Meet the new vicar and family!

Greetings from the Bieri family!

Left to right: Jake, Isaac, Josh, and Chrystal in front of the door to their home in Viroqua.

I am Vicar Joshua Bieri. My family and I moved to Viroqua at the end of July. I officially was installed as the vicar at Faith Lutheran Church in La Crosse and Hill Country Lutheran Church in Viroqua on August 3rd. I have spent the last month or so getting settled into our new home and getting up to speed with my duties as a vicar. I will be filling the role that Vicar Josiah Junkin had previously filled. I am extremely grateful for the hard work that he and the entire planting team has done thus far to get Hill Country up and running for the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ here in Viroqua. I pray that the LORD can use me to continue the work that He started with Vicar Junkin as we prepare for the opening of Hill Country. Here is a short introduction to the new vicar and his family.

Vicar Bieri being installed as vicar at Faith Lutheran Church in La Crosse by Pastor Eichers.

I (41) have spent the last two years as a student at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN. Prior to that, I spent about a decade as a mailman in Muscatine, IA while living in a small farming community in rural Illinois. There is a long story to my journey from life as a young country Lutheran to vicar in Viroqua that I would love to tell as we get to know one another. My wife, Chrystal (42), stays at home with two of our sons, and we have another boy on the way. He is due in October! My oldest son, Cameron (22), is back near our home area and works for FedEx in Rock Island, IL. Jake (17) is here with us in Viroqua and is going into his senior year of high school. He is home schooled and is looking forward to going on to the next stage in life. Isaac (2) is a high energy toddler that is practically a clone of his father and always has his mother on her toes. He is a full time job for the whole family and we wouldn’t change a thing. We are all anxious to meet little Samuel in October. He seems to be getting a lot of joy from making his mother uncomfortable from the womb.

Vicar Bieri getting comfortable with the pulpit at Faith in La Crosse.

The past month has been extremely busy. Hill Country’s planting team and I have been getting ready for our booth at the Vernon County Fair this week. If you are in the area, come check out our booth in the expo center at the Vernon County Fairgrounds from September 10-14. We are also gearing up for our official start date. I am excited to announce to you that we have secured a lease on an office space at 212 Airport Rd Ste A, Viroqua, WI 54665. Half of the building is currently the office space for the State Farm agent in town. The other half will be ours to use starting September 15th. We will be taking a couple weeks to get the space ready for services. We will be beginning services at Hill Country Lutheran Church on Thursdays at 6:00 PM, beginning October 2nd. We will also have Bible study at 7:00, following the service. I know I speak for the whole team that we can’t wait to bring Christ’s Word and Sacrament ministry to Viroqua. I look forward to meeting and serving the people of Viroqua at these coming events, and LORD willing, years to come.

In Christ,

Vicar Joshua Bieri