Trinity Lutheran Downtown

Church Staff

Senior Pastor
Michael Dorn
Email
713-229-2940
713-229-2990 Fax

Pastor Dorn is the fourth generation in his family to serve in the office of the pastoral ministry and was installed as senior pastor at Trinity on February 27, 2005. Prior to coming to Houston, he served a congregation in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

In addition to serving his congregation, Pastor Dorn has served as a Circuit Counselor, delegate to two Synodical conventions, on various District committees, as chaplain for District and Synodical youth gatherings and as Secretary of Lutheran Church – Canada. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Regents for Concordia University Texas, Austin.

Pastor Dorn’s educational background includes industrial electronics, electrical engineering, production management and business administration. He has a Master of Divinity Degree from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. In 1999, he was accepted into the inaugural class of the Pastoral Leadership Institute (PLI) and successfully completed this four-year leadership training program for pastors. By invitation, Pastor Dorn is currently in a two year Governance and Executive Training program with PLI.

Pastor Dorn is married. He and his wife Veloyce have two daughters, Rachel and Elizabeth.

Pastor of Visitation
Donald G. Black
Email
713-229-2917

Born and raised in Arcadia, Indiana, Pastor Black is a 1958 graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. He was ordained and installed as assistant pastor at Trinity in July 1958 and became senior pastor in 1960, a position which he held until March 1998.

Pastor Black has served on various local, district and synodical boards and committees, including the Board of Managers for the Concordia Plan and as vice president for Area D of the Texas District of the LCMS. Currently he serves on the Woltman Foundation in Houston and the Century Club Committee for Chaplaincy Ministry of LINC-Houston, and Counselor for Circuit #43 of the Texas District, LCMS.

Pastor Black and his wife, Audrey, have three married daughters and two granddaughters.

Director of Caring Ministries
David A. Leeland
Email
713-229-2916
713-229-2976 Fax

Pastor Leeland was born in Elmira, NY and grew up in the suburbs of Boston, Chicago and Houston. His family moved to Houston in the summer of 1969 and he graduated from Westchester High School here in Houston. Pastor Leeland wasn’t born here, but he got here as soon as he could and has thoroughly enjoyed making Houston home.

Pastor Leeland holds a B.A. in Elementary Education from Concordia University, Chicago, a Masters of Divinity from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and has six quarters of Clinical Pastoral Education at the Basic and Advanced levels of training.

His focus for ministry at Trinity is supporting the ministries of visitation, caring and counseling.

Before joining Trinity’s ministry team in 2001, Pastor Leeland served congregations in Alabama, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York and Texas. He also served as an active duty Navy chaplain with the Marines at Parris Island, on MOUNT BAKER (AE-34) for sea duty, overseas at San Miguel, the Philippines, and at the Naval Air Training Station, Corpus Christi. Pastor Leeland served in the Ready Reserves with the 4th Marines on Long Island and with a Hospital Unit in Buffalo, NY.

Pastor Leeland is married to his wonderful wife Melanie. They have two grown sons and two grandsons

Director of Missions & Discipleship
Aaron Lytle
Email
713-229-2903
713-229-2972 Fax

Pastor Lytle joined Trinity Downtown the week before Christmas 2005 to reach out to the surrounding communities. His goal is to establish new programs or ministries that will include Community Care, Worker Training Program, One2Wonder, and more. He came to Trinity through the Texas District, where he has been a Missionary-At-Large. Pastor Lytle served as a vicar and then associate pastor at Cross Point Community Church in Katy, TX.

Born in Hot Springs, SD, Pastor Lytle began his missionary calling as a youth minister at Ascension Lutheran, Tucson, AZ, and as a DCE Volunteer Missionary Intern in Venezuela. He graduated from Concordia University, Seward, NE with a B.A. in Studio Art, a B.S. in Education K-12, a Lutheran Teacher’s Diploma and DCE Certification, and he was ordained with a Masters in Divinity from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO.

Pastor Lytle and his wife Sara, a fourth grade teacher at Travis Elementary, have two daughters, Abrianna & Aaliyah, and a son, Zachariah.

Director of Ministries
Sylvia Schmidt
Email

713-229-2962
713-229-2961 Fax

Working in the Natural Gas Industry for over 20 years, Sylvia served in various positions. Her last position with Williams was as the Director of Community Relations and the Williams Foundation. Some of her responsibilities as director included: administration of a $43 million dollar annual budget over global community investments, development and management of a nationwide employee volunteer program and the development of global community partnerships. Sylvia left Williams in Octoer of 2002 to pursue other life interest. Passionate about leadership and volunteerism, she got back into the Houston community serving as the Associate Director of LINC Houston. She has been involved with Stephen Ministry, Trinity Ladies Circle and the LWML Bayou City Zone League. She is currently in her 8th year serving on the board of Texas District LCMS Board of Missiion Administration.

Born in Corpus Christi, TX, Sylvia has been a Houstonian for 30 years. She and her husband, Nelson love to travel and have been throughout Europe, Her education includes an associate's degree in social sciences from Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, TX followed by a degree in liberal arts at the University of Houston in Houston, TX. She is also a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma.

Director of School Ministries - Prinicpal
Amy Boatman
Email
713-229-2949
713-229-2993 Fax

Prior to joining TLS in August 2000, Mrs. Boatman taught high school and coached the girls' varsity basketball team at Lutheran South Academy, formerly Lutheran High School, in Houston. Mrs. Boatman received a Bachelor of Science in Education from Concordia College, Seward, Nebraska; and a Masters Degree in Educational Administration from the University of Houston - Clear Lake. She began her teaching career in 1994.

Born in Belvidere, Illinois, Mrs. Boatman is married to Shawn Boatman, a lifelong member of Trinity Lutheran Church and a graduate of Trinity Lutheran School and Lutheran High School. They have two daughters who attend Trinity Lutheran School.

Director of Music & Worship
Jason Mangels
Email
713.229.2937
713.229.2988

Mr. Mangels has a Bachelor of Music in Instrumental Education from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota. Mr. Mangels also has a Master of Music in Conducting from the Moores’ School of Music, University of Houston. Prior to accepting the position at Trinity, Mr. Mangels served as the Director of Fine Arts at Second Baptist School, Houston, and as Interim Orchestra Director, Second Baptist Church, Woodway Campus. He plans to continue as Director of the Houston Lutheran Chorale which practices and performs at Trinity.

Mr. Mangels is an accomplished trumpet player. Mr. Mangels is a member of several organizations including the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), the Texas Private Schools Music Education Association (TPSMEA) and the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS). He serves as a clinician and adjudicator for the TMEA, TAPPS and TPSMEA and gives private instrumental and voice lessons. Mr. Mangles is married to Cheryl (nee Heine) who is the eighth grade teacher at Trinity Lutheran School. They have three children, Jessica, Cale, and Cord.

Director of Early Childhood Ministries
Amy Drosche
Email
832-301-3102
832-301-3109 Fax

Mrs. Amy Drosche, a native Texan, joined the Trinity staff in September 2005. She has ten years total experience in different childcare settings. After having served as the Preschool 3 lead teacher for three of those years, she is thrilled to become the Director of the Children's Center. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Education at Concordia University in Austin and holds her Texas teaching certificate for Early Childhood through 4th grade.

Amy, and her husband, Dusty, Trinity's first grade teacher, have two sons, Braeden and Jackson.

Director of Extended Care/Kids Camp
Jennifer Horn
Email
713-229-2967
713-229-2996 Fax

Ms. Horn is very excited to have this opportunity to serve as the Extended Care and Kids Camp director at Trinity. She attended St. Mark Lutheran Church and School and Immanuel Lutheran in the Heights. Ms. Horn is a graduate of Lutheran High North. In May of 2006, she received her Bachelor of Science in Sociology at the University of Houston-Downtown. She is active in the Sociology club, volunteering and setting up events. Ms. Horn has worked in the Lutheran schools since 2000. She first started at Immanuel working with Extended Care and being a teacher’s aide for Kindergarten. She also currently works with the Sunday School program in the nursery. Ms. Horn came to Trinity in August of 2004.

Youth Minister
Ken Rodgers
713-229-2931
713-229-2985 Fax

Ken Rodgers, a Texas native and member of the church since 1999, assumed the position of Coordinator of Student Ministries in May 2003 after working three years as a volunteer. As the student coordinator at Trinity, Ken's goal is to encourage, equip, and engage youth for Christ. He currently leads Catalyst Youth Ministries and coordinates Trinity School's Middle School Bible Study and Bible Bowl, as well as Trinity's Summer Sports Camps. Ken has a passion for good coffee and oversees 931's Holy Grounds Cafe.

Ken coaches girls' basketball and volleyball, which enables him to spend time with wife Dolores, and daughters Tara and Kamaria. He attended Lamar University, majoring in Business Administration and worked many years in retail management before making a career change to youth ministry.

Host
Rollin Cattau
Email
713-229-2950
713-229-2994 Fax

Mr. Cattau was born and raised in the Columbus, Nebraska vicinity. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from Concordia Teachers College in Seward, Nebraska in 1954. Mr. Cattau also holds a Master’s degree in Music Education from California State College, Los Angeles.

Mr. Cattau spent 41 years in the active Lutheran teaching ministry including ten years as Assistant to the President in Iowa District West-LCMS and has continued to serve since his “alleged” retirement in 1995 in various part-time capacities in music ministry, interim principal and other areas.

Mr. Cattau and his wife Eldeen have been married for 56 years. They have two children, Mark Cattau, living in Parker, Colorado and Mary Schulze living in Sugar Land, Texas. The Cattaus are blessed with eleven grandchildren.

Parish Nurse/School Nurse
Julie Bertrand, RN, BSN, MSN
Email
713-229-2928
713-229-2981 Fax

Mrs. Bertrand is a native Houstonian and a life-long member of Trinity. She is a graduate of Trinity Lutheran School, as were both of her parents (who were also life-long members) and her daughter. She joined the staff in 1983 as the “volunteer” School Nurse and in 1989 she became part-time paid/volunteer staff (a split she still enjoys). The additional role of Parish Nurse was created in 1998. Her responsibilities include providing nursing and health services to our TLS and TLECC students, assisting in Health Education of TLS and TLECC students and managing the TLC Health Cabinet.

In her 42 year nursing career, Mrs. Bertrand has served as a Staff Nurse at St. Joseph Hospital and as a Nurse Educator at various schools of nursing, including Alvin Junior College, Sacred Heart Dominican College, University of St. Thomas, Lee Junior College and Texas Woman’s University. Registered in the State of Texas to practice nursing through Board of Nurse Examiners, her educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Sacred Heart Dominican College, Houston, and Master of Science in Nursing from University of Texas, Austin. Mrs. Bertrand is a member of TSNO (Texas School Nursing Organization), Houston area Private/Parochial School Nurse Organization, National Association of School Nurses and Sigma Theta Tau (National Honor Society of Nursing). Mrs. Bertrand enjoys crossword puzzles, sailing, cooking, reading cookbooks, Sherlock Holmes and medical mysteries by Robin Cook.

Julie has been married for 34 years and has one daughter.

Sean Bowen IT Support
Sean Bowen
713-229-2954
713-229-2995 Fax

Mr. Bowen joined the staff of Trinity in 2004 originally to guide the implementation of state-of-the-art technology in the school. Since then, he has been reassigned to handle all technology for the entire Trinity organization. Mr. Bowen is a James Bond and Star Wars fan, enjoys reading, traveling, and technical theater. A graduate of two Concordia Universities, Austin and River Forest, Mr. Bowen has three Bachelors degrees which include: Religious Studies, Mathematics, and Computer Science. Mr. Bown is married to Carol, Trinity's kindergarten teacher, and they have two sons and a daughter.

Communications Coordinator
Pam Schroeder
Email
713-229-2944
713-229-2992 Fax

Ms. Schroeder joined the Trinity congregation and staff in 2001. Ms. Schroeder works with publications including the Trinity Today, Worship Service Folders and MediaShout presentations for worship. A Texas native, Pam serves on the Banner Committee, Sanctuary Choir, Trinity Brass and Worship Team.

Director of Finance
Sue Holeman
Email
713.229.2956
713.229.2912 Fax

Mrs. Holeman is a native Houstonian, and joined Trinity in 1971. Mrs. Holeman joined the Trinity staff in September, 1991. Prior to Trinity, Mrs. Holeman was employed with Covenant House of Houston. She married Jim in 1971 and they have two wonderful children, Zachary and Jamie.

Bookkeeper
Barbie King
Email
713-229-2963
713-229-2973 Fax

Mrs. King joined the Trinity’s staff in 2004 as the Ministry Assistant. In 2009, Barbie moved into the Bookkeeper role.

A native Houstonian, she became a member of Trinity in 1996. Barbie is an active volunteer with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. She is married to Russell King and their son, David, attends HCC, studying Culinary Arts.

Assistant to Director of Caring Ministries
Suzanne Kurth
Email
713-229-2922
713-229-2960 Fax

Mrs. Kurth and her husband Les became members of Trinity in 2009. She says they got here as fast as they could.

Both Suzanne and Les are retired teachers. She taught 27 years in public education in Lake Jackson, Texas, and 12 years in higher education at Brazosport College. In 2004 Suzanne began studies at Concordia Texas to become a Director of Christian Education in the LC-MS. She finished those studies in 2008 and joined Trinity shortly thereafter.

Here at Trinity, Suzanne’s primary focus is Adult Education. She delights in gathering resources for Bible studies and in supporting Trinity’s many committed Bible study leaders in any way she can. She also participates in Stephen Ministry and helps out with special projects at Trinity.

Suzanne and Les are richly blessed with friends and with family – an amazing son and daughter-in-law and a trio of grandchildren. Suzanne enjoys playing with her grandchildren, spending time with friends, reading good books, and serving at Trinity.

Assistant to the Director of Music & Worship
James Welch
Email
713-229-2969
713-229-2991 Fax

Mr. Welch joined the Trinity congregation and staff in 2010. He was born in Michigan, but grew up in Ohio. He enjoys singing, reading, and doing yard work. Mr. Welch started volunteering at Trinity, in September 2009, when he got laid off from the trucking industry, since then he started going to school part-time. James has been married to his wife Connie since 1989. They live in Humble and enjoy the company of their two dogs.

Welcome to Trinity Lutheran Downtown!

Church Staff