About

Pastor Nathan Pipho
Trinity Lutheran Church
73 Lancaster Street
Worcester, Massachusetts

When I was born my parents changed their minds and named me Nathan instead of David.  Thus, I was named after the prophet instead of the king.  This name change would have remained merely an afterthought if it hadn’t foreshadowed my dual interest in faith and politics.  My parents wrestling with my name was prelude to my own wrestling with  participation in politics and policy as a person of faith.

This blog, Prophets and Monarchs, attempts to poke around at the intersections of faith, politics and policy in 21st century United States.  What does it mean for people of faith to be a prophet among today’s monarchs, the men and women who hold office, are running for office, and setting policy that directs our common life ?

My perspective is influenced by my call as a Christian, joined to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth … by my call as pastor at Trinity Church, Worcester, a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America … by my training at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (Master in Divinity) and at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government (Master in Public Administration) … by my upbringing on a family dairy farm in Iowa, my work on political campaigns in Iowa, and my community organizing work in Quincy, Massachusetts, home  of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams and of the first parish I served as pastor, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.

In our diploma ceremony at the Harvard Kennedy School, Dean Doug Elmendorf called on us to go into the world to work on behalf of enlightened public policy and effective public service.  My hope is that this blog can be a resource for people of faith, and for anyone, committed to those same goals as an expression of their faith in Jesus Christ and/or their love for humanity.

Thank you for taking this journey with me.  Read along for as much as you can!

+NDP

NOTE:  my posts, and the opinions contained therein, unless otherwise noted are mine alone and may or may not reflect the official teachings, policies, and positions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and/or the views of the people and staff of Trinity Lutheran Church, Worcester.