SchoonIntro -

It is with great thankfulness to God that we announce that Pastor Joshua A. Schoon
has accepted God's call to serve at Zion Lutheran Church. Below is a brief introduction of Pastor Schoon and his family.

An Installation Service took place on May 3, 2009 at 3:00 pm, with a reception in Zion's gym following the service. Officiating was Rev. Dr. David Zachrich, Vice President of the Ohio District and Senior Pastor of Tallmadge Lutheran Church, along with other special guests.

Pastor Joshua & Mary Schoon & Ethan

I would like to take this time to introduce myself. I am 32 years old and have been married for three and a half years to my wife, Mary. We have a two year old son Ethan. I call the Washington DC area home, but have lived all over the world because my father was in the military. Mary grew up here in Ravenna, and we met when I was pastor at Tallmadge Lutheran Church.

I did my undergraduate work at Concordia-River Forest (now Concordia-Chicago). I received my Masters of Divinity from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. My vicarage church was Peace Lutheran Church in Fresno, CA. I did many things on vicarage, but the one very rewarding part of my time at Peace was working with their youth group. I've never forgotten them and still keep in contact with a few of the youth from Fresno. My first Call out of Seminary was to Tallmadge Lutheran Church here in Akron, where I really enjoyed leading our Saturday night contemporary service. I served at Tallmadge for about two and a half years before I took a Call to Bethany Lutheran Church in Parma, OH. I really enjoyed working with the staff at Bethany; everyone was so relaxed and it made for a good working environment. Ethan was born while we were at Bethany, and he brought joy and love to our ministry there. Everyone loved having him around.

Mary and I have a heart for ministry and especially music and worship. We have a strong desire to create lasting friendships and to create an atmosphere of fellowship within the church. We are very outreach oriented and desire to bring the Gospel to all people, no matter their circumstances.

My hobbies include creating multimedia through Adobe Photoshop and other graphics programs, going to the movies, watching TV, and ironing. I really do love to iron. Mary enjoys singing, watching TV as well, and scrapbooking.

We look forward to being a part of a church that we can call home for many years to come. We want to thank you for this gracious opportunity.

Blessings,
Pastor and Mary Schoon

(editor's note: Pastor's last name is pronounced like the word "shown".)