Pastor of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lake City, Minnesota

This is the biography which was included in the bulletin for my installation on Sunday, July 12.  The preacher for the day was my classmate and brother-in-law, Rev. Daniel Schmidt.

Pastor Schroeder’s Biography

            Thomas E. Schroeder (Come on!  His parents didn’t name him “Pastor”!) was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin on November 28, 1967 to Earl and Mary Ellen Schroeder.  Shortly thereafter, he was reborn of water and the word at Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sheboygan.  He was raised in Sheboygan and attended grade school at Calvary.  He attended Manitowoc Lutheran High School.  His pre-ministerial training was at Northwestern College in Watertown, Wisconsin.  (Northwestern has since been amalgamated with Dr. Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota under the name of Martin Luther College.)  Upon graduation from Northwestern in 1990, he attended Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, Wisconsin, serving a vicar year at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jenera, Ohio.

            In 1992, he married Laura Schmidt of Noblesville, Indiana.  Laura spent a number of years as a stay-at-home-Mom, and also spent many years teaching in Lutheran schools, specifically St. Peter’s in Plymouth, MI and St. Paul’s in Livonia, MI.  Laura and Pastor Schroeder have been blessed with six children—Faith (Milwaukee, WI), Nathanael (Bluffton, IN and to be married to Sarah Gigli in April 2027), Andrew (Shelby Twp., MI), Caleb (Saginaw, MI; married to Caitlin, who is expecting Pastor and Laura’s first grandchild in August), Philip (Lake City, MI—yeah, that’s right, there’s one in Michigan), and Peter (who will be attending Michigan Lutheran Seminary in Saginaw for his senior year).  Pastor and Laura were anticipating a seventh child, but he was stillborn.  Isaac Christopher awaits the resurrection at Glen Eden Cemetery in Livonia, MI.

From left to right: Pastor, Laura, Nathanael, Sarah, Faith, Philip, Peter, Andrew, Caitlin, Caleb

            After graduation from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 1994, Pastor Schroeder was assigned to be an instructor at West Lutheran High School (currently located in Plymouth, Minnesota).  He taught religion and Latin and served as Recruitment Preacher / Director.

            After two years there, he opted to be reassigned through the Seminary to be a parish pastor.  In 1996, he, Laura and, at the time, two children moved to Novi, Michigan where he was installed as the pastor at Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church.  Pastor Schroeder served at Good Shepherd for thirty years. 

            Pastor Schroeder has a blog—www.LutheranSubject.blogspot.com—mainly for posting sermons.  He also occasionally posts other items such as family events, “Local Tourist” postings, things that he finds amusing, or pastoral concerns.  Please note: If you search for Pastor Schroeder’s Facebook page, you will find it.  However, that particular Facebook page belongs to the pastor of Good Shepherd, Novi.  An attempt was made to change the name to something generic, but Facebook was not having it.  If you request Pastor Schroeder as a friend on that Facebook page, it will not be acted upon.  The account will fade and later be adopted by the next pastor at Good Shepherd.

            Pastor and Laura Schroeder like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and … oh, wait, wrong reference.  Pastor and Laura Schroeder enjoy camping, reading, taking walks, playing cards and board games, and exploring the area they live in.  Both have sung in choirs.  They are loyal Green Bay Packer fans (your groan here), but they are not obnoxious about it. 

            Pastor and Laura are eager to get to know the members of St. John’s and the community of Lake City.  Pastor Schroeder desires to be a faithful pastor to you.  He seeks your prayers and support so that he can fulfill his vow to be faithful to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions.  By exalting and proclaiming Christ, he hopes to show you the Savior to whom you can flee for comfort, hope, and peace.