Staff & Officers

Staff & Officers

Our Redeemer Staff

Rev. Matthew D. Ruesch, Pastor

Pastor Matt Ruesch has served as pastor of Our Redeemer since November 2017, when he came to Kingsford after three years of serving as a church planter for The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Pastor Ruesch is a native of the Iron Mountain-Kingsford area and a son of the congregation. He attended Kingsford High School (1996) and then received his Bachelor of Arts from Concordia University Wisconsin (2000) and a Masters of Divinity from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (2005). In 2024, he is beginning his work toward a Doctor of Ministry degree from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN with a focus on Teaching and Preaching. Pastor Ruesch has previously served parishes in Garrison, Minnesota (Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church) and Bear Creek, Wisconsin (Grace & Trinity Lutheran Churches).

Pastor is married to Heather, who is originally from Florence, WI. Heather is the executive director of The You Matter Tour and runs The Cure-Iron Mountain, a teen coaching and life skills workshop that provides support to the students of our community. Pastor & Heather are also the co-owners of Oddfellows Restaurant in Iron Mountain. The Ruesches have three children: Isabella (a social worker who resides in Howard, WI with her husband, Wesley), Paul (a senior at Michigan Tech University) and Sofia (a senior at Kingsford High School). The Ruesches reside in Kingsford and enjoy time together as a family with their cat: Marley.

Claire Rhode, Office Secretary

E-Mail Claire

Claire Rhode is our office secretary and also assists our church treasurer as bookkeeper. In this role, Claire fills a variety of roles including, but not limited to, record keeping, producing and printing bulletins & newsletters, advertising, office management, and serving as a resource to the members of Our Redeemer. She is a 2013 graduate of Concordia University Chicago where she majored in business management with minors in marketing and graphic design.

Following a multi-sport career as a collegiate athlete, Claire has been heavily involved in promoting and coaching volleyball in our area. She has served as a high school volleyball coach and is the founder, coach, and director of UP North Volleyball Club. Recently, she opened "The Sand Lot," a sand volleyball complex and year-round recreation venue in Niagara, WI. Claire is marrie to Eric and has three children: Gabriel, Izabel, and Donovan.

Bruce Rasmussen, Organist

Bruce Rasmussen has served as Our Redeemer's full-time organist since January 2024. He brings more than 40 years of experience teaching and leadership in church music. He has taught music on the levels of K-12, College, University and community in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Tennessee, Washington and California. He has enjoyed organizing and directing music festivals during his service. Bruce was born and raised in Milton, WI, and attended university training at Andrews University in Michigan for his bachelors degree in music education (B-Mus) in the areas of vocal, choral and organ, and a Masters degree (M-Mus) in organ performance. His doctoral work (DMA-abd) was at Michigan State University, Lansing, in choral conducting.

Bruce has served numerous congregations and ministries of many different denominations throughout his career. He and his wife Rosalie (also a music teacher) have three children who are music educators, and three wonderful and lively grand-children. He currently spends time assisting his wife as a Teacher’s Aid at Pine Mountain Christian School in Iron Mountain.

Jacob Lobner, Digital Music Technician

Jacob Lobner has been Our Redeemer's digital music technician since 2022. Jacob's job is to operate our digital music for services where an organist isn't present: most often our Wednesday evening services. Jacob's work allows us to worship with the full resources of our hymnal at any service. He is an avid movie fan and collector and also a content creator on YouTube and TikTok.

Our Redeemer's Officers