Pastor Kurt began serving St. Paul Lutheran Church in October 2008. Originally from Troy, Ohio (which is less than 20 miles north of St. Paul), Pastor Kurt has always been actively involved in the Lutheran church. Before coming to St Paul, he participated in the life of a number of congregations, served two different outdoor ministries, and served as a bed and breakfast host at Holden Village (a Lutheran sponsored but ecumenical retreat center in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state). He earned his bachelor’s degree in religion from Capital University, a master’s degree in religion from Syracuse University, and a master’s of divinity degree from The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. He has also written for a number of publications in the ELCA. His work has appeared in Living Lutheran, the Journal of Lutheran Ethics, Sundays and Seasons, Christ in Our Home, and Bread for the Day. He has written a preaching resource book for pastors called 20 Questions to Ask the Text: Year A (with the plan to write books for Years B and C too). In addition, he edited the St Paul 200th anniversary history book and wrote a book of poetry called Bread for Beggars: An Anthology of Christian Poetry. In February 2020, he participated in a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. You can read travel blog here or watch a slideshow of 100 pictures from his trip here. He lives in Vandalia with his wife Rachel, their daughter Rose, and their cat Wanda. e-mail

David Latta has been the organist at St. Paul since June 1978 and became a member in the early 1980s. He also served with several choir directors before taking on the director position himself. He has been a part of many changes in the music ministry at St. Paul. The choir has grown tremendously and the church purchased a new organ in 2004. He has served with six full-time pastors and three interim pastors at St Paul. David retired from Vandalia-Butler City Schools in 2007 where he was an elementary teacher and Curriculum Specialist. He is currently an adjunct professor at Antioch McGregor in Yellow Springs.

Alyssa (Brown) Springer has been the choir director at St Paul since Sep 2011. A member of St. Paul since her family moved to Dayton in 1985, Alyssa has sung with the St. Paul choir as her schedule would allow since graduating college. A Vandalia native, she is a 2001 graduate of Butler High School and, with a degree in vocal music education, a 2006 graduate of Ohio University. Alyssa has been teaching middle school choir since 2006. She taught at Mad River Middle School from 2007 to 2012 and is now teaching in West Carrollton. She is excited to be working with David and thrilled for this artistic and professional challenge.