About Salem
Beginnings
Over one hundred years ago there was laid a foundation built in the love of God, the love of our fellow man and a strong conviction that with the help and guidance of the Lord nothing is impossible. That foundation laid in 1902 stands today as a shining memorial in a turbulent world. A foundation laid by weak human beings whose trust and faith in God has built a solid and strong Christian edifice - The Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Our Pastors
Rev. Michael Thomas has served as Senior Pastor
of Salem Lutheran since 2001. He was born in Columbus, Ohio and grew
up in Detroit, Michigan. He returned to Columbus for his
undergraduate work at Capital University and attended Trinity
Seminary in Columbus where he received his Master of Divinity in
1976. He
and his wife, Jackie, who teaches secondary education in Omaha
Public Schools, have three sons. Pastor Thomas serves on the Board
of Directors for
Rotary, is President of the board of Habitat for Humanity in
Fremont, is a part of the Fremont Ministerium and belongs to the
Reformation Cluster of the Nebraska Synod.
Rev.
Delvin Hutton began his ministry at Salem in March of 2003
where he serves as the visitation Pastor. Rev. Hutton is a native of
Auburn, Nebraska who grew up in San Diego, California. He attended
Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, Pacific Lutheran University in
Tacoma, Washington; Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa;
and the Divinity School of Harvard University, Cambridge,
Massachusetts. He was ordained into the Lutheran ministry in 1964
and began teaching at Dana College in Blair in the fall of that same
year. For thirty-five years, Dr. Hutton served as Professor of Greek
and Religion at Dana until his retirement in 1999. In addition to
teaching at Dana, Dr. Hutton served as an adjunct faculty member at
Central Lutheran Seminary, Midland Lutheran College, Wartburg
Theological Seminary, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and
Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. Among Dr. Hutton's
professional interests is Biblical archaeology and he has
participated in excavating three ancient sites in Israel.
Vicar Diana Kuhl
is the
Youth, Family, and Hispanic Ministries Director at Salem, a position
she has held since 2003. Vicar Diana is presently a senior in the
TEEM (Theological Education for Emerging Ministry) Program at
Lutheran Seminary Program of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, working
toward ordination in 'Word and Sacrament'. She was entranced into
the Candidacy for Ordained Ministry in November 2004 and is
scheduled to graduate from seminary May 2008 with a focus in
Hispanic Ministry and Outreach in the Fremont Community. Vicar
Diana has been a lifelong resident of Fremont and member of Salem,
graduating from Fremont Senior High School. She is a Midland
Lutheran College Alumni with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology
and Religion. Vicar Diana has a history of social work, has
been and continues to be involved in Girl and Boy Scouting, and has
a history of involvement in the many ministries of Salem over the
years. She has also been involved in Spanish
Emersion in San Jose, Costa Rica, and Cuernavaca, Mexico. She
and her husband, David, a Customer Service Representative for Ford
Motor Credit in Omaha, have three children. Their daughter
Lisa, her husband Adam Quy, and their son Blaine live in Valley.
Their daughter, Heather Kuhl, lives in Fremont, and their
son, James, is a junior at Fremont Senior High School.