Athens man follows his faith
By Casey Krautkramer
Paul Mroczenski was brought up on strong religious values by his parents, Mark and Dawn Mroczenski, on their town of Rietbrock farm.
As a fifth grader at Trinity Lutheran School in Athens, Paul Mroczenski said that he wanted to someday work as a church missionary. He was valedictorian of his 2017 Athens High School class and then spent a year contemplating his future. He then received a call from God to volunteer for 10 months in Baton Rouge, La., through the Lutheran Young Adult Corps (LYAC) program.
It just so happens that Paul met his future wife, Courtney, while they trained together with (LYAC) in St. Louis, Mo., for their volunteer work in Louisiana. She was born in Torrance, Calif., and called Aurora, Colo. her home. After high school, she spent 10 months as a volunteer in New Orleans through LYAC.
Paul Mroczenski’s Trinity Lutheran School teacher, Ellen Czech, told Dawn Mrozenski several years ago that she prayed that one of her three sons, Joel, Luke or Paul, would some day work as a Lutheran church pastor.
Mark and Dawn Mroczenski’s youngest son, Paul Mroczenski, has accepted the call from God to become a Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) pastor. He graduated from Concordia University in Mequon in December of 2021 with a bachelor of arts degree in theological languages with minors in philosophy and youth ministry. He learned how to read the early Bible in Greek and Hebrew.
Courtney and Paul were married on Jan. 1, 2022, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens. After their marriage, Paul moved to Colorado to live with Courtney while she worked toward earning her college degree in social work at Colorado State. Paul Mroczenski had to wait his turn to study at a seminary school to become a LCMS pastor, so he worked at Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers in Windsor, Colo.
After Courtney graduated from college, the couple moved to Fort Wayne,
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STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
WIFE SUPPORTS HUSBAND’S VICARAGE IN PUERTO RICO - Call from God
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Ind., so Paul Mroczenski could begin studying at Concordia Theological Seminary. Courtney, meanwhile, worked in Fort Wayne, Ind., as a case manager at Lutheran Hospital and as a memory care support specialist at Bethlehem Woods Nursing Facility.
Paul Mroczenski has already completed his first two years of classroom work at Concordia Theological Seminary and is now a vicar in the LCMS. He is currently fund raising, along with his wife’s help, to raise money for his vicarage in Puerto Rico before returning to Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind. to complete his fourth and final year of seminary.
The couple is staying with Paul’s parents at their Rietbrock home while they welcome the birth of their first baby in October.
The couple and their future baby will leave Rietbrock on Jan. 15, 2025, for the Dominican Republic where Paul Mroczenski will spend two months learning Spanish. They will leave the Dominican Republic at the end of March 2025 so Paul Mrozenski can spend his vicarage in Puerto Rico. He will serve under the supervision of the Rev. James Neuendorf, missionary to Puerto Rico. Paul Mroczenski’s primary responsibilities in Puerto Rico will be to teach and preach at various churches in both English and Spanish. He will also assist with church planting and other evangelism and mercy work efforts.
Paul Mroczenski will earn his master of divinity after he completes his four years at Concordia Theological Seminary. He’ll then receive a call from a LCMS church somewhere in the country to become its pastor, although he won’t be able to choose the location.
“I’m looking forward to parish ministry,” he said recently in his parent’s Rietbrock home.
After Paul Mroczenski gains experience working as a pastor at an LCMS church, then other churches in the country could make a call for him to come to their church. He’ll then have the option to either accept or reject the call to a different church somewhere else in the country.
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STAFF PHOTO/KRIS O’LEARY
