Pastor Dennis Wenzel is a native of Lena, Illinois. At the age of 14 he remembers feeling called to pastoral ministry, rather then stay on the family farm. Resulting from Pastor Dennis ’ inquiring mind, his father wondered what life work his son would engage. As regularly encyclopedias and dictionaries would be stacked on the dining room table from Dennis ’ most search for information on animals, elements and life in general. At the age of 19 he preached his first of many sermons at his home congregation in Lena.
In 25 years of parish ministry, Pastor Dennis has served congregations in Alberta, Canada, Michigan and Indiana. The joke, after living in Canada for 13 years, was that he and his wife Donna needed to move south for better weather, so they moved to Michigan. His formal education was achieved in several places: the University of Dubuque Dubuque, Iowa, Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary St. Paul, Minnesota, St. Stephen’s Theological College Edmonton, Alberta and the University of Detroit Mercy Detroit, Michigan. Pastor Dennis has earned a Doctor of Ministry degree with a special concern for Christian caregivers who suffered "spiritual burn out" in their service to the church. He is married to Donna, whom live with their three cats Murphy, Tommy and Angel. They have a son Eric and two grandsons Joshua and Seth.
Pastor Dennis comes to Immanuel Lutheran Church with the skills to bring people under the Lord’s care and grace, while empowering people for Christian service as a result of their relationship with Christ. Pastor Dennis brings a unique touch to our worship and educational programs with the attitude that worship and learning are a lived experience with our Lord. We encourage you to join us soon, to meet our family at Immanuel.
