St John's Lutheran Church
Staff & Leaders

  • Mendle Adams

    Mendle Adams
    Preaching Pastor

    Mendle Adams is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ, with degrees from Indiana Wesleyan University and Christian Theological Seminary.  He has done post graduate studies at Aquinas College and Harvard University. He received his Doctor of Sacred Letters from Temple Bible College and Seminary in Cincinnati. Since retirement from pastoral ministry in Indiana, North Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Ohio, Mendle has taught in university and seminary settings. Mendle received training in dispute resolution and mediation and was certified by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma. Mendle served as Ecumenical Campus Chaplain at Oklahoma State University. In Oklahoma Mendle served on the Governor's AIDS Education task force and on the Southern Governor's Conference Advisory Council on Infant Mortality. While in Indiana he was elected a member of the Indiana House of Representatives. His vote was one of the five members of Indiana's House against the death penalty in 1975. He received recognition for his social justice votes from the Indiana Council of Churches. Rev. Adams is the chair of the Department of Evangelism and Growth at Plymouth Church UCC of Shaker Heights in Cleveland, Ohio. He is a member of the board of directors of Ohioans to Stop Executions and has been a chaplain to two executed death row inmates. Mendle has been a consistent advocate for Civil Rights, Women's Rights, Gay Rights, Environmental Justice, and the abolition of the death penalty in many settings. Pilgrim Press published “Touching Center - Adventures in Christ Consciousness”, which he co-authored.

  • Barbara Holzhauser

    Barbara Holzhauser
    Lead Pastor

    Rev. Barbara Holzhauser, aka “Pastor Barb”, has served the church for over 30 years in various roles.  Ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 1989, she has served several congregations in Pennsylvania and Ohio.  In addition, she served as Associate Director for Evangelism for the ELCA churchwide organization in Chicago.  Her primary role was the revitalization of small congregations, which grew out of her role as project coordinator for the book/video resource, "Discovering Hope: Building Vitality in Small Town and Rural Congregations". Most recently, Pastor Barb served as a Spiritual Care Coordinator with Hospice of the Western Reserve, and as part-time transitional pastor for Reformation Lutheran Church in Eastlake.  She has spent much of her pastoral work focusing on the renewal of congregations.  ​Currently, she serves part-time at Mentor United Methodist Church in the role of Congregational Care Minister. Pastor Barb’s personal mission is to “be an authentic witness to the love of Christ.”