Rev. DeWayne Teig, Pastor

Joining the ministry team at St. Peter Lutheran Church in 2012, Pastor DeWayne is enjoying his call to St. Peter and loves partnering with congregational members in their daily life ministries.

Pastor DeWayne is married to Kathy (May '77) and they have two sons, Ian and Drew. The Teigs are grateful to call the Dubuque area their home since Ian and his wife, Bree, and granddaughter, Olivia, and grandson, Aksel, live nearby in East Dubuque; their other granddaughters, Cameron and Frankie live with their parents, Drew and Alissa, also in good "visiting" distance in Verona, Wisconsin.

A native of Iowa, Pastor DeWayne grew up on a farm near Story City. He attended Iowa State University and Bemidji State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Psychology with an emphasis in Agency Management. He received a Master of Divinity degree from Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque and has done other graduate work in theology and marriage & family therapy.

Pastor DeWayne has served as a youth director, camp director, interim campus minister, and pastor in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Upper Michigan. He also served on the staff at Wartburg Seminary for ten years.

He loves fellowship with friends, hanging out with his family, trying to make jokes, and drinking good coffee in great company. He also enjoys tinkering with wood, grapes, & computers, loves all kinds of music, clever quotes, & writing and he always looks forward to the chance to enjoy the serenity he finds in sailing...

Tawanda Murinda, Part-time Pastoral Intern and Youth and Family Ministry Coordinator

Phone: (319) 427-1272

Email: tawamurinda@gmail.com

Tawanda Murinda joined the St. Peter staff in July of 2015 as the Youth and Family Ministry Coordinator. He is excited to share his passion for Youth Ministry with the congregation at St. Peter. Before moving to Dubuque, Tawanda spent his summers working at EWALU Bible Camp where he was a counselor and a coordinator for three years.

A native of Zimbabwe, Tawanda grew up in the capital, Harare, before coming to the United States for college. He graduated from Wartburg College with a Bachelors in Engineering Science and is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Wartburg Theological Seminary. He hopes to one day become a pastor in the ELCA but would love to work with the youth in the global church. Tawanda also has a passion for service and will be hoping to incorporate that into his work at St. Peter.

Sharon Cruse, Office Manager

Phone: 563-583-0860

Email: scruse18@q.com

Sharon Cruse came to St. Peter as Office Manager in the fall of 1998. Among the things Sharon is responsible for are record keeping for the church (recording baptisms, new members, deaths, and transfers), the Bellringer, weekly bulletins, and the master calendar of events.

She brings to her position a background of Stephen Ministry training, including leadership for that ministry, over 30 years of teaching Sunday School at St. Peter, and work in the publishing field.

Whenever possible Sharon enjoys time with her four “great” grandchildren, Ariel, Joel, Noah, and Moriah. She has become known as the “crafting” grandma, and makes sure she has plenty of projects for the little ones.  The children at St. Peter get to enjoy “grandma Sharon” since her young ones live out of town.

Present volunteer work at St. Peter include preparing lunches for the OWLS group, helping with Senior Fellowship lunches, participating in the Prayer Shawl Ministry, Stephen Ministry, and making and sending cards to all church parishioners.  

Jim Daack, Outreach Minister

Phone: (563) 556-0028

Email: gceramics@gmail.com

Jim joined our staff in January 2004. He visits the sick and homebound members of our congregation, implements regular visitations with visitors and prospective new members, and takes an active role in getting our inactive members involved once again in our church community. Jim is a long time member of the congregation and volunteers in a number of church activities, i.e. choir, soloist, lector, usher, and assisting minister. We are truly blessed that Jim is committed to this very important role in our congregational ministry.

Kristine Fishler, Organist & Keyboardist

Phone: (563) 599-3937

Email: kristine.fishler@gmail.com

Kristine Fishler joined the St. Peter staff in September 2007. She received her Bachelors in Music from Illinois Wesleyan University and her Masters in Music from Illinois State University. In addition to providing piano or organ music for services and the adult choir, Kristine enjoys working on special music with youths and adults. When not at church or teaching private lessons, Kristine enjoys spending time with her family.

Miriam Bjornstad, Education Coordinator

Phone: (563) 663-6558

Email: mjthywaybj@gmail.com

Since March 2007, Miriam Bjornstad has had the opportunity to serve St. Peter as the Education Coordinator. An exciting part of that ministry is the celebration of Faith Milestones. Nine Milestones are currently observed from Entrance into Sunday School for 3 year olds; through Prayer for 1st graders; Serving the Lord in 5th grade and up through High School Graduation. Each Milestone provides an opportunity to support families in living out baptismal promises. Miriam enjoys the planning and teaching of these Milestones.

She is involved in organizing "Feed My Sheep Sundays" which take place twice a year. These cross-generational servant events occur during the Sunday School hour and allow all ages to work together on hands-on projects to benefit others.

Miriam has a Social Work degree from Iowa State, but what prepared her most for her Education Coordinator position was her experience in several parishes serving alongside her husband, Greg, a Lutheran pastor. In 1998, Greg, Miriam and their two sons, Hans and Bjorn, moved to Dubuque so Greg could begin serving as the chaplain at Luther Manor nursing home. They joined St. Peter where Miriam became active in teaching Sunday School and VBS, singing in the choir and with Worship Teams and serving on the Worship Board.

Their older son, Hans entered the Marines after 9-11, married, had two beautiful children, Alexis and Aden, taught High School English and Literature in Florida for 3 years and was working on his Masters in English. Sadly, in August of 2013 he was killed in a motorcycle accident. With the Lord's strength and the support of their St Peter "family" Miriam and Greg are learning to deal with this loss.

Their younger son, Bjorn graduated from Clarke College, earning a degree in Graphic Design.  He is currently working in the Portland, Oregon area.

Ann Gile, Choir Director

Phone: (563) 542-3602

Email: 

Ann Gile is originally from Andrew, Iowa and grew up as a member of Salem Lutheran Church. She studied music education at Wartburg College and Clarke College. She began her role as choir director for St Peter in the fall of 2007. She and her husband Joe were married in December 1998 and live in Epworth. They have two daughters, Emma and Isabel. Ann also works at Prudential Retirement as a training consultant.