The congregation of the American Lutheran Church in Grundy Center welcomed Kristen Wipperman as the church’s new pastor on Sunday, Sept. 25.

An Iowa native, Wipperman spent her younger adulthood living and working around the country in places like Missouri, Oklahoma, and Louisiana before family called her back to the Hawkeye state. 

She then attended Wartburg College, completing her seminary studies in 2016, before serving at St. Ansgar Lutheran Church in Waterloo and St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Dubuque.