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Reverend Dustin G. Wright (he/ him)
Pastor Born and raised in Connecticut, Rev. Wright joined Messiah Lutheran Church as Pastor in August of 2014 after graduating from United Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia.
During his time at seminary he participated in clinical pastoral education at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, engaged in a year of local faith-based advocacy work with the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa), interned with the Lutheran Office for World Community at the United Nations and served as Vicar of Saint Peter's Church in Midtown Manhattan. Rev. Wright received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Religion (with a focus on Islam) from the George Washington University in the spring of 2008 after interning with the Interfaith Alliance, the RFK Center for Human Rights and a number of congressional campaigns during undergraduate studies. He proudly served on staff for seven summers at Camp Calumet Lutheran in Freedom, New Hampshire. He LOVES to have called Upstate New York his home for over a decade and has served in leadership roles with a variety of local and statewide interfaith justice movements and nonprofit organizations as Co-Chair of the Schenectady County Food Council Advocacy & Empowerment Working Group, past Chair of the Sycamore Collaborative Interfaith Task Force, past Chair of the Schenectady Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club and past President of the New York State Council of Churches. He is also a proud member of the Schenectady Rotary Club. His proudest professional achievements include leading the now Sycamore Collaborative to become an interfaith organization in January 2020, his service of Messiah Lutheran Church as Senior Pastor during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Grand Opening of the Rotterdam Community Center in September 2023. Dustin is a mystic, pastor, mountaineer and suburban farmer in that order. He has a beloved little fur baby, Willard Excelsior Bear. Pastor Dustin can be reached at 518.253.9978 or [email protected].
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Heather Zimmer (she/ her)
Messiah Director of Operations Heather Zimmer has been a lifelong member of Messiah Lutheran Church and is a fourth generation of the Hallett family here in our congregation. In recent years she has started bringing her growing family into the church as well. She has been married to her husband, Yancey since 2018, she is a mom to her 5-year-old son, Pryor and her 1-year daughter, Eloise and has three amazing “fur” babies. Mac, a 10-year-old Border Collie, Millie, a 10-year-old cat and Merlin, a 5-year-old cat. She currently has a bachelor’s degree in early childhood and volunteers as Sunday School Teacher. In her free time, she loves to do crafts, enjoy family time and to be outdoors as much as possible. She is looking enjoys having an important role at this already amazing place.
Heather can be reached at 518.364.3216 or [email protected].
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Douglas J. Chilton (he/ him)
Parish Musician Douglas J. Chilton has been the Parish Musician at Messiah Lutheran Church since 1991. He received his music Bachelors from the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam, and a Masters Degree from The College of St. Rose in Special Education. Doug has taught music in public and private schools since graduating in 1978. He plays piano on the side and has composed music. To Mr. Doug, the happiest part of his role at Messiah is the warm and family-feeling genuineness of the people. He has two fabulous sons, Daniel and Jeffrey, both of whom have degrees in music. His life-partner-wife-mother-of-sons is Cecile Stewart who Doug refers to as St. Cecile.
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Vicky Hayner (she/ her)
Bookkeeper Hello there! My name is Vicki Hayner and it is my privilege to be able to serve your church as its new bookkeeper. I have been a long-time member of First Reformed Church in Glenville and currently serve as their Treasurer and bookkeeper. I also serve as the bookkeeper for Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Scotia and Lisha’s Kill Reformed Church in Albany. So, I come with many different experiences and types of churches. I have been married to my husband, Ken, for 46 years (Yikes!!) and have 4 children (who have now gotten older than me!). My son lives in Maine with his wife and 2 boys. I have three daughters who all live locally, Nicole and her husband live in Glenville with their son (5) and daughter (7); Joelle and her husband live in Charlton with their 4 teenage children and my youngest lives in Ballston Spa with her very energetic chocolate lab, Copper. I look forward to working together with you to further the work of God in Rotterdam.
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Kristen Olochnowicz (she/ her)
Messiah Custodian Kristen is a lifelong member of Messiah. As the custodian, she is following in the footsteps of her grandfather, father and uncle. She is an AIS Math teacher at Woodlawn Elementary in the Schenectady City School District. Kristen lives in Guilderland with her husband Billy, daughters Grace and Sarah, and her 4 legged children Reyka and Oreo.
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