The Rev. Evan McClanahan, STS, is originally from Shreveport, Louisiana. As a son of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Shreveport, he was steeped in Lutheran liturgy and theology. He attended Centenary College of Louisiana and earned a B.A. Music, focusing on classical guitar. He also studied Renaissance lute music.
Pastor McClanahan worked for two years as an executive recruiter before being called to seminary. He attended the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago for three years, and had a one year internship in Royal, Illinois, a town of 300 in central Illinois. He met his wife, Amanda, in Chicago and they married in 2006.
Upon graduating from seminary, he was called to Living Word Lutheran Church in Grapevine, Texas, where he served as Associate Pastor. There, he directed the small groups ministries, the missions of the congregation, and the education ministries. Since 2009, he was called to serve as Pastor at First Evangelical Lutheran Church.
In mid 2009, he and his wife had their first child, daughter Adalyn Rose. She was baptized August 31, 2009 and is the joy of their life. Amanda and Evan both enjoy entertaining, cooking, and spending time with daughter Adalyn and their Lhasa Apso, Gus.
 After years of distinguished service as a Lutheran pastor in Houston, Pastor Peterman serves as Consulting Pastor of First Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Pastor Peterman is a native of Ohio and a lifelong Lutheran. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. He also studied theology for a year in Tübingen, Germany.
After serving parishes in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri, he became pastor of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Houston in 1968. At that time the congregation was composed of a small but dedicated number of members, who were confident that the congregation had a future in its present location. Under his leadership Christ the King Church began to grow slowly but steadily.
At the time of his retirement in 1998 the church had come to be widely known as one of the leading churches in the metropolitan area. Of special note were its excellent worship, music, and preaching, its campus ministry to Rice University and the Texas Medical Center, its pioneering ministry to AIDS patients and their families, and its strong emphasis on adult theological education.
As a direct result of this emphasis on adult education, the Melanchthon Institute was established in 1995, dedicated to offering sound Lutheran theological education to clergy and laity in the greater Houston area.
Since retiring, Pastor Peterman has published three collections of sermons under the title “Practically Preaching.” He has continued to serve as a guest preacher and to teach adult classes in theology. He is widely known for his comprehensive knowledge of the Bible and Lutheran theology, his animated teaching style, and his ability to relate to both clergy and lay people.
Pr. Peterman and his wife Jane have been married 55 years. They first met at Miami University when they both played in the summer band. They have three daughters and six grandchildren.
Pastor Peterman's personal Website is here.
 Sabrina Smitherman came on staff at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in August 2008.
Sabrina has several years of experience in retail customer service but no job she’s held has given her as much personal and professional satisfaction as working with the congregation and pastors at First. She feels truly blessed to have found her niche.
Sabrina and her husband, Johnny, married in early 2007. They live in Katy with their two cats, Grep and Butterscotch. Sabrina is an avid scrap-booker and both enjoy cooking, and baking and taking rides on their motorcycle.
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