Contact us
meet the staff of st. luke. we'd love to hear from you!
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This is God’s church; I invite you to come and be a part of it. Office Hours
Monday - Thursday: 9am - 4pm |
MEET The Staff
Reverend Clifford "Cliff" A. Bahlinger
Senior Pastor
cliff@stlukememphis.org
Pastor Cliff and his family have been a part of the Cordova community for the past 14 years. Cliff and his wife Lisa celebrated 30 years of marriage in 2016. They have two daughters, Sophia and Linnea. Sophia graduated from Cordova High School and Mississippi State University, and is currently a teacher with Freedom Prep Memphis. Linnea is a junior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Cliff and Lisa both received their undergraduate degrees from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Cliff received his Masters of Divinity from The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. Lisa has an MFA in Writing, with a concentration in Poetry.
"I'm a Lutheran by choice," says Pastor Cliff, who was raised in the Roman Catholic Church in Louisiana. “I took a history class on the reformation while at LSU, and I loved the writings of Martin Luther.” He and Lisa joined a Lutheran congregation while attending LSU. After 18 months serving with A Christian Ministry in the National Parks, he felt the call to seminary and was ordained a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in 1993. The reformation spirit still burns in Cliff, “I believe the church is in need of ongoing reformation. I continue to preach on God’s grace and the priesthood of all believers. Once we understand God’s great love for us, we are free to serve God and our neighbor with joy,” says Pastor Cliff.
He is also a Southerner by choice. Pastor Bahlinger said he felt led to Memphis as a place to minister because he enjoys working with people from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. He accepted a call to serve as the Senior Pastor of St. Luke in 2002, and says, "I like Memphis. I think it's a good place to live and to raise a family, and I feel blessed to be part of such a dynamic, motivated and inspired congregation." Cliff is an LSU Tiger fan, but has come to appreciate the Memphis Tigers, and enjoys attending the Grizzlies and Redbirds games.
St. Luke is a congregation that has a heart to serve the community. Under Pastor Bahlinger’s leadership, St. Luke has continued to grow in service to the Memphis community by working with Habitat for Humanity, The Church Health Center, Family Promise (formerly MIHN), More than a Meal, Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association (MIFA) and is in a growing partnership with the Cordova YMCA. Under Pastor Cliff's guidance, St. Luke also began to send short term mission teams for adults and youth with Mission Jamaica.
Pastor Bahlinger is active in the Southeastern Synod and was appointed Dean of West TN by Bishop Julian Gordy. He remains active with the Multicultural Committee of the synod. Each summer he enjoys taking confirmation age youth to summer camp at Lutheridge or Lutherock in North Carolina.
“My mission as a Pastor is to guide my congregation to a deeper level of faith, discipleship and service. I feel blessed to see this happening within the community of faith at St. Luke. We are not a perfect church and I am certainly not a perfect person, but God is at work in my life, and in our church here at St. Luke, through the hearts and the lives of ordinary people. I want those looking for a church home to know that they are welcome here. This is God’s church; I invite you to come and be a part of it.”
Join us at St Luke as we seek God, serve others, and share life.
Senior Pastor
cliff@stlukememphis.org
Pastor Cliff and his family have been a part of the Cordova community for the past 14 years. Cliff and his wife Lisa celebrated 30 years of marriage in 2016. They have two daughters, Sophia and Linnea. Sophia graduated from Cordova High School and Mississippi State University, and is currently a teacher with Freedom Prep Memphis. Linnea is a junior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Cliff and Lisa both received their undergraduate degrees from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Cliff received his Masters of Divinity from The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. Lisa has an MFA in Writing, with a concentration in Poetry.
"I'm a Lutheran by choice," says Pastor Cliff, who was raised in the Roman Catholic Church in Louisiana. “I took a history class on the reformation while at LSU, and I loved the writings of Martin Luther.” He and Lisa joined a Lutheran congregation while attending LSU. After 18 months serving with A Christian Ministry in the National Parks, he felt the call to seminary and was ordained a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in 1993. The reformation spirit still burns in Cliff, “I believe the church is in need of ongoing reformation. I continue to preach on God’s grace and the priesthood of all believers. Once we understand God’s great love for us, we are free to serve God and our neighbor with joy,” says Pastor Cliff.
He is also a Southerner by choice. Pastor Bahlinger said he felt led to Memphis as a place to minister because he enjoys working with people from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. He accepted a call to serve as the Senior Pastor of St. Luke in 2002, and says, "I like Memphis. I think it's a good place to live and to raise a family, and I feel blessed to be part of such a dynamic, motivated and inspired congregation." Cliff is an LSU Tiger fan, but has come to appreciate the Memphis Tigers, and enjoys attending the Grizzlies and Redbirds games.
St. Luke is a congregation that has a heart to serve the community. Under Pastor Bahlinger’s leadership, St. Luke has continued to grow in service to the Memphis community by working with Habitat for Humanity, The Church Health Center, Family Promise (formerly MIHN), More than a Meal, Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association (MIFA) and is in a growing partnership with the Cordova YMCA. Under Pastor Cliff's guidance, St. Luke also began to send short term mission teams for adults and youth with Mission Jamaica.
Pastor Bahlinger is active in the Southeastern Synod and was appointed Dean of West TN by Bishop Julian Gordy. He remains active with the Multicultural Committee of the synod. Each summer he enjoys taking confirmation age youth to summer camp at Lutheridge or Lutherock in North Carolina.
“My mission as a Pastor is to guide my congregation to a deeper level of faith, discipleship and service. I feel blessed to see this happening within the community of faith at St. Luke. We are not a perfect church and I am certainly not a perfect person, but God is at work in my life, and in our church here at St. Luke, through the hearts and the lives of ordinary people. I want those looking for a church home to know that they are welcome here. This is God’s church; I invite you to come and be a part of it.”
Join us at St Luke as we seek God, serve others, and share life.
The office staff
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Hard at work
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Jennifer Wright
Coordinator of Youth & Family Ministries jennifer@stlukememphis.org Jennifer is a life long Memphian who grew up in the Bartlett area. She is married to her high school sweetheart Paul, and they will celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary in May 2017. They have three children Madeline, Luke, Max, and Ella. Madeline and Luke both attend Chimneyrock Elementary School. Jennifer graduated from the University of Memphis with a degree in Graphic Design. She joined St. Luke in 1999 and has been involved with youth program in different capacities since 2000. Jennifer is excited to live out the vision statement of the St. Luke Youth (Seek God, Serve others, and Share life) with all the members of St. Luke. 
Jacob Allen
Director of Music Ministries Jacob Allen serves as Associate Professor and Head of Musical theatre in the Department of Theatre & Dance at the University of Memphis. As a director and performer Jacob has worked extensively throughout the Midwest and New England and additionally serves on the artistic staff of The Ohio Light Opera, resident professional company of the College of Wooster. Productions include My Fair Lady, Guys and Dolls, The King and I, Titanic, West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Les Mamelles de Tiresias, El Capitan, Helen of Troy, Little Shop of Horrors, The Last Five Years, You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, La Traviata, The Consul, Ruddigore, Naughty Marietta, Merrily We Roll Along, Anything Goes, Jekyll and Hyde, Kiss Me, Kate, Children of Eden, and The Winter's Tale. As an artist Jacob is an advocate for American Lyric Theatre and Art Song. He has recently performed in the premiere of Lee Hoiby's This is the Rill Speaking and directed the first staged production of Jake Heggie's For a Look or a Touch. In 2003 he premiered David Thurmaier's cycle of songs for Baritone, Three American Songs based on texts by Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, and Edward Arlington Robinson. He has also been featured in many recordings of early American musical theatre and operetta in English translation on the Albany Records label, and DVD's of his work as both performer and director are available through the American Operetta Foundation. As a teacher Jacob is fascinated by the challenges faced by young singers in their development as theatrical performers and is dedicated to the integration of acting and singing. He was the 2014 recipient of the Thomas W. Briggs Foundation award for excellence in teaching, the University of Memphis' highest honor for excellence in the classroom. |
Patti Calvert
Church Administrator 
Cliff "Mac" McKinney
Sexton |