Rev. Jessica A. Harren
What is Pastor Jess doing now?
Pastor Jess is currently serving two congregations as their Pastor, is on two anti-racism teams and occasionally leads Spark Faith groups in the 3DM model of discipleship. Open Heart faith gathering is a mission church plant in Chicago, and the Lutheran Church of Martha and Mary is in Mt. Prospect, IL. See below for more on how to connect to those ministries. Pastor Jess serves on the Metro Chicago Synod's Anti-Racism Team called Another Pebble, and on the European Descent Lutheran Association for Racial Justice.
Lutheran Church of Martha and Mary
As the part time Pastor of this traditional congregation, Pastor Jess invites everyone to request the Zoom link to join us on Sundays, or to watch our full worship services and sermons on our YouTube channel. You can also follow us on Facebook, and watch our Kid's Time messages on YouTube.
Open Heart Faith Gathering
Pastor Jess is the volunteer Pastor of this church plant/mission church that meets on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month. The congregation is historically based in the Avondale Neighborhood of Chicago, but is currently meeting on Zoom. It is currently unaffiliated with a denomination, but is based in the Lutheran tradition. The best place to read information about us is here, and the best place to find out about our gatherings is here.
Pastor Jess is currently serving two congregations as their Pastor, is on two anti-racism teams and occasionally leads Spark Faith groups in the 3DM model of discipleship. Open Heart faith gathering is a mission church plant in Chicago, and the Lutheran Church of Martha and Mary is in Mt. Prospect, IL. See below for more on how to connect to those ministries. Pastor Jess serves on the Metro Chicago Synod's Anti-Racism Team called Another Pebble, and on the European Descent Lutheran Association for Racial Justice.
Lutheran Church of Martha and Mary
As the part time Pastor of this traditional congregation, Pastor Jess invites everyone to request the Zoom link to join us on Sundays, or to watch our full worship services and sermons on our YouTube channel. You can also follow us on Facebook, and watch our Kid's Time messages on YouTube.
Open Heart Faith Gathering
Pastor Jess is the volunteer Pastor of this church plant/mission church that meets on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month. The congregation is historically based in the Avondale Neighborhood of Chicago, but is currently meeting on Zoom. It is currently unaffiliated with a denomination, but is based in the Lutheran tradition. The best place to read information about us is here, and the best place to find out about our gatherings is here.
What is Pastor Jess passionate about?
Rev. Jessica A. Harren is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She is passionate about Jesus, worship, and working toward the church looking like the kin-dom of God where are all not only welcome, but included, celebrated and respected. She believes that each person, regardless of age, economic reality, race, gender, sexuality, or disability has an important place in creating the church. Everyone has experiences and ideas that can enrich our collective experience of God. She is passionate about working against sexual assault and domestic violence, and advocating for survivors. Pastor Jess is passionate about LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the church, anti-ableism in the church, anti-racism, and working toward a more just world for all.
Rev. Jessica A. Harren is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She is passionate about Jesus, worship, and working toward the church looking like the kin-dom of God where are all not only welcome, but included, celebrated and respected. She believes that each person, regardless of age, economic reality, race, gender, sexuality, or disability has an important place in creating the church. Everyone has experiences and ideas that can enrich our collective experience of God. She is passionate about working against sexual assault and domestic violence, and advocating for survivors. Pastor Jess is passionate about LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the church, anti-ableism in the church, anti-racism, and working toward a more just world for all.
What can Pastor Jess do?
Pastor Jess is currently available to consult with congregations on anti-ableism in the church, Consent Culture, and emergent worship. She also has experience in conflict resolution, family systems in congregations, healthy communication patterns, creative participatory worship design, and how congregations can work to include all in their ministries. Grieving well both individually and collectively is important to her. She led one congregation through a public grief process that the church no longer works the way it did in 1960. After that process, the congregation formed a ministry team and their emergent worshiping community, Open Space, was born. Additionally, Pastor Jess loves weddings, and would love to talk to you if you would like a Christian pastor to marry you.
Pastor Jess is currently available to consult with congregations on anti-ableism in the church, Consent Culture, and emergent worship. She also has experience in conflict resolution, family systems in congregations, healthy communication patterns, creative participatory worship design, and how congregations can work to include all in their ministries. Grieving well both individually and collectively is important to her. She led one congregation through a public grief process that the church no longer works the way it did in 1960. After that process, the congregation formed a ministry team and their emergent worshiping community, Open Space, was born. Additionally, Pastor Jess loves weddings, and would love to talk to you if you would like a Christian pastor to marry you.
Where did Pastor Jess come from?
Jessica Hildebrand was born to Bonnie and David Hildebrand in Wichita, KS in 1979. Soon, her two sisters were born. After growing up in Wichita, Jessica attended Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, TX where she majored in Psychology and minored in Theology. Throughout college, she worked at a day camp for kids with disabilities, an emergency children's shelter, as a TA, and at the school library.
After earning her BA in 2001, Jessica moved to Oak Park, IL where she attended Loyola University. In 2003 she earned her MA in community counseling, and began seminary that same year at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
What about seminary?
Throughout seminary Jessica collected many life experiences that inform her ministry. First, Jessica dealt with several illnesses. She used that experience to do an independent study on Embodiment Theology and has a paper published in the Journal of Religion, Health, and Disability. Second, she took care of her father while he had cancer, and he passed away in 2004. Third, in 2005, Jessica married her spouse Peter Harren and moved to Dubai, UAE. Fourth, she obtained 40 hour training from Illinois on how to be an advocate for survivors of sexual assault, and volunteered with an organization in McHenry county. Fifth, through classes and three-day anti-racism training from Crossroads, Jessica continued her journey of living as an anti-racist. It is a work in progress, but an important one. Sixth, for her clinical pastoral education (CPE) she was the only chaplain at a nursing home, with offsite supervision. Seventh, Jessica served her internship at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Libertyville, IL. She was officially a student of LSTC from 2003-2010.
Where did she work as a minister?
After graduating with her Masters of Divinity (MDiv), Jessica Harren worked as a full-time overnight staff chaplain at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libteryville, IL.
In 2012, Jess received her first call to Capron Lutheran Church in Capron, IL. She was ordained to Ministry of Word and Sacrament on June 15, 2012 at the Northern Illinois Synod Assembly at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL. During her time in Capron, Pastor Jess went through the 40 hour training in Illinois for advocacy of those living with domestic violence. She also took a sabbatical to study church family systems.
During her first call, the congregation became more involved in their community and came to be known as the church that worships and keeps people warm. The church taught Pr. Jess how to use resources and share them with the community through a partnership with Love, INC, supporting two food pantries, hosting a no-cash clothing exchange, having once a month free community coffee and gathering, serving at free community meals, and operating a preschool. It is a small church, and had a huge heart. The congregation shared their heart with Pr. Jess and nurtured her into a passion for preaching and creative, participatory, post-modern worship. Capron Lutheran Church formed a life-changing emergent worshiping community called Open Space under the leadership of Pr. Jess. In March of 2016, Pastor Jess had to say goodbye to Capron Lutheran.
After that, she served a short term interim for five months at Cross of Glory Lutheran Church in Homer Glen, IL from April to August of 2016.
Pastor Jess then served as a supply Pastor in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Pastor Jess kicked off her consulting business and also accepted a one-year part-time term call to Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church on Spaulding in Chicago, IL where she served from May 2017 to May 2018. There, she will engaged in a year of discernment with the congregation to find out the possibilities for their future. What is God doing at Calvary, and how can we help? After some grief work, family systems work, and imagining future possibilities, the congregation chose to close in a healthy and celebratory way a few months after the end of the term call.
Open Heart faith gathering is born as a backyard Bible study in May 2018.
From August 2018 to January 2020, Pastor Jess served as the stated supply contract Pastor at Lutheran Church of the Cross in Arlington Heights, IL.
In February of 2020, she became the part-time Pastor of the Lutheran Church of Martha and Mary in Mt. Prospect, IL.
Overall, Pastor Jess has served six congregations.
Jessica Hildebrand was born to Bonnie and David Hildebrand in Wichita, KS in 1979. Soon, her two sisters were born. After growing up in Wichita, Jessica attended Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, TX where she majored in Psychology and minored in Theology. Throughout college, she worked at a day camp for kids with disabilities, an emergency children's shelter, as a TA, and at the school library.
After earning her BA in 2001, Jessica moved to Oak Park, IL where she attended Loyola University. In 2003 she earned her MA in community counseling, and began seminary that same year at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
What about seminary?
Throughout seminary Jessica collected many life experiences that inform her ministry. First, Jessica dealt with several illnesses. She used that experience to do an independent study on Embodiment Theology and has a paper published in the Journal of Religion, Health, and Disability. Second, she took care of her father while he had cancer, and he passed away in 2004. Third, in 2005, Jessica married her spouse Peter Harren and moved to Dubai, UAE. Fourth, she obtained 40 hour training from Illinois on how to be an advocate for survivors of sexual assault, and volunteered with an organization in McHenry county. Fifth, through classes and three-day anti-racism training from Crossroads, Jessica continued her journey of living as an anti-racist. It is a work in progress, but an important one. Sixth, for her clinical pastoral education (CPE) she was the only chaplain at a nursing home, with offsite supervision. Seventh, Jessica served her internship at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Libertyville, IL. She was officially a student of LSTC from 2003-2010.
Where did she work as a minister?
After graduating with her Masters of Divinity (MDiv), Jessica Harren worked as a full-time overnight staff chaplain at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libteryville, IL.
In 2012, Jess received her first call to Capron Lutheran Church in Capron, IL. She was ordained to Ministry of Word and Sacrament on June 15, 2012 at the Northern Illinois Synod Assembly at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL. During her time in Capron, Pastor Jess went through the 40 hour training in Illinois for advocacy of those living with domestic violence. She also took a sabbatical to study church family systems.
During her first call, the congregation became more involved in their community and came to be known as the church that worships and keeps people warm. The church taught Pr. Jess how to use resources and share them with the community through a partnership with Love, INC, supporting two food pantries, hosting a no-cash clothing exchange, having once a month free community coffee and gathering, serving at free community meals, and operating a preschool. It is a small church, and had a huge heart. The congregation shared their heart with Pr. Jess and nurtured her into a passion for preaching and creative, participatory, post-modern worship. Capron Lutheran Church formed a life-changing emergent worshiping community called Open Space under the leadership of Pr. Jess. In March of 2016, Pastor Jess had to say goodbye to Capron Lutheran.
After that, she served a short term interim for five months at Cross of Glory Lutheran Church in Homer Glen, IL from April to August of 2016.
Pastor Jess then served as a supply Pastor in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Pastor Jess kicked off her consulting business and also accepted a one-year part-time term call to Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church on Spaulding in Chicago, IL where she served from May 2017 to May 2018. There, she will engaged in a year of discernment with the congregation to find out the possibilities for their future. What is God doing at Calvary, and how can we help? After some grief work, family systems work, and imagining future possibilities, the congregation chose to close in a healthy and celebratory way a few months after the end of the term call.
Open Heart faith gathering is born as a backyard Bible study in May 2018.
From August 2018 to January 2020, Pastor Jess served as the stated supply contract Pastor at Lutheran Church of the Cross in Arlington Heights, IL.
In February of 2020, she became the part-time Pastor of the Lutheran Church of Martha and Mary in Mt. Prospect, IL.
Overall, Pastor Jess has served six congregations.
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