About Us
Welcome to Zoar Lutheran Church!
We’re glad you’re here to worship with us and pray that your spirit will be refreshed and transformed by the abundant grace of our God.
Zoar seeks to follow Jesus’s example of inclusion by welcoming and affirming all, including all whom the world attempts to separate, divide, or isolate. We are committed to fostering social justice and racial equality.
The Zoar community is committed to the ongoing work of welcoming all ages, races and ethnicities, physical and mental abilities, marital, economic and legal statuses, sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions, as well as all theological perspectives.
We celebrate Holy Communion in worship each week, and all who desire a deeper relationship with the God revealed in Jesus Christ are welcome to partake. This is Christ’s table – not our table – and so, we follow Jesus in welcoming all people to the table.
The “Creative Corner” and children’s worship bulletins are available for our younger friends. We also offer Children’s Time during worship as well as a short Sunday school time during the sermon.
We invite you to join us in worship, community, fellowship, and ministry – all aspects of congregational life and leadership. Please join us after the worship service for fellowship.
May you find Zoar* to be your “little place of refuge.” You are welcome here.
(* The name “Zoar” is found in Genesis 19. Zoar is the small town where Lot and his family take refuge when Sodom and Gomorrah are about to be destroyed. “Zoar” means “small” in Hebrew, and since Zoar was a place of refuge, our congregation aspires to be a “little place of refuge.”)
Pastor Michelle is, first and foremost, a beloved child of God. She's also a second career pastor, who has a PhD. in German Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1994). She was ordained into the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in 1998 and has served congregations throughout the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area. For fourteen years of her ministry, she served as a transition specialist, helping congregations examine their history and discern future directions for ministry and leadership. She has been privileged to serve with the wonderful people of Zoar since November 2017.
In her precious free time, Pastor Michelle enjoys hanging out with her family; riding her horse, Wynnie, walking her neighborhood, and (on occasion!) visiting the Oregon Coast. She enjoys traveling with Robert, especially to Germany, where her son David is working on his Master's; to England, where she has cousins; and to Hawaii, where she loves to snorkel and marvel at the amazing diversity and beauty of God’s creation.
Pastor Michelle Manicke
Mel Kubik
Music Director
David Tate
Office Manager
Church Executive Council 2025
Scott Eagle, Council President
Kent Marcus, Vice President
Di Bernklau, Secretary
Anne Manicke, Treasurer
Betty Lundsten, Financial Secretary
Noel Hygeland, Past President