ELBERTA, Ala., —  St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Elberta installed Matt Barry as Vicar on Aug. 1.

Barry will work under Rev. Keith Ringers as he prepares to be a pastor in the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.  His year of vicarage (internship) at St. Mark’s serves as his third year in the four year pastoral program at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo.

Barry was born on May 21, 1985 in Saint Paul, Minn. His dad’s job as an electrical engineer kept the family moving to numerous places as a boy, but they settled in Belvidere, Ill.,, where he attended Immanuel Lutheran School from second to seventh grade.

In the eighth grade, his family moved to Mesa, Ariz. It was here at Christ’s Greenfield Lutheran Church that he became increasingly involved in the life of the church and felt led to become a pastor.

During high school he helped with the church’s youth service, helped organize food and clothing drives for area social organizations, attended and led Bible studies, and went on numerous mission trips.

He attended college at Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon. At Concordia he majored in theology and Biblical Languages. He was involved in a variety of extracurricular activities such as Youth Ministry, the organization for pre-seminary students, and helped lead a men’s Bible study on campus.

He graduated in 2008. It was also there that he met his wife Katie.

Katie is a native of Wisconsin who also attended Concordia University Wisconsin where she majored in Early Childhood Education.  While in college she participated in Youth Ministry and led Children’s Ministry where she helped organize events and service projects for local children. She graduated in May of 2008.

Barry and Katie were married in June of 2008 and moved to St. Louis where Barry began his studies at Concordia Seminary. During those first two years, Barry did field work at a Lutheran church in De Pere, Mo., and Katie taught at the church’s early childhood center.

St. Mark’s is located at 13220 Main St. in Elberta.  For information about the church, call 986-8133.