Pastor

Pastor Linda came to Emmanuel in 1985.  She also served the Lutheran Church of St. Ambrose in Pennsville, NJ, and St. Peter Lutheran Church in Medina, NY.

Pastor Linda was born in Iowa, began school in Ohio and claimed Bucks County, Pennsylvania, as her official residence from the age of nine through 30, although eleven of those years were at schools or employment in seven different communities around the US and Europe.

Pastor Linda is a graduate of Luther Seminary in St Paul Minnesota (Master of Divinity), Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota (Batchelor of Arts, Sociology/Anthropology), and Atlantic College UWC in St. Donat’s, Wales (International Baccalaureate).

When Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service invited her to become an ambassador, she was trained to tell the stories of refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable immigrants.

Pastor Linda is currently a convenor for a Jewish Christian dialog group.  She is a member of the Church and Society Committee of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod.  She is active in the Penn Hills Association of Christian Clergy and the Monroeville Interfaith Ministerium

She is married to the Rev Dennis Orsen.  They have one son, Daniel Orsen.

Pastor Linda enjoys wide ranging discussions, mysteries and science fiction, music concerts, and embroidery.