Staff Bios
Jay Thorson - Pastor
Jay's life passion is to communicate the whole Word of God clearly & persuasively, showing how it is relevant to every part of our lives. Since coming to Shepherd of the Hills in 1999, our congregation has been blessed with growth in numbers, in outreach, in leadership, and in loving Christian community. He & Beth have been married 25 years, and have three children ranging from 18 to 23. Jay enjoys running, wilderness camping, travel of any sort, and playing the electric guitar & bass in our worship bands. He loves being a pastor -- especially here!
Jerry Petersen - Regular Guest Pastor
Jerry enhances our teaching ministry by preaching at our church ten Sundays a year. He brings a warm and winsome message filled with the wisdom of a lifetime of serving the Lord. Before coming to Shepherd of the Hills, he served over 30 years as the founding pastor of Grace Lutheran in Grafton Wisconsin. He & Joan are the proud parents of four sons and many grandchildren.
Karen Puhl - Assistant for Lay Ministries
Karen has been a member of Shepherd of the Hills since 1991 and began working as the Assistant for Lay Ministries in Fall of 2002. Her roll is to help worshipers be successful in fulfilling God’s mission for the church. She can help you identify your spiritual gifts as well as train/equip you to use those gifts to serve Christ. Her goal is to help grow the congregation’s Lutheran understanding of the church as the Priesthood of all Believers. She is married to John and has two grown children, Lauren and Kevin.
Amy Cichon - Director of Children's Ministry
Amy's responsibilities include coordinating our Sunday school program, planning and organizing our summer VBS, and coordinating our Kid's Night Out program during the school year. Amy brings a heart for Christ, a love for kids, and wonderful organizational skills to our team. She and her husband, John, and their two young sons, Matthew and Michael, have been members of SOTH since 2003.
Kristin Tetzke - Youth Coordinator • Director of Choirs
Kristin has spent all of her life both in vocal music and the Lutheran church. She thoroughly enjoys working with both the Adult Vocal and Handbell Choirs- the music as well as the fellowship among the members. Kristin is a 1987 graduate of Lawrence University with a BA in Music (voice performance) and English. After working 5 yrs at Procter & Gamble, she chose to stay home to raise her children. Kristin enjoys working with children and various volunteer activities. She has taught several preschool recreation classes in Germantown and Menomonee Falls. In addition to her duties with music ministry, she enjoys helping with the High School youth group at Shepherd of the Hills, and recently took on our youth coordinator position. Kristin, her husband Ken, and three daughters, Tara, Lauren, and Maddie, became members of Shepherd of the Hills in 2003.
Tom Utschig - Director of Contemporary Music
As Worship Leader and Director of Contemporary Music, Tom says, "I have the best job in the world! With the help of the Holy Spirit, I combine the word of God with music, to magnify God's word and the redemptive work of Jesus Christ to motivate the congregation into proclaiming the truth of God's word in order to live for the glory of God." He's a widely known professional musician who has played and recorded with numerous groups on the Milwaukee music scene. Tom is blessed with a daughter Kimberly and currently lives on the northwest side of Milwaukee. He has attended Shepherd of the Hills for over 5 years, and enjoys boating, biking, and skiing.
As Worship Leader and Director of Contemporary Music, Tom says, "I have the best job in the world! With the help of the Holy Spirit, I combine the word of God with music, to magnify God's word and the redemptive work of Jesus Christ to motivate the congregation into proclaiming the truth of God's word in order to live for the glory of God." He's a widely known professional musician who has played and recorded with numerous groups on the Milwaukee music scene. Tom is blessed with a daughter Kimberly and currently lives on the northwest side of Milwaukee. He has attended Shepherd of the Hills for over 5 years, and enjoys boating, biking, and skiing.
Cynthia Skaalen - Organist
Born into a family of musicians in New Orleans, music has always been a passion for Cynthia. From piano, singing and dancing lessons as a child; playing her first church service at age 12 (her grandfather was the pastor); singing in the church choir as a teen; accompanying the high school choirs; serving a mission congregation as an organist while attending college; Cynthia’s evolvement into a church musician is no surprise.
She and her family joined Shepherd of the Hills in 1971 where today, she continues to serve as organist, providing organ and other appropriate music for the worship services, weddings, and funerals; is a member of “Spoken For”, SOTH’s praise band, on keyboard and vocals; and sings in the choir. Cynthia and her husband raised two sons in the area where she also taught in the Richfield Schools for many years. She now enjoys her family, especially her two grandchildren; friends; yellow lab, Emily; gardening; reading; water aerobics and of course MUSIC!
Sue Faber - Administrative Assistant
That friendly voice that answers when you call the church office belongs to Sue. Sue worked part-time as our church secretary for five years in the 1990’s. She then worked for ten years as the church secretary at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church before returning to Shepherd of the Hills in November of 2007. Besides handling the daily communications, including e-mail, regular mail, and phone messages, she is also responsible for maintaining the church calendar, preparing the weekly bulletins and entering contributions and membership information among the myriad of other weekly tasks that need attending to. Sue also handles Pastor Jay's calendar, so if you call the office, she can quickly get you on his schedule. Sue has been a member at Shepherd of the Hills since 1987 and is married to Mike. They have two grown children, a son Erik and a daughter Angela. If you have a question, Sue can find you an answer!
Becky Reilly - Bookkeeper & Facilities Manager
Becky has been a member of Shepherd of the Hills since 1982. She and her husband, Jim, have two grown daughters, Meghan and Caitlin. Becky spent 6 years as council treasurer and became the church bookkeeper in 2001, when council created this new church position. In 2007, her position was expanded to half time to include scheduling servers for the various worship services and for overseeing the general operations of the church (maintenance, cleaning, etc.) Becky also chairs the Altar Guild, sings in the vocal choir, plays handbellsand does various other volunteer “jobs” around the church. Prior to “family”she was a medical social worker and administrator in a Milwaukee nursinghome. She has also worked in purchasing/expediting in a small manufacturing plant, as the bookkeeper for a large condominium complex and in a surgeon’s office.
Marge Worthing - Newsletter
Marge became the staff editor for the “The Shepherd’s Voice” Newsletter in 2006. Her previous volunteer work at church included reorganizing the Resource Center and editing our congregational Pictorial Directory. Two Small Groups Marge enjoys being part of are the Monday Messengers Bible Study and the Acts 2 Circle. “I consider it a blessing and a privilege to share Christian fellowship, make Christian friends, and be a part of the Christian learning experience here at Shepherd of the Hills.” Marge retired from the Falk Corporation in Milwaukee after 31 years of service as an NC Programmer. She and her late husband, Don, joined Shepherd of the Hills in 1985, when they moved to the Richfield area. Marge was originally from Pennsylvania and has a daughter, a step-daughter and a step-son who all live in the Milwaukee area.