Reverend Peter Mueller, 39, becomes the new pastor of Hope Lutheran Church and School in West Seattle. He will be installed Sunday, August 14. He was born in Calgary, Alberta and raised in Vancouver, BC. He received his B.A. in Youth and Family Ministry from Lutheran Bible Institute of Seattle in 1994, and earned his Master of Divinity degree from Regent College, Vancouver in 2002. He became certified for the pastoral ministry of the LCMS in June 2004. Before arriving here, he was Pastor of Discipleship and Outreach at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Orange County, California and taught evangelism and Old Testament at Concordia University, Irvine He has been regularly involved in mission work in Mexico and inner-city Los Angeles.

Peter's wife, Patra, is a church leader who has served as a Director of Christian Education (DCE) for more than 20 years, 11 as assistant professor of Christian Education and Director and Assistant Director of the DCE training program of Concordia University, Irvine. They have two children; John, 6, and Hannah, 4.

"We moved to West Seattle because God sent us here," said Pastor Mueller. "This community is a bit of a shift for us, coming from suburban big box everything with huge parking lots where you have to drive everywhere. So it's fun for us to experience a whole different way of life. We were in Lincoln Park today, down at the beach. The natural beauty is incredible.

"I know that West Seattle is the oldest community in Seattle," he continued. "Orange County is all tract homes. Here you have all these one of a kind houses, many beautifully redone. We moved here from Anaheim, about 20 minutes drive from Disneyland. In Disneyland they've tried to evoke that type of atmosphere by rebuilding certain vintage parts of American history and yet here it's the real deal."

Peter and Petra believe they're calling to West Seattle will be equally authentic.

"God called us to serve, called us to love, to bring hope in tangible ways that make sense to Seattle, to offer the presence of God's love any way we can," the Pastor said.

"People often say the church is full of hypocrites, and I say, 'you're absolutely right,'" said Patra. "That's why we're there, because nobody is perfect. We need Jesus and we need forgiveness. I don't know if it is so much about talking about Jesus, what I call 'God talk' as it is sharing Christ's love with people by just listening to them and meeting them where they're at. Everybody has a story to share, and we want the church to be a place where people feel connected. People need to feel connected, to matter. That's what we want to do at Hope. Give people hope."

Patra explained the provenance of her family's Lutheran routes.

"My great-grandfather was president of the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, the denomination we are part of," she said. "He literally went around on horseback starting churches. He was called the 'circuit rider'. Going town to town, all over the Chicago area and up into Canada. We've had pastors in our family every generation since 1590. Both my brothers are pastors, and I married a pastor."

The Muellers met in a hot tub in 1996 at the Anaheim Hilton. It was all very innocent.

"We were talking theology the whole time, with many others in the tub, too," Patra recalled.

"We were youth workers at the National Youth Workers Convention, (a Christian youth gathering) and started talking and hit it off," said Peter. They did not see each other again for five years when they got better acquainted.

While the Pastor and Patra said they are already experiencing a strong sense of community here, It may take their kids a bit longer to get acclimated with West Seattle after living in southern California.

Said Patra, "I had to explain to my son that there were no big waves here like he'd see on the ocean. He will have to learn about Puget Sound."