Peace Lutheran Church & School

Recognizing the staff members of Peace Lutheran Church and School

David Reineke - 20 years in ministry

Mr. Reineke is the current Director of Christian Education at Peace Lutheran Church and School, where he has served for the past 10 years. Prior to coming to Antigo, he had ministered at Lutheran Island Camp in Henning, MN for 4 years, Hope Lutheran Church in Pompano Beach, FL for 1 year and served for 5 years at Faith Lutheran Church in Chippewa Falls, WI. Mr. Reineke lives in Antigo with his wife, Jane, two sons, Joseph, age 12 and Zachary, age 8, and his daughter Anna, age 10.

As the Director of Christian Education, Mr. Reineke has the responsibility for the following areas of ministry: Family Ministry which involves programming for the many different family types and ages, including Wet Cement ministries and Retired Adults Fellowship Time as well as Fellowship and Education Events for the families of Peace, such as seminars, special classes for parents, bus outings, etc; Small Group Ministry such as ChristCare, HomeBuilders, Grief Share i.e. coordination of these ministries, recruitment of leaders and members, promoting the small group ministry, leading a small group and coordinating the work of the “Equippers”; Sunday School Ministry; Confirmation Administration and Teaching; and various other ministries that need to be done by one of the Ministry Leadership Team members. The other ministries include overseeing Church Directory project, Ministry brochures about programs and opportunities, Leader's Retreat planning, Adult Education planning, assisting in worship as a Liturgist and Prayer and Praise Worship team accompanist, work with the different sound systems in the building, and brainstorming ways to fulfill the mission at Peace Lutheran Church and School.

Mr. Reineke shares that he has “enjoyed working with the staff here at Peace. We are a large staff and have opportunities to interact and support one another in our ministry here together”. He goes on to say, “In my position, I also work with a lot of different ages of people and find it a joy to get to know the families here”.

His most memorable event was the marriage seminar held at Peace in November 2005 called “Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage”. Mr. Reineke felt, “It was a lot of fun and an exciting event for us to host in our Church. We had a lot of people at it and it had a positive impact on our families.”

Donna Henning- 30 years in ministry

Mrs. Henning has served the Lord as a teacher in Lutheran schools a total of 30 years. She began her ministry at Redeemer Lutheran in Philadelphia, PA. After one year she was married and moved to Detroit, MI where she served at Holy Cross Lutheran for 2 years. Mrs. Henning then found herself in Wisconsin, where she continued her ministry at Trinity Lutheran in Oshkosh for 15 years and Immanuel Lutheran in Marshfield for 8 years. She now lives in Antigo with her husband, Jim, and has been an important part of the Peace Lutheran Church and School staff for the last 4 years, currently serving as second grade teacher. She is the mother of two sons, Daniel and Michael (Stephanie), one daughter Sarah Rall (Christopher), and grandmother of Ava, Kathryn, Benjamin, and Andrew.

Mrs. Henning has been involved in many extra duties during her years of ministry. Some of them include: Bible study leader, Adult Education coordinator, and the Christian Growth chairperson of LWML. Mrs. Henning has also participated in Hmong ministry as well as being a choir member, school librarian, and a member of the yearbook staff.

Mrs. Henning feels “the most enjoyable aspect of teaching is bringing and keeping little ones close to Jesus. Watching these children grow in their faith is amazing”. Of course, working with children always brings several memorable moments. Mrs. Henning admits “it's the many small moments that add up”. She enjoys seeing the “lights go on” as children understand new concepts and accept new challenges.

Jane Reineke - 10 years in ministry

Mrs. Reineke has been a part of the Peace Lutheran Church and School faculty family for the past 5 years. Prior to coming to Antigo, she had served at St. John's in Chaska, MN for 1 year, Hope Lutheran Church in Pompano Beach, FL for 1 year, and spent 4 years in teaching the ministry at Eau Claire Lutheran School.

Mrs. Reineke has three 3 children, Joseph, age 12, Anna, age 10 and Zachary, age 8. She is married to David, who serves Peace as Director of Christian Education.

Mrs Reineke is active in several areas of ministry at Peace. She serves as part time teacher for our 7th & 8th grade class. She also serves as the director of the Handbells, as well as the Prayer and Praise Service. She has also been active in Vacation Bible School, Sunday school and working with the Alumni.

Mrs. Reineke shares that she truly enjoys getting to know the students, parents and members of Peace Lutheran Church and School. As she began working with the alumni information, she states she remembers being “amazed at how many people have gone through, and been influenced by Peace Lutheran Church and School. What a blessing to be able to be part of that!”

Linda Schultz - 30 years in ministry

Linda Schultz has provided 30 years serving the Lord by giving guidance to children. She first began by working within a public school system for 2 years in Houston, MN. She then worked 4 years at Immanuel Lutheran School in Rock Island, IL, 1 year at St. John Lutheran School in West Bend, WI, followed by 16 years at St. John Lutheran in Merrill. She has ministered to the children of Peace Lutheran School here in Antigo for the past 8 years and is currently teaching 5th grade. In addition to teaching, she has participated in many areas of ministry throughout the years including grades 1 through 4 choir director, IMC Librarian and director, and creating banners for worship and church organizations.

When asked what she enjoyed most about her position within the ministry, Linda Schultz easily stated, “The children”. She enjoys seeing them grow from 5th graders to Sr. High students and observing their personalities blossom into young adult Christians.

She does admit she doesn't have just one definite memorable moment from her ministry here at Peace Lutheran. Past Arbor Days at Peace Lutheran have been memorable because she honored each of her four sons by having a tree planted for them on the Peace Lutheran playground. Her hope is that someone will remember her sons as the trees grow.

Mrs. Janet Kramer - (Retiring - 24 years)

Mrs. Kramer is currently the third grade teacher at Peace Lutheran School. She lives in Pickerel, WI with her husband, Pastor Charles F. Kramer. They have four children who are all married with children of their own: Kristin, her husband and their three children; Charles, his wife and one son, Kimberly, her husband and one son; and Timothy, his wife and one daughter.

Mrs. Kramer has served at Peace for 12 years. Prior to coming to Antigo, she taught in Plainview, MN for 3 years, Howard Lake, MN for 1 year and Paullina, Iowa for 8 years. Besides teaching, she has been involved in several different church activities. She has been a Sunday school teacher, VBS teacher, choir member, Bible study member, prayer group member, pianist for outdoor church services on Arbutus Lake and some regular church services, and children's service director.

Mrs. Kramer has truly enjoyed each of her students and every class that she has been privileged to teach. She states she “especially enjoys the unique and different personalities of each child. Each one is special and a gift from God”. She enjoys the different classes, and likes to try new and different things in her classes. She enjoys watching the students grow physically and academically. Most of all, she desires for each of them to grow in their faith and to become closer to Jesus as they learn about Him and His love for them.

She has had many memorable moments during her teaching career. Mrs. Kramer has enjoyed the field trips (yes, she even admits to going down the slide at Wild Air). Mrs. Kramer remembers the fun everyone had dressing up as 100 year old senior citizens for the 100th day of school. And then there was the Mardi Gras parade at Evergreen Terrace, the third grade plays, the egg drop, Lutheran School's week, the visit from the firemen, and who could forget dissecting owl pellets.

This past year was particularly memorable when her third grade class won 1st place in the National AR Challenge. Her class was also selected as the “class of the day” when they went to the Grand Theater for a program. Even with the numerous unforgettable moments she is rewarded with, Mrs. Kramer states the most memorable moments come with the hugs and smiles from former students. It is always exciting to receive letters from former students.

Mrs. Kramer is “thankful for the many great memories that I have from my years of teaching. I give God the thanks and praise for what He has done in my life and in my teaching career”.

Mrs. Pam Siudak - 15 years in ministry

Mrs. Siudak has faithfully served within the teaching ministry for the past 15 years. Her first call was to Glendale, WI as the school music director, choir director and daycare administrator of St. John's School. Mrs. Siudak then received a call to Immanuel, Brookfield, WI to be the daycare administrator, followed by a year at Gospel School in Milwaukee as a kindergarten teacher. She currently plays a very important part in the education of the children here at Peace by serving as the PK/Kindergarten teacher, which she has joyfully done for the last 10 years. Mrs. Siudak has also served on the faculties of Concordia University Wisconsin, in music education, and N.T.C. in general education.

Along with her usual duties in her classroom at Peace, Mrs. Siudak has also served as the Cherub Choir director, yearbook advisor, P.T.L. teacher representative and on numerous committees.

Mrs. Siudak truly enjoys the young children she has the privilege of guiding. She “loves the oohs and aahs” of the PK and Kindergarten students when they learn something new about the world God created. She states “I feel honored to give kids their first experience in formal education.” In return she is rewarded on a daily basis with smiles, hugs, high-fives and laughter.

As one can imagine, working with 4-6 year olds each day is full of joys and surprises, which really “enlightened” Mrs. Siudak. For example: During one phonics lesson, Mrs. Siudak asked the kindergartners how many letters where in the alphabet. One of the kids said, “All of them!” Another day, the kids were discussing birthdays and how old everyone in their family is. One of the boys said, “My grandma's a spring chicken, you know”. Mrs. Siudak admits she lost it when his friend said, “You're lucky, my grandma's just a person”.

Mrs. Siudak and her husband Rick have been blessed with two daughters, Jenny and Katie.