During my time with WRI, I worked as a case manager for multiple employment and training programs, grant writer, and eventually facilitator for the Windows to Work program. It was in the Windows to Work program that I taught classes on job search and cognitive behavioral intervention at Stanley Correctional Institution and Chippewa Valley Correctional Treatment Facility.

I am originally from Sparta, Wisconsin, and some of my family still lives there, including my older brother Aaron and his family, along with my stepmother Mary, and a few aunts and uncles. I also have an older sister, Kelly, who lives in Onalaska with her family, along with a younger brother, Lukas, who lives in Altoona. My extended family also includes: a half-sister, Robin; a stepsister, Shanna; a stepbrother, William; and an adopted brother, Brian.

My faith formation has experienced many variations and differing traditions, as well as a three-year period of unbelief – which went alongside the first of two divorces. But in March of 2017, I found my home in the ELCA.

In my spare time, I enjoy hanging out with my family, playing video games, occasionally playing guitar and singing as a part-time gigging musician, taking walks and listening to other preachers talk about Jesus Christ.

Deb Burfield was born in Duluth Minnesota, the daughter of a truck driver. She attended school in Tomah, and then Altoona, where she completed her freshman year of high school. After her father’s death in 1975, she and her mom moved to Fall Creek, where she finished high school and now calls home.

Deb enjoys camping, working in the yard, taking walks in the woods, and listening to the sounds of nature. She also enjoys spending time with family and friends. She has an older sister and brother-in-law in Black River Falls, and several nieces and nephews in Marshfield and the surrounding areas.

Deb has been a very dependable and respected school bus driver for the past 25+ years. She has been employed by the Fall Creek School district for the last 20 of these years. She loves the children and they love her right back!

For several years Deb has worked as the custodian at St. James Trinity. Her duties include cleaning, setting up and taking down for weddings, funerals and other groups that use the church facilities. She also provides light maintenance inside the church, along with lawn care and light snow removal. 

In Deb’s words, “One of the things I like most about working at SJT is giving back to my church family that have helped me in my faith journey. It gives me great pleasure to offer a clean and welcoming place to worship. I love helping people, both the ones I know and strangers. There is no greater joy than sharing kindness, love, and joy to someone that may not be as fortunate. I also have much pleasure in singing in the church choir. I am thankful that I can share God’s work through the sounds of music.”