Trinity Lutheran Pastor Finds Purpose In Service

The new pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church brings new perspectives to a traditional assembly.

The Rev. Dr. Teri Ditslear preached her first sermon at the Cody church on November 1, 2025, and told the Cody Journal that her background and education has focused on more than just the conventional role of pastor.

“I have my Spiritual Direction certificate through Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation,” she said. “And then I also have an Ecotheology certificate through Wild Church. I believe God is in everything, and God is everywhere.”

Ditslear is bringing that perspective to a church that has long-established mission projects and community presence. Trinity Lutheran celebrates its 78th year on July 20, and Ditslear said she is embracing the sense of purpose and connection that this congregation has embodied for decades.

“I want people to know that they are loved, they are beloved, and that they’re called to love,” she said. “That’s why I’m here.”

Drawn To Serve
Ditslear didn’t set out to be a pastor. But from a young age, the Chicago native was drawn to service: whether as a waitress, a sales representative, and later a hospice worker, Ditslear found herself always listening to those around her.

“I always felt like people came to me because I was a good listener,” Ditslear said. “I don’t know if I had answers ever, but I was always a good listener. But when I was growing up, women didn’t become pastors. They just didn’t do it.”

Instead, Ditslear followed a winding path. Her first marriage ended in divorce, and her second husband died when their youngest child was just six months old.

“After he passed away, I went back to college and got my undergraduate degree in Human Services at St.-Mary-of-the-Woods in Terre Haute, Indiana, which is a Catholic institution,” she said.

Her decision to attend seminary at the age of 48 came after years of longing to provide the kind of service that only pastors could deliver.

“I was doing my internship for my capstone project when I was a senior, I was at a hospice facility, and I was supposed to be doing social work, and I was always watching what the chaplains were doing,” Ditslear said. “And I was thinking, ‘That’s what I want to do. I want to be with families. I want to be with the dying. I want to marry people and bury people and give people communion. That’s what I want.’”

After graduating from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in 2012 with a Masters of Divinity, Ditslear and her third husband (to whom she’s been married for more than 30 years) started a mission church in Noblesville, Indiana called ‘Roots of Life Community.’ She served there for 13 years before moving to Cody.

A Sign?
Ditslear first came to Cody seven years ago, when her son, Kyle, moved his family to the area.

“They took a vacation out west, they found Cody, they saw a house, bought it on a whim, and the rest is history,” she said. “When I helped Kyle and Michaela move here, I wanted to go see another ELCA church in this part of the country, so I looked up Trinity’s website.”

Ditslear said she attended church that Sunday and found out that the congregation was actually between pastors.

“During announcements at the beginning, they said, ‘We just sent out a call letter to a pastor, and they declined the offer,’” she recalled. “‘But we happen to have a pastor from Indiana here. Maybe it’s God’s sign that she should be here.’”

Although Ditslear wasn’t ready to make a move at that time, she said the desire to be with her son and his family ultimately drove her decision to see if Trinity Lutheran Church in Cody was still looking for a pastor.

“I got in touch with the bishop’s office here, and things got rolling, and here I am,” she said.

Ditslear brings her own passions to the position, as well. As a spiritual director, she helps parishioners explore the presence of God in their own lives. And with her interest in ecotheology, Ditslear encourages connection with nature.

“I believe that God is in everything, and that we have a relationship with the trees and the grass and the wind and the water,” she said. “It’s just connecting.”

Mission and Community
Trinity Lutheran Church contributes to a number of missions that the congregation has participated in for decades. From the “Sleep In Heavenly Peace” initiative, which builds and provides beds for children, to supporting the Cody Cupboard and the local Soroptimists chapter, Ditslear said she believes service to others builds whole hearts.

“When we stop serving others, that’s when dangerous things can happen,” she said. “We can become isolated, we can become sad or angry.”

According to Ditslear, one of the church’s most impactful missions is its quilting ministry. Ladies gather around 9:30 a.m. each Tuesday morning to piece together quilts that are donated both locally and globally.

“There’s between 15 and 20 that’ll show up every Tuesday, through the summer and everything,” she said. “They make four or five quilts a day. The quilts go to nursing homes and to the police department and wherever there’s a need, and then about 300 of them are shipped to Lutheran World Relief Services.”

Ditslear recognizes that “church” is more than just gathering on Sunday mornings. Whether “communion” happens in traditional settings, in nature, or through church mission opportunities, Ditslear believes that the act of breaking bread together is where connection with God – and with each other – happens.

“I really believe that when you know somebody’s story, when you sit across from them, you can’t not love them,” she said. “And I believe the table is where reconciliation happens, and I just think reconciliation is one of the most important things that church can do for people.”

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