Call Committee Updates

  • On Thursday, May 13, 2021, with the approval of the congregation council, the Call Committee submitted Holy Spirit Lutheran Church’s call process paperwork to the Florida-Bahamas Synod Office.  This paperwork included a Ministry Site Profile about Holy Spirit--part of which included the results from the 179 congregational surveys collected in April 2021, the position description for the associate pastor, and HSLC’s 2020 Annual Report (including financial snapshots).  Since its commissioning on March 14, 2021, this paperwork completion has been the immediate goal of the committee; as you can imagine, there is a lot of information to collect to give an accurate picture of our ministry setting.  On May 17th, 2021, the Office of the Bishop responded by presenting to Chair Vicki Pugh a call list.  This list contains name(s) of candidate(s) the committee will begin interviewing over the next weeks. Please continue to pray for the call committee and its work of discernment in the weeks ahead.
  • On March 14, we installed our call committee tasked with searching for a new associate pastor for Holy Spirit Lutheran Church.  The call committee is chaired by Vicki Pugh; serving with her are Leanne Ballard, Tom Lay, Chris Monte, Annie Noble, and George Ternenyi.  Pastor Jim will also serve on this call committee.  Their pictures and biographical information can be found below the contact form.  Please pray for this team undertaking this important work and keep watch for information after Easter about the call process as it unfolds.  

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Meet the Call Committee


  • Vicki Pugh, Chairwoman

    Residents of South Florida for more than 25 years, Vicki, Tim, Ali and Grace Pugh moved to Jupiter in 2012 and shortly thereafter became involved with Holy Spirit Lutheran Church. Vicki is a member of the contemporary worship music ministry and endowment committee.  Previously, Vicki served as elder and Session member at Christ First Presbyterian in Ormond Beach, FL.  She has been a part of music ministries at four churches, including Spanish River, Hammock Street, Christ First Presbyterian and Holy Spirit. Vicki’s day job is as Vice President for Philanthropic Giving at the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties where she helps donors set up charitable giving funds to elevate their philanthropy and legacy giving.  She has been a career fundraiser with a track record of raising more than $150 million for nonprofit organizations in New York City and Palm Beach County. Vicki serves on the boards of the We Are Dwyer Foundation, and Palm Beach Philanthropy Tank.  She is an adjunct faculty member of The Fund Raising School of the Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy and teaches coursework in leadership and fundraising.

  • Leanne Ballard

    Leanne and her husband Jason have been members of Holy Spirit Lutheran Church since 2015.  Their two children, Emily (9) and Blake (7) have attended many of the children and youth education and events. Leanne has volunteered with the HIS Kids ministry, mostly in the Pre-K and K age groups, as well as various other children’s events. Leanne is a Senior Global Strategic Marketing Manager for Robotics at Depuy Synthes in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. She has a Bachelor’s in Communications and MBA from University of Miami, where she met Jason. She loves traveling, yoga and paddle boarding in the Jupiter intracoastal. 

  • Tom Lay

    Tom Lay, together with his wife, Maureen joined HSLC in 2000. They raised their two daughters, Emily and Olivia, within the church. Throughout the years, Tom has served on Council and enjoyed teaching Sunday School to the high schoolers. He has participated serving on a variety of committees and has grilled a mountain of hamburgers and cheeseburgers at many events. One ministry he especially enjoyed serving on was (is when it comes back) the Pier service. Many steps up and down the pier were tread every year without fail, setting up chairs and podiums, and sound equipment. He has always enjoyed participating in this outreach event and looks forward to resuming these duties soon. The Lay family is anticipating the marriage of their daughter Emily at Holy Spirit in the near future. 

  • Chris Monte

    Chris Monte has been a member of Holy Spirit Lutheran Church since 2014.  Chris currently is serving as HSLC Council Secretary.  He has been the chair of the HSLC Endowment Ministry for the past five years and took part in the most recent HSLC Strategic Planning Process.  Chris is also a regular reader at the 9:30 service.  Chris is a Senior Vice President at Regions Bank working as the Institutional Strategist for the state of Florida in the Trust Department.  Chris provides support to many not for profit organizations to further their missions.  Chris moved to Florida about fifteen years ago and lives in Palm Beach Gardens with his wife Jodie and daughter Isabella.  

  • Ann Noble

    Anne Noble has dedicated her life’s work to Palm Beach County and agencies that make a social impact. Anne joined The Lord’s Place in early 2016 after working at Leadership Palm Beach County and JDRF. During her 15 years of service within the local philanthropic sector, she has built relationships with a wide network of stakeholders and is well-respected in the community. Throughout her tenure at The Lord’s Place, she has channeled her passion for serving the poor and homeless into a work ethic that has elevated the agency to new heights. Among her accomplishments as the head of Advancement, Anne has contributed to a 76% increase in the annual budget; engaged a new generation of donors through greater social media outreach and innovative special events like Rappeling to End Homelessness; and led The Lord’s Place through a $20 million capital campaign that will bolster the agency’s capacity and sustainability for years to come. In all of these accomplishments, Anne’s impetus has been her deep compassion for those who are poor and vulnerable. Anne lives in Palm Beach Gardens with her husband and two young boys.

  • George Ternenyi

    George Ternenyi and his wife Christine have been attending Holy Spirit Lutheran Church since 2015.  They moved to Jupiter from Boynton Beach in 2015 to be a bit closer to family (which of course, includes our grandgirls). George and Chris retired from pharmacy in 2016, 2019, respectively. George enjoys all sorts of activities including tennis, hiking, pickleball and kayaking. Along with these activities he is currently mentoring 2 high school students through TSIC and volunteering at the elementary school level to do science and STEM experiments and also helping to coach an 8 and under girls softball team. He and his wife also enjoy volunteering for several activities at HSLC ( cooking, carnival booth, sandwich making, vine pulling etc). He was also part of a volunteer medical team that Holy Spirit sent to Haiti. George and Chris feel blessed to have found HSLC, with their caring congregations, clergy and staff.

  • Pastor James E. Graeser

    Pastor Jim Graeser is one of the pastors at Holy Spirit Lutheran Church. He was called to HSLC in November 2020 and is new to South Florida, but he served congregations in North Florida for eighteen years, served four years on the Florida-Bahamas Synod bishop’s staff, and has just returned from serving a congregation in Dallas, Texas, for three years. Pastor Jim and his wife Nicole are recently married and are the proud parents of four adult daughters and grandparents to three adorable grandchildren. Nicole grew up in Dallas, and Pastor Jim grew up in a small town in Northwest Ohio. When not using our gifts serving with our church family, we enjoy motorcycle riding, travel, movies, and anything on or near water.