The Rev. Paul D. Erickson was first elected in June 2016 and was re-elected May 20, 2023 to a six-year term as bishop of the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Erickson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., in 1983 and a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in 1989. He also earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., in 2012.He returned to the Greater Milwaukee Synod from St. Paul, where he served as the director of Agora, a ministry that works to develop lay leaders for immigrant and multicultural congregations in Minnesota and South Dakota.
Erickson grew up in the Greater Milwaukee Synod, where he was a member of St. Matthew’s in Wauwatosa and Bethel in Muskego. Before attending seminary, he served in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps in Baltimore, MD and studied Spanish in Mexico. He has served congregations in Chicago, Milwaukee, and West St. Paul, MN before serving as Assistant to the Bishop for Evangelical Mission in the Saint Paul Area Synod from 2008-2014.
Bishop Erickson has spent much of his ministry working in cross-cultural settings and has traveled extensively to visit global companions in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Tanzania. He feels called to lead the church as it explores ways to move forward with curiosity, courage, compassion, and collaboration.
Paul and his wife, Lynn (an ELCA pastor serving in Milwaukee), have two children: David and Sarah.
Robyn Bayland manages all print and digital communications for the synod office and Outreach for Hope.
Robyn was baptized and grew up in the Greater Milwaukee Synod. Prior to joining the synod staff in 2020, Robyn worked in secular media and communications. She holds a Master’s degree in Digital Communication Strategies from Marquette University, with a focus on video storytelling.
In her free time, Robyn enjoys tabletop gaming, hiking, and working on personal creative projects.
Pastor Afi is an ordained Elder of the United Methodist Church (WI Conf.). She is married to Bennett Mays Sr. and they are blessed by a blended family of eight children and 14 grandchildren.
Pastor Afi’s life’s work has led to several humanitarian interests and pursuits, with a focus on healing and liberation from racial oppression. Her passions and gifts center around creative expression such as: singing music, painting, creative writing and social justice – including civil rights, youth and young adult leadership training, enrichment programming, community building, teaching/training diversity with compassion, and spiritual support.
Her belief is that by empowering others to see the Divine Spark of God within themselves and their environment – together people can create a life and community that are healthy, strong and in alignment with God’s Divine call and purpose for all.
Rev. Chris Manke is the Executive Director for Outreach for Hope, a ministry of the Greater Milwaukee Synod which supports life-giving ministries that serve with people of low income communities through the Southeastern corner of Wisconsin.
Originally born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin, Chris attended Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and then Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. Chris is also a pro-amateur photographer and video producer, with a love for music, images, and technology and the ways they can declare God’s Spirit moving in this world. Chris came to the position of Executive Director for Outreach for Hope, having served as an Associate Pastor and then as Lead Pastor for one of the congregations in our Synod, St. Matthew’s Lutheran in Wauwatosa, for the entire 24 years of his time in ministry.
“Having been in the Greater Milwaukee synod for these 24 years, I have had the privilege of witnessing the good work that our synod does through our congregations and leaders in ministry. As a long-time pastor in our synod, I have also had the opportunity to witness the many impactful ways that Outreach for Hope accompanies ministries who walk with communities experiencing poverty. I look forward to working more closely with the leaders of Outreach for Hope, with partner leaders, and with all of you throughout our synod, seeking to share my love for the gospel, that we might serve together as Christ’s church for the nurture, growth, and partnership of all people. I’m very hopeful of what God will do through us together.”
Rev. Kristin Nielsen is Assistant to the Bishop for Congregations in Mission in the Greater Milwaukee Synod. In this role, she works with rostered ministers and congregations at all stages of a leadership transition. This includes working with outgoing rostered ministers, the interim and transition pastors, congregation councils, Mission Exploration Teams, call committees, and rostered ministers open for call. Kristin is also the synod contact person for the Cross+Generational Ministry Network, a network of rostered and lay leaders seeking to include cross+generational ministry principles and ideas in their contexts.
Kristin has been on the GMS staff since April 2015. Prior to that, Kristin served as a called pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (and then Good Shepherd Trinity Church – a combined ELCA/PC-USA ministry) in the Sherman Park neighborhood of Milwaukee. Kristin received her MDiv from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and her BA in Fine Arts & Studio Art from St Olaf College in Northfield, MN.
Rev. Karen Pahl joined the GMS staff as Interim Financial Administrator in October 2022.
Karen has been in the Greater Milwaukee Synod for nine years, serving as Senior Pastor at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Racine, and as Interim Pastor at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Mukwonago. She was previously elected as Synod Treasurer in 2021.
Karen is a graduate of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, SC. She also holds an undergraduate degree in music education and a minor in business administration. After completing her undergraduate work, she took additional accounting/finance classes and worked in the hotel and information management industries for 13 years as an Accountant, Senior Financial Analyst, Financial Systems Consultant, Global Financial Reporting Manager, and Project Manager for Global Accounting Systems Implementation.
In her free time, Karen enjoys walks with her family and two dogs, crocheting, reading, and following the Brewers during the baseball season. She and her spouse, Jeff, live in New Berlin with their daughter Tori who is a sophomore in high school and keeps them both on the move.
Mary Romskog works with candidacy, guides the planning of synod assembly with the planning team, functions as the call process administrator, and assists in managing Bishop Erickson’s calendar. She manages the team of support staff and the daily functions of the synod office.
Mary and her husband, Jeff, have three adult children and enjoy spending time camping, skiing and tackling home improvement projects.
I was born and raised in Lake Havasu City, Arizona; a town that often nabs the dubious honor of being the “hot spot of the nation” during the summer weather forecasts (our record set was 128 degrees in the summer of 1994!). After completing a Bachelor’s in Sociology (Family/Gender/Race Studies), I travelled to Columbus, OH to attend Trinity Lutheran Seminary. It was there that I met my wife, Pastor Jessica Short. Our first calls were in Fargo, North Dakota, where we lived for three years before moving to the Greater Milwaukee Synod in the Fall of 2008. From 2008-2017, I had the honor of serving as the pastor of St. Luke Lutheran in Slinger. In May of 2017, I joined the synod staff as the Assistant to the Bishop for Evangelical Mission. Jessica and I live in Menomonee Falls and have two children, Charissa and Lucas.
While I have a deep appreciation for the beauty of the Midwest, I am a Southwestern guy at heart. I share this because my upbringing in the Southwest has a deep impact on how I approach ministry. In the Southwest, no church or denomination has a stronger foothold than any other. My hometown is geographically isolated (a characteristic of Arizona), which means all the different congregations and denominations simply have to work together. This is still my default, and something that I bring with me into my work as the Director of Evangelical Mission (DEM) of the Greater Milwaukee Synod. My greatest joy is seeing the Church blur the lines between “sacred” and “secular,” between Sunday morning and the hopes, needs, and yearnings of the community. I am simply excited to be a partner in that work.
Phil Smith is the Administrative Assistant at the Synod Office. In addition to being the voice on the phone and the face at the front desk, Phil is your main contact for general questions about the synod and synod events, as well as Outreach for Hope. Phil is also the choir accompanist at Holy Cross Lutheran in Menomonee Falls. He lives in Milwaukee with his wife, Nanette and his dog, Tripp.