Our Presiding Minister from November 2024 - April 2025 will be Pastor Don Larsen.
From Chicago, Pastor Don earned his undergraduate degree in church music from Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, IL, and prepared for ordination at Christ Seminary-Seminex in St. Louis, and at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He was ordained in 1983. Pastor Don pursued further theological study at a number of other schools, including Union Theological Seminary of New York and Yale Divinity School. Pastor Don has served congregations in the Slovak Zion Synod-ELCA and the New England Synod in Danbury and Brookfield, CT, Riverside, IL, and Hartford, CT. During his ten-year ministry at Grace Lutheran in Hartford he also taught biblical Greek at Hartford Seminary. More recently, Pastor Don led University Lutheran Church in Cambridge, MA, where he was also Lutheran Chaplain to Harvard University and an instructor in Lutheran studies at Harvard Divinity School. Most recently, Pastor Don was pastor of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sudbury, MA, from which he retired in 2019. He has remained active in retirement serving congregations like Holy Trinity in Newington, NH, hiking, birding, and visiting grandchildren.
Pulpit Supply Preachers
Rev. Hank Junkin.
The Reverend Hank (Hays) Junkin, who has recently served as both interim rector and rector at the Church of Our Saviour in Milford is a strong supporter of outreach programs. He believes pastoral care is the heartbeat of parish life and brings more than 36 years of experience in parish ministry. He is married to the Rev. Sarah Rockwell, rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Londonderry.
Pastor Dave Rinas.
Pastor David Rinas, ordained on September 15, 1974, was the interim Pastor at the Messiah Lutheran Church in Amherst, NH. Before retiring in 2016, he had served congregations in Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, and the US Virgin Islands. Pastor David Rinas and his wife, Doreen Rinas, have many years of experience working with refugees and asylum seekers. They are Co-Chairpersons of the synod's ELCA World Hunger Team, and work together to strengthen the relationship between the New England Synod and the Lutheran Church of Honduras. Their son, Joshua, is a Lutheran pastor in Michigan, and their daughter, Kendra, works for the Organization for International Migration in Malaysia.
Gary MacDonald
Music Director
Gary comes to us from St. Patrick RC Church in Nashua and brings a wealth of experience and training to Gethsemane. For most of his career, he has played for liturgical churches. Gary studied at Westminster Choir College for a year and then received his BS in BA from Suffolk University. He assisted in rebuilding tracker organs for a period of about 20 years and was active in the NH Chapter of American Guild of Organists, having held most of the elected offices. Gary is the former accompanist for the New Greeley Singers in Pelham NH and the Spindle City Singers in Lowell. Many years ago, he was organist/director at the newly formed Peace Lutheran Church in Wayland MA where he presided over a Baldwin Spinet organ. He is looking forward to making beautiful music for the Glory of God at Gethsemane.
Moira Cordelia Office Admin
Moira is a seasoned administrative professional, with over 15 years of experience.
Moira has lived in New Hampshire off and on. She was born in New Jersey and lived in New York, Virginia and Atlanta, Georgia as well. Since childhood, she loved to sing and has been singing in choirs throughout her life.
Moira owns an eco-friendly business in Concord, NH, she also facilitates Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga and is a licensed NH health insurance agent and marketplace-registered-agent.
She actively seeks out opportunities to give back to the community through volunteer work and being of service to make a positive impact and contribute to society in a meaningful way.