meet pastor alliyah greaverPastor Alliyah was installed at St. John as our pastor on September 12, 2021. She can be reached at the church office by phone or by email. Below is more information about our pastor.
Pastor Alliyah was ordained August 15, 2021 at her home congregation Christ the King Lutheran Church in Yankton, South Dakota. She served her internship year at St. John Lutheran of Boerne, Texas under the guidance of Pastor Eric Waters, with Associate Pastor Mariola Bergquist. She is the oldest daughter of Pastor Dani Jo Bierwagen and Pastor William Greaver. Her sister is Talitha Greaver. She received two MDiv degrees, from the North American Lutheran Seminary and Trinity School for Ministry. Pastor Alliyah also did pastoral studies at Luther Seminary and the Institute of Lutheran Theology. Her undergraduate degree is from Drake University, Des Moines, IA with a double major in Religion and Socio-Legal Studies. Before coming to St. John, Pastor Alliyah worked in Christian Education settings and at Ingham-Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp. She loves the Lord and is happy to be part of St. John and the Greenville community. She is a member of the Greater Greenville Ministerial Association. If you would like to learn more about the church, Pastor Alliyah would be happy to get connected and meet with you. |
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Pastoral Emergencies or Pastoral Needs
If you would like to visit with Pastor, please contact the church office to schedule a time to visit. If you have a more immediate pastoral need or a pastoral emergency please do not hesitate to contact the church office or call Pastor's cell number. Pastor Alliyah can also be reached at her email: RevAlliyah@gmail.com.
Pastor’s Thoughts… (A Lenten Testimony - from March Newsletter)
On February 22nd we observed Ash Wednesday – a sobering reminder as the ashen cross is marked on each of our foreheads of our mortality and our sin. This year as the Music and Worship Team prepared for Ash Wednesday, someone asked, “do we have enough ashes for this year, do we know where they are?” and I eagerly showed them where our plentiful ash collection is stored, enough for several years to go, carefully stowed away right above the office sink.
I know where they are kept because a year ago Rudy Teaford pulled me aside one day as he was busy with his many tasks around the church and said simply, “Pastor, I want to show you where the ashes are, in case I’m not here to show you.” I did not think much of the comment that day but accepted the information. This year though, knowing Rudy passed this last June into eternal life, I am struck in reflecting on that humble comment and the faithful care he gave to make sure someone knew where the ashes were kept, that all could continue.
No matter how much we would like to believe differently, we all need to know we are mortal. Rudy, I believe had some sense of this as he shared where the ashes were. Our days on this earth are numbered, and none of us know what tomorrow may hold. The beautiful grace of Ash Wednesday though, is that along with the ash, we are each marked with the cross, and we know that for each of us who have been sealed in Christ’s blood, who have faith in his promises, death is not the end, but a gateway unto eternal life, and even in death, Christ and his firm promise will not leave us. This is what we draw nearer to in Lent – we gaze upon our sin and our death, and we learn to cling to the cross. Though we mourn those who were with us last year, who are not this year, we also hold them closer to the cross, we trust they are safe with Christ, and we continue on proclaiming the victory of that cross.
If there is one more lesson I might suggest we learn from Rudy’s wisdom, let us each seek to live our lives in a way that passes on the news of that cross, let us show where the ashes are kept. May the knowledge of our mortality, make us only more eager to share in the work and gospel of Christ, so that our work in the Church be not only for ourselves, but for those who need yet to hear it, and those who come next.
May you be blessed in your Lenten journey this year,
+ Pastor Alliyah Greaver “And after my skin has been thus destroyed, then shall I see God.” Job 19:26
Lord, we thank you for the testimony of your saints, who preach beyond the grave. May we find comfort that from this day until the last day, death is not the victor, for Jesus Christ has won. We commend the faithful lives of all those departed to you, trusting in your victory. Amen.
On February 22nd we observed Ash Wednesday – a sobering reminder as the ashen cross is marked on each of our foreheads of our mortality and our sin. This year as the Music and Worship Team prepared for Ash Wednesday, someone asked, “do we have enough ashes for this year, do we know where they are?” and I eagerly showed them where our plentiful ash collection is stored, enough for several years to go, carefully stowed away right above the office sink.
I know where they are kept because a year ago Rudy Teaford pulled me aside one day as he was busy with his many tasks around the church and said simply, “Pastor, I want to show you where the ashes are, in case I’m not here to show you.” I did not think much of the comment that day but accepted the information. This year though, knowing Rudy passed this last June into eternal life, I am struck in reflecting on that humble comment and the faithful care he gave to make sure someone knew where the ashes were kept, that all could continue.
No matter how much we would like to believe differently, we all need to know we are mortal. Rudy, I believe had some sense of this as he shared where the ashes were. Our days on this earth are numbered, and none of us know what tomorrow may hold. The beautiful grace of Ash Wednesday though, is that along with the ash, we are each marked with the cross, and we know that for each of us who have been sealed in Christ’s blood, who have faith in his promises, death is not the end, but a gateway unto eternal life, and even in death, Christ and his firm promise will not leave us. This is what we draw nearer to in Lent – we gaze upon our sin and our death, and we learn to cling to the cross. Though we mourn those who were with us last year, who are not this year, we also hold them closer to the cross, we trust they are safe with Christ, and we continue on proclaiming the victory of that cross.
If there is one more lesson I might suggest we learn from Rudy’s wisdom, let us each seek to live our lives in a way that passes on the news of that cross, let us show where the ashes are kept. May the knowledge of our mortality, make us only more eager to share in the work and gospel of Christ, so that our work in the Church be not only for ourselves, but for those who need yet to hear it, and those who come next.
May you be blessed in your Lenten journey this year,
+ Pastor Alliyah Greaver “And after my skin has been thus destroyed, then shall I see God.” Job 19:26
Lord, we thank you for the testimony of your saints, who preach beyond the grave. May we find comfort that from this day until the last day, death is not the victor, for Jesus Christ has won. We commend the faithful lives of all those departed to you, trusting in your victory. Amen.
Pastor Alliyah Greaver's Installation Service, September 12, 2021.
Pastor Alliyah's Installation Service at St. John Lutheran Church with Mission District Dean Pastor Paul Schultz presiding at the installation.
Pastor Alliyah's Installation Service at St. John Lutheran Church with Mission District Dean Pastor Paul Schultz presiding at the installation.
Pastor Alliyah Greaver's Ordination Service, August 15, 2021.
Pastor Alliyah's Ordination into the office of Pastoral Ministry took place at Christ the King Lutheran Church, Yankton, SD with Bishop Dan Selbo of the NALC presiding.
Pastor Alliyah's Ordination into the office of Pastoral Ministry took place at Christ the King Lutheran Church, Yankton, SD with Bishop Dan Selbo of the NALC presiding.