About

The Reverend John “Jay” Shailer is from Ohio and received his Master of Divinity from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in 2014 after receiving a B.S. in Business Administration from Ohio Dominican University in 2009.  His first call was at Epiphany Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio in 2014.

Pastor Jay believes that worship is the norm and center of the Christian life.  This means it must be well developed through liturgy, music, environment, and congregational involvement.  He trusts that each worshipping community has their own worship identity and that the pastor is called to provide Word and Sacrament ministry for the community they serve.  Worship must meaningfully meet the people where they are in life to make the powerfully necessary impact which is so needed in today’s fast paced society.

 One of the things Pastor Jay prides himself most in is nurturing a sense of community by intentionally lifting children up as being central to worship life as all adults.  This allows children to have the space to learn how to worship right along with everyone else.  He believes that the only way children will learn the power and impact of faith is by learning to worship with their families.  This prioritizes and normalizes children in worship.  This develops a sense of community that is both “solemn and absurd” by letting children be children while letting adults be parents of children who will be children.  This can be absurd at times, but it is also solemnly holy and life giving.  It builds a relationship for all with the church with mutual respect and grace, which is not often found in the American church landscape.  It is a vision of what the church can and will be in the future.

Pastor Jay also focuses on long term strategic planning within the church.  His focus on well thought out and executed long range planning gives the mission the bones it needs to be tangible for a congregation to participate in.  The money and volunteers follow the mission, and strategic planning offers a large group of people a vision of what God is calling them into, and manageable pieces in which they can provide resources for.  This allows them to see the impact of their sacrifices and efforts.  Pastor Jay is the cheerleader and consistent messenger so that the congregation, and in many cases, the community at large will all be pulling in the same direction toward the future God has prepared them for.