Our Staff

Bishop Timothy Mark Graham was elected and called to serve the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, ELCA, at the 2024 Indiana-Kentucky Synod Assembly, in Louisville, KY. His official start began on September 1, 2024.

Bishop Tim is an Iowa Hawkeye by birth. At three-weeks-old, he was adopted by the late Rev. Vernon and Mrs. Ellen Graham (while Vernon was a student at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, IA). However, most of his young and adult life have been spent in Fort Wayne, IN.

Prior to the assembly election, Bishop Tim served Messiah Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, IN, in various capacities, for seventeen years. His initial call to Messiah in 2007 was actually a dual parish call shared with Grace Lutheran Church/Light of the Cross, also in Fort Wayne, as the redevelopment pastor. Grace/Light of the Cross celebrated Holy Closure at the end of 2009, and Bishop Tim was called to serve Messiah as the Associate Pastor for Youth and Family Ministry in 2010 and then as the Senior Pastor in 2015.

Bishop Tim obtained his undergrad degree from Purdue University in Fort Wayne (when it was still IPFW) in Organizational Leadership and his Master of Divinity from Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, IA. Bishop Tim was ordained at Trinity English Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN, which was his home congregation prior to his first call. Bishop Tim also worked for 14 yrs. as a forklift drive at Supervalu prior to attending seminary.

Bishop Tim, and wife, Meme (Michelle), are the parents of four adult children in Fort Wayne: Sashelle Rose (fiancé Alex Knight), Timothy Graham, Jr., Larraine Graham (husband Cody Williamson), and Robert Graham. They also have seven grandchildren including Jaylen, twins Maleyah and Michelle, Noelle, Elias, Graham, and Greyson.

The Rev. Dan Forehand

Assistant to the Bishop for Emerging Ministers and Ministries, Director for Candidacy, and Staff Liaison to the Constitution Committee.

Pastor Dan Forehand is the Director for Candidacy – working with individuals who feel a call to ministry in many ways – Pastor, Deacons, and SAMs.  Dan serves as our Synod Liaison to our companion synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile.

Dan served previously as Pastor/Redeveloper at Grace Lutheran Church in Elkhart, Indiana and Pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Knoxville, Tennessee prior to accepting this call.  He is a graduate of Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio.

Dan is married to Kim, a pediatric occupational therapist, and has two daughters, Naomi (6) and Annika (5).  They also have a lovely black cat, Espresso, who they are teaching to be grateful.

Priscilla Geerdes joined the Indiana-Kentucky Synod as the Assistant to the Bishop for Ministry Transition in December of 2024. Her ministry is to assist both congregations and rostered leaders in leavings and callings, to arrange for interim ministries, and to work with Synod Authorized Ministers.

Priscilla comes to us from serving a 21-year call at St. Paul’s in Roberts, IL. A Michigander by birth, she spent most of her formative years here in the Indiana-Kentucky Synod being a member of Our Savior’s in Winchester, Bethany in Indianapolis, and St. Paul’s in Vincennes. She is a graduate of Valparaiso University and Trinity Lutheran Seminary, and spent six summers serving on either the staff of Lake Luther or Lutheran Hills. She is a proud second generation female pastor, and her mother, Pastor Barbara Hunter, did her internship at Trinity in Union City and served in the I-K Synod from 1987-1999.

Her husband, Pastor Matthew Geerdes, is wrapping up his service in Illinois and engaging in the discernment and call process in this synod. They have two amazing children, Lily and Isaiah, who are both University of Iowa Hawkeyes. Two insane cats round out the family and keep everyone on their toes.

Most importantly, like everyone, she is a beloved child of God! She is passionate about sharing the love of Christ, working toward peace and justice, and educating herself on the injustices facing those of various races, genders, ages, identities, and abilities. She looks forward to working with leaders and congregations to creatively imagine ways to be the church now and in the future.

I’m excited to join the Indiana-Kentucky Synod as Director for Evangelical Mission. 

For over 18 years, I’ve had the joy of walking with congregations and leaders as a faith formation director, spiritual director, and coach, helping them listen for God’s voice, discover their purpose, and live more fully into who they’re called to be. I’m married to Randy, an amazing husband, father, and pastor of Our Saviour Lutheran Church. 

We have three wonderful young adult children and two lovable dogs. We live in Lafayette, IN. My heart is in helping communities grow in faith, deepen connection, and live into their calling—and I’m eager to see where the Spirit is leading the people of the I-K Synod.

April started with the Indiana-Kentucky Synod in May 2003.

April’s role serves as administrative assistant to Bishop Tim Graham and works to tend to his busy schedule and calendar, schedule meetings and help keep his days as organized as possible.

April loves scrapbooking, reading, spending time with her friends and family April has been married 28 years to her husband Juan and they have a adorable 9 year old Shih Tzu named “KG” after one of April’s favorite basketball players Kevin Garnett.  April loves basketball and football and is a lifelong Pittsburg Steeler Fan.

Jayme Beneker is the Disaster Response Coordinator for the IK Synod. She is a member of Trinity Lutheran in Brookville IN where she also leads the E-Connect team. 

She previously worked as a professional volleyball player and Big 10 coach and is still passionate about teaching the sport to girls of all ages. She is equally devoted to farming and raising her 4 children on their generational family farm.
About her work in the synod- "It's been great to see the connections we have made in our first year with this full-time position. These connections will help us expand our ability to support our region and be nimble so we can assist in disasters and communities that are both large and small.  
 

When I stepped in to this role, this work in the synod had already been going on for years thanks to the Bishop, Pastors and lay leaders who saw the need. They worked together to lay the foundation with LDR, and our congregations, so we could support these communities financially and spiritually in their recovery." 

Julie joined the synod staff in December 2022 as the Synod Accountant. As synod accountant, Julie handles all things money for the synod. Julie has an accounting degree from Manchester University and has many years of experience in the non-profit sector.

Julie has used her finance skills in many volunteer capacities as church treasurer, PEO chapter treasurer, and as a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace instructor. Julie is very active in her congregation, St. John Lutheran in downtown Fort Wayne.

Julie and Chris, her husband of 31 years, live in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They spend many hours in the car traveling to cross country & track meets for Evan (senior at Valparaiso) and Lauren (sophomore at St. Olaf). Julie also enjoys travel, spending time at their lake cottage, reading, puzzles and making greeting cards.

A 2004 Trinity Lutheran Seminary graduate, Pastor Karl Biermann served as a parish pastor for 10 years in his native Texas before being called in 2014 to serve as assistant to the bishop in the Northeastern Ohio Synod. His primary responsibility was to match pastors and deacons with congregations through the call process – which can seem more like a matchmaking art than a science!

Pr. Biermann and his wife of almost 23 years, Lana, enjoyed the people, fun attractions, and seasons in Ohio during his seminary studies in Columbus, pastoral internship at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Upper Arlington (Columbus), and campus ministry experience at Capital University. Both more recently appreciated the warm relationships formed residing in the Akron area with their 16-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son.

Magen Pillar is honored to serve as the interim storyteller for the IN-KY Synod, where she brings her passion for storytelling to connect and inspire the faith community.

She also works full-time as the Director of Communications and Marketing for United Way of Bartholomew County, where she creates strategic initiatives to support the organization's mission.

A proud member of First Lutheran Church in Columbus, Magen holds a BA in journalism from Franklin College, where she also studied business and theater. After graduating, she spent over a decade in the newsroom of a local newspaper. 

Magen lives in Columbus with her husband, Matt (a lifelong ELCA Lutheran), and their dog, Millie.