Meet The Team
Pastor
Rev. Patrick Ballard
Pastor Patrick was called as the Pastor of Gloria Dei, in a joint call with First English Lutheran in Mishawaka, in February of 2023. He previously served his first call as the Associate Pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Baltimore, Maryland for 6 years.
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Pastor Patrick holds a B.A. in Communication from North Carolina State University, as well as a Master’s of Divinity from Gettysburg Seminary (now United Lutheran Seminary).
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Pastor Patrick is called to develop and sustain the gifts of our people and sees great potential in the two congregations he is serving to foster deeper relationships with one another and with Christ whom we follow. He is grateful for the gift of being part of a denomination and congregation that takes seriously God’s call to serve the community, the nation and the world, and continues to work toward expanding these gifts.
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Pastor Patrick ventured out to the Midwest following his wife Laurel, who began in fall of 2022 as a professor at Notre Dame in the accountancy department. When he’s not at church or visiting parishioners, you can often find him at a ballgame, sampling a well-aged bourbon or wine, or exploring the town's diverse offerings, always thankful to God for the richness of creation and our place therein.
Organist
Dr. Kevin Vaughn
Kevin J. Vaughn is Director of Music and Organist at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church (South Bend, Indiana) and First English Lutheran Church (Mishawaka, Indiana) and accompanist for the South Bend Chamber Singers (Nancy Menk, director). He appears regularly as a solo organ recitalist, and recent engagements include concerts at churches and universities in Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Berlin (Germany), and Toronto (Canada). He also performs with baritone Stephen Lancaster in collaborative programs of sacred music for voice and organ. Their first duo recording, Sacred Song, was released on the Albany label in 2018. Vaughn has previously served on the instructional faculty of Goshen College (organ, harpsichord) and the University of Notre Dame (piano, organ). He now regularly teaches organ literature to students in the Graduate Program in Sacred Music at Notre Dame.
Vaughn holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in piano, organ, and sacred music, including the Master of Sacred Music (‘09) and the first Doctor of Musical Arts (‘16) degree in organ performance from the University of Notre Dame. His former teachers include Phyllis Warner and Craig Cramer. He is a past dean of the St. Joseph Valley (IN) chapter of the American Guild of Organists and holds the Guild's Colleague certificate. www.kevinjvaughn.com
Office Administrator
Marsha Vinson
Marsha has been our church/preschool secretary at First English since 1989. She took over as our Church Treasurer a few years later and continues in both of those roles. She has been a member of the church since she was very young and her family moved back to their hometown. She met her husband at First English, was married here, and raised her 4 daughters in the church. At different times she has been a Sunday School teacher, President of the Youth Group, and President of the women’s group. She is a member of the Handmade Ministry group and the Communication Ministry Team.