Rev. Joel Dietrich Installed as 27th Pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Mascoutah

By Editor | June 27, 2025 |

Above from left to right are pastors; Gregory, Curtis, Nicely, Ball, Kaseman, Dietrich, Ils, Hemmer, Kintz, Spellbring, Schrader

MASCOUTAH – Rev. Joel Andrew Christensen Dietrich has been installed as the 27th pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Mascoutah. Dietrich brings with him years of service and education within the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

Dietrich was born on September 28, 1978, in Evergreen Park, Illinois. He is the sixth child of Rev. Adam A. and Marlene G. (Kargaard) Dietrich. He was baptized on October 8, 1978, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Hodgkins, Illinois, where he was also confirmed in 1992.

He attended pre-school and kindergarten at Zion Lutheran School in Summit, Illinois, and completed grades one through eight at Saint Paul Lutheran School in Oak Lawn, Illinois, graduating in 1992. After graduating from Luther High School South in Chicago in 1996, he enrolled in the Pre-Seminary program at Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon, earning a B.A. in Theology in 2001. He received his Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 2005, with a focus in Historical Theology.

His first pastoral call was to a dual parish: Christ Lutheran Church in Clinton and Zion Lutheran Church in Chestnut, Illinois, where he served from July 2005 to March 2014. He then served at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church in Beecher, Illinois, from March 30, 2014, to July 7, 2019. From August 2019 through May 4, 2025, he served as Associate Pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Dietrich has also served in various roles including AAL Chapter Vice President, Thrivent Chapter Vice President and President, board member for DeWitt County Habitat for Humanity, Secretary of the South Region NID Pastor’s Conference, Secretary of the NID General Pastor’s Conference, and pastoral delegate to the 2013, 2016, and 2022 Synodical Conventions representing different circuits. He also volunteered as a soccer coach at Zion Lutheran School in Beecher, Illinois.

On July 3, 2006, he married Alicia K. Heisner at Zion Lutheran Church in Grant Park, Illinois. Alicia is the daughter of Gerald and Cecilia Heisner of Manteno, Illinois. She earned a Ph.D. in Molecular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and has served as a Board of Regents member for Concordia University Chicago since 2017. The Dietrichs have two sons, Aaron Michael and Luke Nathanael.

Dietrich is a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan and also follows the Bulls, Blackhawks, and Bears. He enjoys watching sports and golfing.