Dale Reckzin was born in December of 1963 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is the fourth child of Ellard and Shirley Reckzin. As an infant, he was baptized into the Christian faith by Rev. Kanning at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Ottawa. He attended public school in Ottawa and Nepean, Ontario. Already in grade school, he had the desire to prepare for the pastoral ministry. His parents gave him positive encouragement for this on many occasions. He received catechism instruction from Rev. Thomas Pfotenhauer. He publicly confessed his saving faith in Jesus Christ on his confirmation day, April 3, 1977.
In August of 1977, young Dale traveled 1,000 miles away from his home in Canada to attend Northwestern Prep in Watertown. He enjoyed his years of prep and especially liked the subjects of Latin, German, history and religion. He was graduated from Northwestern Prep in 1981. He made many good friends during his prep years and still maintains contact with many of these friends today.
In August 1981, he enrolled in Northwestern College, also in Watertown, and continued his studies in preparation for the pastoral ministry. He again especially enjoyed the language (Latin, German, Greek and Hebrew), religion and history classes. He was graduated from Northwestern College in 1985.
In September of 1985, he enrolled at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon. In December of that same year, he met Lisa Behlmer, a 1985 graduate of DMLC and a teacher at St. Paul's Lutheran School in Round Lake, IL. In October of 1986, he proposed to Lisa and the next year they were married at Lisa's home church of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in St. James, MN on August 8, 1987. After their honeymoon, the Reckzins moved to Adrian, MI for Dale's vicar year at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church under the direction of Rev. Daniel Gieschen.
On December 20, 1988, the Lord blessed the Reckzin family with twin daughters, Maria and Kristin. During this last year of seminary training, the Reckzins lived on N. 76th street and served as managers for WLCFS's group home for developmentally disabled adults.
In May of 1989, Dale Reckzin became Pastor Reckzin when he received his first Divine Call. It was to serve as the pastor of Atonement Lutheran Church in Baltimore, MD. In August of 1994, Pastor Reckzin was installed as associate pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Sun Prairie. Besides regular pastoral duties, Pastor Reckzin served for four years as the principal of Peace's growing Lutheran Elementary School.
He also served as outreach pastor and youth pastor. While at Peace Lutheran, Lisa Reckzin served as choir director, organist, Kindergarten teacher and part time middle grades teacher.
Pastor Reckzin enjoys history, cooking, cycling, reading, traveling and almost any activity that allows him to socialize with friends. He is also concerned about continuing his education in the truths of the Christian faith and he is half-way through earning his second master's degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.
Lisa Reckzin enjoys music, camping, baking, and traveling. Lisa is currently teaching at Centennial Lutheran School in Milwaukee.
The Reckzins count themselves blessed to be part of the St. John's family. They look forward to getting to know the people of St. John's and growing strong with them in the grace and knowledge of our Savior.
Kendall Cortright was born in December of 1984 in Fresno, CA to Charles and Connie Cortright as the fourth of four sons. He grew up in many different areas across the United States, living on both coasts at least once.
Kendall attended Luther Preparatory School for high school with the intent of becoming a pastor. Through some key people in his life, the Lord changed his path by guiding him to Wisconsin Lutheran College, a blessing in disguise. Shortly after beginning his freshman year there, he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, an event that changed his life dramatically. He became very involved while attending WLC, serving on the Student Council, the Judicial Board, and other various organizations. He graduated in May of 2007 with a B.A. in American History.
Kendall went onto graduate school at Marquette University for a Master's in Modern American History beginning in August of 2007. After his first semester there, God used his disease to lead him down a different path in life. He was forced to drop out of school because of his poor medical condition at the time. He temporarily started working at a local bank, while he tried to get control over his Crohn's disease. His health continued to decline forcing him to switch over to specialized doctors at Froedtert Medical Center in March. There he received treatment and was able to control his disease through surgery in May of 2008. During Kendall's extensive time of recovery, he became Deacon here at St. John's in July of 2008, receiving a full-time call into the ministry the following year.
While at St. John's, Kendall met his wife Kerri through her aunt and uncle, who joined as members at St. John's. In 2010, Kendall became engaged to Kerri. Kendall and Kerri entered the blessed union of marriage in July of 2011.
As Deacon, Kendall serves the congregation as he focuses on outreach, evangelism, fellowship, and member ministry.
For his free time, Kendall enjoys playing board games (almost too much), camping, backpacking, traveling with his wife, playing tennis and dancing.
Deacon Cortright looks forward in being a part of St. John's and prays that God bless the evangelism efforts to spread His Word.
