Aurora church welcomes new pastor

Posted October 23, 2023 11:00 pm

Submitted by St. Mark's Lutheran Church

St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Aurora welcomed Rev. Paul Kopka as full-time interim associate pastor on Sunday, Oct. 22.

Pastor Kopka preached on "God is Work through People." His appointment is effective Nov. 1. He was honored at a post-worship reception.

He has served as an associate pastor for 15 years, most recently at Good Shepherd Lutheran in Naperville.

The Rev. Kopka earned a bachelor's degree in religion and religious studies from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, a master's in pastoral and theological training from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN and was ordained a pastor in 1986.

Since 2005, he has served as interim pastor in more than a dozen churches and served as co-convener of the Metro Chicago Synod transition minister's cohort. Serving congregations in and around Detroit and Chicago, Rev. Kopka earned a Doctor of Ministry from Lutheran School of Theology in 2006 and received special training for intentional interim ministry.

He and his wife, Pei, a software engineer, live in Bolingbrook.

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