Eli and Esther were introduced to each other through a matchmaker. Imagine that! After clearing the hurdle of long-distance communication—and some errant shovel swings—they really clicked. On their first video chat, a Saturday night call, Esther kept Eli talking for around four hours. Hopefully, it didn’t affect his Sunday sermon too much! They finally met in person at Concordia Seminary, where Esther’s twin, Emmi, and her husband, Conner, were preparing to be sent out on Call Day. On their first date, Esther was flabbergasted to learn that Eli does not pray before meals in public restaurants. Esther was raised otherwise, and the debate still rages. During their visit, Eli and Esther enjoyed the art museum, restaurants, and taking her niece to the zoo. Thankfully, Eli tempered his colorful driving language with her in the car. Since then, they have attended two family weddings—his sister’s in September and her cousin’s in July—where they enjoyed getting to know each other’s families. And while Esther has mostly stopped hitting him with shovels, she did manage to blacken his finger when it got caught in a car door. Together, they have visited North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, and New York. They are blessed to have friends all over the USA, especially throughout the Midwest. They’ve enjoyed staying with their friends and sharing: goat milking in MN, the Dells in WI, Symposia in IN, Concordia Invitational Tournament in MI, carpentry in KY, and subway rides in NY. Eli’s congregation, St. John in Darien, Illinois, is very excited for the wedding. They have welcomed Esther with open arms and are even hosting the bridal shower. It will be held at noon on Saturday, March 15th, and if you are reading this, you are invited! They love cooking together. Though it started with a bad first impression: Esther made a chocolate cake, but waited three days before serving it. Pressed to grade it, Eli gave it a B+. Big mistake. For a congregational picnic after VBS, they made birria tacos for 75. Another highlight is the “christmas dinner,” where they did beef wellington for her twin’s family--an accomplishment, when you consider what a seminary apartment kitchen is like. The Engagement Due to illnesses in the family, Eli didn’t think it was best to wait with the ring. So, in November 2024, he picked it up, met Esther’s father for lunch, and received his blessing along with some words of fatherly advice. The next day, under the pretense of meeting a friend at The Cloisters, he proposed on the West Terrace overlooking the Hudson River. The “friend,” Stefan Gramenz, serves Christ the King Lutheran Church in Pawling, New York, and had driven down to capture the moment in photos. The family was gathered back at the rectory in Brooklyn, ready to celebrate, but it took them a few tries to coordinate the exact timing for singing “Happy Engagement to You.” In any case, Esther said yes on the first try, even if the song took a few attempts! Since then, they have been busy planning the wedding. St. John is such a warm and gracious congregation that they wanted to have the wedding there so that guests could meet the wonderful people with whom Eli and Esther will be building their life. While Eli is not a big fan of weddings in general, even he has enjoyed most of the planning process—though, to be fair, Esther does the lion’s share. They are looking forward to a boisterous celebration with all their family and friends. See you there! Looking ahead, they decided they’d rather be married sooner than later. So why wait? They settled on September 3rd, a date special for many reasons—one of which is that it’s just four days after Eli’s parents’ anniversary, and on Esther’s parents’ 30th anniversary.

Eli’s Background Eli’s extended family are farmers and ranchers in North Dakota. His mom, Lynette, a clinical laboratory technologist, lives in his hometown of Bismarck. His brother, Ethan, is a pilot in Alaska, where he lives with his wife, Jessie, and their two daughters, Reba and Joanna. His sister, Abby an electrical engineer, lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Nick also an electrical engineer. His father, Jay, entered the church triumphant after a battle with pancreatic cancer in 2006. Eli attended Concordia University Wisconsin and Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne. His first call was a dual parish in northern Minnesota, and he currently serves St. John Lutheran Church in Darien, Illinois. Esther’s Background Esther’s father was raised in Inwood, New York City and her mother in Chattanooga, Tennessee, though she was born in Chicago and is very excited to have a reason to visit more often. They serve at a dual parish in Brooklyn, New York, as Pastor and teacher with her little sister Lydia who is a sophomore in high school. Her twin sister Emmi, and brother-in-law Conner live in St. James, Long Island, where he just received his first call as associate pastor at St. James Lutheran Church, they have a daughter Adalena and a son, Arthur. David-Paul, her younger brother lives in Pennsylvania and keeps busy as a mechanical engineer and elder at his church. And her older brother Kevin, serves as principal at Grace Lutheran Chapel school in St. Louis. Esther loved her time at Concordia University Ann Arbor for college, she double majored in marketing and art. After graduation, she moved home to Brooklyn and began helping small businesses, and several churches, work on branding and marketing through her business – ehope marketing, which she still loves today.