STONY RIDGE – Members of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 5520 Fremont Pike, will help in the
celebration and ordination of Ken Staib Sunday at the church.
Staib was born and raised in the congregation and will be ordained as a pastor in the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) during a special 4 p.m. service.
Perhaps no one was more shocked than Staib himself, at his choice to begin a pastoral career.
"It really started in the summer of 2005," Staib said of how the idea came through a woman in
the congregation
"She suggested I might be a good pastor. It totally surprised me."
The lady had seen an article in the church’s newsletter written by Pastor Daniel Beaudoin on the need for
pastors in the ELCA.
After a Sunday worship, Staib said she asked him, "Did you see pastor’s article in the
newsletter?" adding,"I thought of you when I read it."
It got him to thinking, praying and discerning.
He visited with Beaudoin and Staib said his pastor saw some of the same characteristics mentioned by the
woman.
"What I saw in Ken very early on was a real love for God," Beaudoin said in a telephone
interview. "Especially the way he engaged with people in a very loving, kind and gracious
way."
Staib is a 2000 graduate of Ohio State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree as he majored in
construction management.
At the time he worked for Rudolph-Libbe as an estimator. He also was involved as the leader of the
church’s praise band.
He gave all that up to spend four years at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, where he earned a
master of divinity degree in May.
The congregation has been supportive of his pursuit, providing money to help with tuition and books.
He is very musical," Beaudoin said of Staib’s talents. "It was all there in him. I was able to
see the leadership skills he had."
Beaudoin will be presenting him for ordination on Sunday on behalf of the congregation. The ordination
will be led by Bishop Gary Hansen of the Central/Southern Illinois Synod.
Staib has been called to serve First Lutheran Church in Murphysboro, Ill. and Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church
in DeSoto, Ill.
He said the process began with being assigned regionally by the ELCA. He then met with the bishop who
helped arrange the interviews with the congregations.
He interviewed on a Saturday, then preached on Sunday. They liked what they heard and he was then
assigned to what is called a "two-point parish" as he will serve both congregations.
Though his parents and brothers remain members of St. John’s, Staib at age 34, is not married and is able
to leave for Illinois with comparative ease.
Despite that, because he has been a lifetime member of that church, he says, leaving will be difficult.

"It’s really hard to leave. I have a lot of memories in the congregation. They’ve helped raise me
like an extended family."
Adding, "They’ll always be a part of who I am. It will be exciting to see what takes place in
Illinois."
He said all the prayers and discerning was solidified during his third year of seminary when he served an
internship year at First Lutheran Church in Muskegon, Mich.
"That was the year that confirmed I was – I am called," Staib said.
He said he has mixed feelings as he prepares for his ordination on Sunday.
"It’s definitely a mix of excitement and joy as well as some fear and anxiety. A little bit of
everything," he said. "What does rise is a sense of joy that I have found what God is calling
me to do and where he is calling me to do it."
The public is invited to join in this celebration.