Staff
Rev. Dr. Keith Kolstad, Pastor
Pastor Keith began his ministry at Zion in the fall of 1998. Prior to his ministry here he served two and a half years as an associate pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church in Marquette, MI, and ten and a half years as pastor of Emanuel Lutheran Church in Skandia, MI, and First Lutheran Church in Trenary, MI. Pastor Keith is married. He and his wife, Karen, have two children, Jake and Jacki. Pastor Keith received a bachelor’s degree from Carthage College, majoring in vocal music. He received his master’s of divinity degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He spent a semester in clinical pastoral education at Rush Presbyterian St.Lukes Hospital in Chicago and his internship year took place at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Rock Island, IL. On May 27th, 2007, Pastor Keith received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN, in congregational mission and leadership. The theme of his thesis focused on discerning God’s vision in a congregational setting. In addition to his energetic sermons, Pastor Keith is well known for the many different puppets he brings to the Children’s Time during worship. Pastor Keith is active within Marinette’s Kiwanis group, performing in its “Kapers” show which is produced every other year. For recreation Pastor Keith enjoys hunting and fishing as well as home repair projects.
Paula Vieth, Secretary
Paula has been Zion’s Secretary for 23 years. She is a life-long resident of Marinette, where she lives with her husband, Craig. They have two daughters: Melanie, who lives with her husband and their two children in Rhinelander, WI; and Keri, who lives with her husband in DePere. Paula and Craig enjoy traveling, spending time at their cottage, fishing, hiking, and watching birds and wildlife.
William (Bill) Retza, Contextual Ed. Student
Bill Retza is part of Luther Seminary’s Distributed Learning Master of Divinity program, which combines online, on campus and contextual learning. Bill is grateful for the opportunity to learn with the congregation of Zion Lutheran, where the immediate application of his learning, the congregation’s willingness to teach and conversations with Pastor Kolstad greatly enrich his education. Prior to entering seminary Bill kept busy with his own accounting/tax business, a small hobby farm, volunteering as a firefighter, and serving as a church organist/keyboardist. Bill is married to Julie, and they have three children, Billy, Michael, and Rebekah. Julie is a high school teacher and professor for UW-Green Bay teaching Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Astronomy, and Metrology. Bill is involved with the Crivitz Youth Football program and enjoys all that the Great North has to offer, such as hunting and fishing. On the farm with Bill’s family is his mother, Arlene, who helps with the beef cattle, sheep, chickens, bees, fruit orchards, berries, vineyard, and vegetables.
Sarah Rabideau, Volunteer Coordinator
Sarah joined our staff as our Volunteer Coordinator in March of 2009. Sarah is currently pursuing a degree in Business Management. She lives in Peshtigo with her daughter Haley and enjoys spending time with family and friends. She is looking forward to starting her new journey at Zion Lutheran.
Fran Lebick, Custodian
Fran has been the custodian at Zion since 1997. He is a longtime member of Zion, and has a passion for keeping our building running smoothly and efficiently. In his spare time, Fran enjoys hunting and helping people in the community with a variety of odd jobs.
Nora Plym, Parish Nurse
Nora is a lifelong resident of Marinette. She joined Zion with her family as a child and has been confirmed and married here. She and her husband, Skip, live on Krause Rd. in the town of Peshtigo. They have many nieces and nephews and 4 Godchildren, who are members of Zion too! Nora graduated from UW-Madison in 1984. She is currently employed as a staff nurse in surgery at Bellin Hospital in Green Bay. In 1999, Nora accepted the Call to Parish Nursing. After intensive preparation, she became a parish nurse at Zion. Parish Nursing is a unique blend of nursing combined with prayer/divine intervention to promote health and healing of the Body, Mind, and Spirit.
Ann Buscher, Choir Director/Organist
Ann Buscher is a retired Elementary Music teacher. She taught in the Marinette Public School system for 32 years. She directs the Senior Choir and is head of the Worship and Music Committee here at Zion. She is also one of our organists. She works with the community Ecumenical Bible Class for adults with special needs and is active with River Cities Concert Association. She loves to read, swim at the YMCA and go out to eat with her friends.
Karen Houdek, Financial Secretary
Karen has been married to Gary for 25 years and they have one son, William. They both were born and raised in the lower peninsula of Michigan and moved to Wallace in 1989, and then to Marinette in 2005 where they currently reside. Karen has a 16 year background in the banking industry. She is also a cosmetologist, has a degree as a medical office assistant, has been a pharmacy technician and started working for Zion in the fall of 2007. Her hobbies are spending time with Gary and their dog Boty, seeing their son whenever possible, camping, craft shows, taking rides and seeing new things. If you ever have questions about the records regarding your giving, please don’t hesitate to ask or call.
