Church Council

I was born in September 1955 in Detroit Michigan. I attended Lola Park Lutheran in Redford Township and St Paul’s Lutheran School in Livonia Michigan from kindergarten through the 8th grade.  I was married to my wife Jan for 28 years & we have 2 sons, Chris Smetak & Josh Smetak. Jan passed away in 2015 and this was a difficult time in my faith journey, and I remember drawing closer to God throughout this experience. I remarried in 2017 to a wonderful women named Katrina. Now I have 4 more sons, Shelby, Shane, Stephen & Spencer Barnett.
My professional life began when I enlisted in the US Navy in March of 1976. I retired in May 1994 after 18 years of service. I have many stories that influenced my life, and I would love to share them with you. After my time in the military, I found employment with USPS. I served in various roles within this company from February 1996 thru January 2016.
My faith journey was found in each ship, port and person I encountered. I attended Holy Cross Lutheran in Canton, Texas, Immanuel Lutheran in Alpena and now attend St Paul Lutheran Church in Alpena.
As the Vice President of the council, I am working with our Pastor, other leaders, and our congregation to help bring our Lords name to all people. Please speak with me about any concerns you have as we move forward in 2022.
  

    I was born and raised in Alpena which is where I have spent all my life.  I am happily married to Jesse O’Neil since 2015 and have a 22-year-old son Nathaniel LeTourneau. I am employed at Garland Lodge and Resort as a Bartender which is something I have always enjoyed and been doing since I was 18. I am employed through Community Mental Health as a Caregiver which I find is an amazing and rewarding job. I also work as the Custodian at the church. I am ambitious and love being busy as you can tell. When I am not working, I love spending time with family and my dogs. I also enjoy sewing and crafting.
    I have been a member of St. Paul for my whole life along with my parents and grandparents. This church has always felt like home to me and would love to help others experience that. Growing up in the church I was part of Sunday School, Catechism and Youth Group, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.
    I am excited to serve on the council and pray that I will lead the church in a way that God has called me.

     I have been a life-long resident of Alpena.  I came to St. Paul when my son was 12 years old because I wanted him to be baptized.  We then became members and have been for 17 years.
     In the past I was on Church Council, Outreach Committee, and helped with Confirmation Class.
     It is my pleasure to be back on Church Council and the Worship Committee Liaison.

I was born and raised in Alpena, shortly after graduating I moved down south, Alabama then Louisiana.  After 5 years I moved back and started taking classes at ACC, I transferred to Ferris State and began my career as an X-ray Technologist.
     I worked a year in Cheboygan and 25 years at the Alpena Hospital.  I married Don "Skeeter" Urban, we have 3 sons and 3 grandchildren.  We will be married 30 years this year and I have been a member since then.  Over the years I have been involved in various groups and volunteered for different activities here at St. Paul.

       In my childhood I was and Episcopalian.  At the age of 12 I became an acolyte and continued through high school.  During this time, I enjoyed the Reverend who was there because he did not talk at you, but to you. 
     During my college years there was not an Episcopalian church in the area, so I did not attend.  However, when I went home for visits, I attended our family church.
     I attended St John’s Catholic Church upon returning to town until they closed.  My wife Linda had some friends who attended St Paul and the suggested that we attend there with them.   I was happy to come to Saint Paul as it took me back to my childhood where church was a place where people would talk with you not at you.  Linda and I are both happy to be at St Paul.
     As a new council member, I am still getting my shoes wet as I learn my Area of Leadership with Personnel on the council.  This role is different for me as a business owner who makes decisions on personnel based on what is good for me and my business.  Now I need to look at personnel at church from the perspective of what is good for everybody and the overall good we are trying to do as a church.
     I like to golf.  I love to teach bowling and to see the joy and success my students have as they pursue the sport of bowling.  My college degree is in Fine Arts.  I am laid back and expect everyone to do the right thing, and I do not want to lower my expectations of people. 

     I grew up in Calumet, MI, which is about 45 minutes south of the tip of Michigan.  That’s right I am a Yooper! I met my wife Amy at Northern Michigan University in 2002 and have followed her around ever since. We were married at St. Paul in 2008 and have two wonderful children. Alex is age 10 and Ava is 7, you may have seen them at service.  Growing up in the U.P. I fell in love with the outdoors, learning to hunt and fish. I’m also a big sports fan spending my weekends in the fall cheering the University of Michigan and Green Bay Packers football teams and in the winter, I love cheering on the Detroit Red Wings. I also help coach for the Alpena Youth Wrestling Club.
     I look forward to serving on the Church Council, meeting as many of you as I can, and answering any questions you may have. Proverbs 3:5-6 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Have a blessed day!

In service a few weekends ago we sang a childhood song that took me through flashbacks of growing up in church. We all sang the familiar words "this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine" and it resounds with me as the purest image of my faith. I grew up in several churches: Lutheran, Catholic, Methodist... here in Alpena and across Michigan. I also spent years without a church home. But the common thread that I felt through all of those years and experiences is the love and light with which God leads me. From a small age I have always felt called to my faith and to live my faith. I have given Glory to God through song and service; singing in the choir, playing instruments, participating in plays, attending, and then teaching catechism, and so much more.
I have met so many amazing people through my faith, people God has given to me to lead me with their light or for me to share my light with. "Hide it under a bush, OH NO, l'm gonna let it shine!" I struggled for many years with my faith, especially during the years when I didn't attend service or have a church to call home. I felt like I had failed God and hidden my light. Now I'm back at St Paul here in Alpena, what I have always considered to be my "home base" and I'm learning that there are endless ways to live out my faith and to lead others to God. I have learned that the years I spent "away" from church were not wasted, but God had used me in other ways to foster my light and to lead others to the love of Christ through service outside of a church building. My guilt of those "wasted" years is lifting as I learn more deeply that the Church of God is the people and is wherever they gather.
I am excited to walk alongside new and longstanding relationships to share my light and the love of Christ in my community. I am empowered to continue to share my faith with others, especially our upcoming leaders in faith. And I am encouraged by the growing Light here at St Paul of Alpena!

My name is Scott Joseph Parkham. I was born and raised in the Spruce/Hubbard Lake area, went to elementary school in Hubbard Lake then Ossineke when Hubbard Lake closed. I graduated from Alpena High School in 2013, then earned my Associate's Degree from Alpena Community College in 2015 and my Bachelor's in Business Administration from Northwood University in 2018. grew up going to Hope Lutheran Church in Hubbard Lake where I attended Sunday School, went to catechism, and was confirmed. I was and continue to usher and lay read there and have led a number of services when the church was in the call process for a pastor.
I have been coming to St. Paul's since early 2019 and became a member in August of 2023. Here at St. Paul, I am an active assisting minister and lay reader for church services. I am also an active member of the church council and represent the council on the property committee.
In my free time I enjoy scuba diving, hunting, fishing, camping, and spear fishing although I spend most of my time working on growing my businesses.