Clergy & Staff

Pastor Martha McCreight joins St. John’s Lutheran Church as the new pastor. Originally from Iowa, she is an alumna of Luther College and entered the banking field as a credit analyst in commercial banking for four years until she heard the call to serve the church. Pastor Martha enrolled at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, interned at a congregation in the Denver suburbs, and accepted her first call in 2014 to serve in the Montana synod. After four years of ministry there, she moved in 2018 to take a call in the same synod as her husband in Pittsburgh, PA. where she served a diverse congregation in the Pittsburgh suburbs.

Her orientation to pastoral work is outwardly focused, community-engaged, and meets the community with inclusivity and creativity—branching out to identify the local area’s needs. Pastor Martha’s  work has included the development of youth, small groups, evangelism, stewardship, and strategic planning in partnership with her current congregation to discern the future growth and engagement of the congregation and its ministries. In particular, this work has involved discernment regarding the use of space in correlation with the broader community’s needs. She focuses her preaching and teaching on the foundations of Word and Sacrament, staying faithful to the tradition and doctrine of the church while ensuring that ministry meets the needs of the community. Above all, she seeks to be a witness in the world and needs God’s love and grace for all people.

On a personal note, Pastor Martha is part of a dual clergy couple. Together, they parent an adventurous 2-year-old son who has become accustomed to “church life” in all its forms and a sweet 6-year-old rescue hound. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, biking, CrossFit, meeting new people and being an open and approachable church representative inside and outside the church’s walls.

Pastor Martha can be reached via email at [email protected]. 

Nathan Lively-Greyling serves as Cantor and Ministry Associate at St. John’s Lutheran Church, where he supports the congregation’s worship life through leadership in choral and instrumental music, congregational song, and the church’s broader musical ministry. A native of southern West Virginia, Nathan began piano studies at age six and was playing in church by age seven. By age ten, he was serving as an organist in multiple congregations, laying the foundation for a lifelong vocation in church music.

Nathan’s musical training includes study with Rose Hannah, Margaret Woodrum, Leah Rose Anderson-Gibson, and Sarah Rinker in piano at Appalachian Bible College, and Susan Wygal, Daniel Spurgeon, Sandee Folsom, Bill Evans, and Randall Farley in organ. His early gifts as an accompanist were quickly recognized, leading to statewide and national honors and establishing his reputation for musical excellence at a young age.

Throughout his career, Nathan has served churches in Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic traditions, holding positions as an organist and director of music in West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee before moving to Connecticut. He is recognized for developing strong programs, encouraging congregational singing, and shaping worship that is both reverent and engaging. At St. John’s, Nathan manages the entire music program for children and youth, handbells, and the parish choir, and has led the choir on tours to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Williamsburg, Virginia.

In addition to his church work, Nathan has had an active career in teaching and performing, appearing at prominent venues along the East Coast and the Midwest. In 2015, the Chicago Tribune recognized him as one of the nation’s top young organists, praised for his imaginative programming and expressive musicianship. He remains especially passionate about French Romantic and Contemporary organ repertoire and collaborative music-making.

Nathan is an active member of the American Guild of Organists and most recently served as Dean of the Fairfield West Chapter, contributing to the professional and musical life of the region. Nathan lives in Stamford, Connecticut, with his husband, Marnus, Director of Music at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Greenwich. They share their home with Pi, a Siberian Forest cat who moved with Marnus from South Africa.

 Nancy is a native Connecticut resident having grown up in Norwalk; she’s lived in Stamford and Greenwich before returning to East Norwalk. The proud mom of two grown children; a daughter who resides in Atlanta, and a son, who recently returned from the UK and lives in Brooklyn. She holds a Bachelor of Science, Business Management from University of Phoenix.

After a career spanning over 30 years in the corporate world of business operations, administration, event planning and program management, she still finds herself looking for challenges and wanting to help others. Nance has experience managing several projects simultaneously; working within a global team environment. Through the philanthropy team at her previous employer, she volunteered tutoring local grade school children and currently volunteers at STAR, Inc. in Norwalk.

In recent months, she’s become hooked on playing online scrabble, solving NY Times crossword puzzles, dabbling more in cooking/baking and getting back into her love of photography.

Nancy’s passions include spending time outdoors walking by the water; whether it be at the Norwalk beach or Gulf Shores, AL. She loves gardening, mowing the lawn, walking 4-5 miles per day, and spending time with family and friends.

 Number cruncher, bookkeeper, bean counter and Dodo are all names to which Jody Van Houten responds. At a young age, and due to the inability to pronounce the name Jody, her niece coined a lifelong nickname, “Auntie Dodo.” Henceforth, and much to her family’s amusement, she will forever be known as Dodo!

Jody is a suburban dweller, happily married, lover of wine and mother of Irish twin boys. As a sibling to an older and younger sister, Jody stoically soldiers through middle child syndrome, a grievance that has afflicted her for a lifetime. Her math skills began at a young age when she soared through Parcheesi with lightning speed, crushing all opponents in her path, and flourished a bit more while attending Pace University. Her pursuits and pastimes include travel, bicycling, golf and Sudoku.

Jody has enjoyed over 22 years of simultaneous employment as bookkeeper at St. John’s Lutheran Church and contracting at various local businesses and entities. These fine places introduced her to new people, lifelong friends, hidden talents, volunteering and new concepts that helped shape the person she is today.