Our Staff

Pastor Ron Rude - Campus Pastor

I have had the privilege of serving as Lutheran Campus Pastor at the U of A since Fall 2001, coming from parish ministry in Denver CO. Some of the things I love especially about campus ministry is the freedom to be creative, to travel, to experiment with new ways of doing ministry, and to be a part of a student's college life experience. LCM-UA is truly a special place, growing people in Christ. I believe the strongest attributes of this ministry are 1) the level of student ownership in the ministry, and 2) the fact that we are a 'traveling' group. Our recent (Spring Break 2007) mission trip to Guatemala was fantastic!

My wife, and the love of my life, is Nancy. She works in 'development' at Habitat for Humanity-Tucson, and really loves the work they do. We have 2 daughters, Angela (Washington DC) and Jen (Chicago), who we love to get together with. No pets right now, but we have had cats and a dog until moving to the desert. (Now we have scorpions and tarantulas and javelinas.)

When not doing ministry my hobbies include: hiking (and swimming laps), music (guitar, piano, drums, trumpet), travel (England, Israel, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nepal, Panama, Costa Rica), playing ping-pong, and studying American History through the lives of the Presidents. Also, my current project is learning to speak Spanish.

I am here for you as your pastor at college. I can be a helpful 'counselor' on faith issues, as well as other life issues ranging from career decisions, romantic struggles, loneliness, academic stress and depression, roommate conflicts, celebrations, etc. And of course, I want to provide pastoral care in the event of any crisis that might occur within your life, or within your family or circle of friends.

I think you will find Lutheran Campus Ministry to be an alive and vibrant ministry, and an extremely helpful Christian community of support.

See you soon ... God's peace and joy,

Pastor Ron Rude, LCM pastor

Craig Talmage - Student Associate

Greetings to you all! I have been fortunate to share in the many joys and blessings that God has given my friends and me at LCM. I have been serving on LCMs leadership team for the past two years and this year I'm happy to help with making all things go smooth and fun as the Student Associate. This is my first year in this role, and I can't wait to see what all it will bring. As Student Associate I am here to answer any questions you may have about LCM and hear any exciting and new ideas you may have for our upcoming year.

I am a Senior studying Family Studies and Human Development with Business minor. I have always had a strong desire to work with people especially families. LCM has given me a rich environment to thrive in. I thank God for all the gifts he has blessed me with, especially those I have received from being involved in LCM. After graduation I will be going to graduate school to pursue a Master's degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. I hope to own a private consulting firm someday.

I hope you will join us in this upcoming semester. I look forward to meeting y'all.

God Bless,

Craig Talmage, Student Associate

Lauren Lyon - Student Associate in Training

Since coming to Tucson, I have been very blessed with the new experiences that college brings. I am very thankful for the wonderful family that I have found at Lutheran Campus Ministry at The University of Arizona. The students in this group have become some of the people that I love and trust most in my life. I am very excited about getting more involved in planning events and connecting with current members of the group and those to come.

One thing about LCM that I think should be prioritized next year is the development of stronger relationships among the students of the other universities within the Lutheran Student Movement-Desert Southwest Region. As a college student, I am always looking to meet and connect with new people and as a Christian, it is important for me to have a strong community to worship with. I believe that becoming more involved with a national student Lutheran group, like LSM, would promote a stronger faith network across the country.

Peace,
Lauren Lyon