Meet Our Ministerial Staff
Lead Pastor (Email them HERE)
Carla Christopher (she/they) was ordained in 2020 after a career in social work, community organizing, and being a diversity / equity / inclusion / belonging trainer for corporations, nonprofits, academic institutions, and faith communities. She currently serves as CLC's Lead Pastor as well as Assistant to the Bishop for Justice Ministries with DE-MD Synod, ELCA. She is a trained redeveloper / congregational vitality pastor and a member of the ELCA Evangelism leadership team. Carla is also a frequent speaker, and trainer around trauma-informed care and peacebuilding. Out in the wild, Carla co-hosts a poetry and storytelling open mic on 3rd Thursdays at The Listening Booth and loves to write and read poetry.
Rev. Carla Christopher
Consulting Pastor (Email him HERE)
Earl Janssen (he/him) was ordained in 1990 after working a decade as a Substance Abuse Counselor. He served Grace Lutheran, Fairmont, WV (6 years), Trinity Lutheran, Johnstown, PA (8 years), and Our Shepherd Lutheran, Severna Park, MD (18 years). He is a trained mission developer and innovative leader in the church. He is an accomplished ultra-cyclist and owner of Ocean Breeze Media, LLC, a small visual arts production company. He has been married to Lori since 1978 and they have two daughters and 5 grandchildren.
Rev. Earl Janssen
Meet Our Leadership Team
Mari Satterlee (she/her), Council President, joined Community in the Fall of 2024 after she and her husband moved to Frankford in July of 2024. Mari co-leads the ESL program and has been a liaison to the Spanish speaking community who are food pantry participants and to the ELIM church that shares our space. Mari is a lifelong protestant whose father was a Presbyterian Navy Chaplain. She has served as a Session member of Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Baltimore and York Presbyterian Church in York, Pennsylvania. Additionally, she was a Worship Commission member at the Riverside Church in New York City. She is a semi-retired educator who currently teaches and tutors math.
Deb Wittle (she/her), Council Vice President, has been attending regularly since the spring of 2024, and became a member in the fall of 2024. This past year she took a lead role in working with
the Grant, Facilities, and Security Teams to install a security and access control system utilizing the funds awarded in a DEMA grant. She participates in our ESL program and helps to facilitate the Food Pantry Team’s communications with Council. She is a registered landscape architect with a background in planning for low-income and senior housing, and military communities. Since retiring, and along with her work at Community, she is enjoying golfing, kayaking, hiking, and reading.
Dayna Feher (she/her) and her husband, Bill, visited CLC for the first time in December of 2024 and she knew she was home. Community Lutheran stands for AND takes action on what Christianity means to her. Dayna has been a life-long Lutheran, born and raised in Idaho. When she and Bill moved to Delaware in 1996, Dayna became the leader of the Praise Band at St. Peter’s Lutheran in OC and she currently leads CLC's Worship and Music Team. Dayna has been a Realtor since 2000 and prior to that she was in Medical Administration.
Dr. Lee Trueheart (he/him) serves on the Church Council and the Reimagination Team, helping guide the congregation through and shaping, renewal, and visioning the future of our congregation. He produces our church podcasts, bringing thoughtful conversations, shining a spotlight on the stories that make this community feel like home—and just enough good humor—to keep us all listening.
Mary Radatovich (she/her) stumbled into Community Lutheran Church during the fall of 2024, and immediately felt right at home. Mary is a clinical social worker who specializes in grief counseling. She is also the devoted mom of 3 young adults.
Through careers as a social worker and special education teacher, Mary Ann Jasper (she/her) has lived out her call to serve others compassionately. Raised Roman Catholic, she found the Lutheran church, focused on the gift of grace and the teachings of Jesus. As a council member, "I feel it is imperative for CLC to fulfill its mission to fully welcome, affirm and serve all people as they are beautifully created by a loving, gracious God."
Lonnie Riley (she/her), Secretary, was baptized and raised in a Lutheran church. After moving to Dagsboro, she became a member of CLC in 1995. She previously served on council from 2011 to 2016. Lonnie is a retired math teacher and lives in Lewes. (not pictured)
David Nilsson (he/him), Treasurer has been a CPA for over 40 years, David worked primarily for public accounting and law firms in the Washington, DC area before relocating to Delaware 25 years ago. He and his wife Suzanne operate their own tax and accounting practice in Selbyville. (not pictured)
Meet Our Worship & Music Leaders
Diana Wagner (she/her)
Diana learned to play guitar in 1978 thanks to a public school music program. As a multi-instrumentalist, she is a sought-after Eastern Shore musician who has performed at dozens of venues locally and in the mid-Atlantic region. Diana is a song catcher, acoustic musician, and accidental composer who preserves and shares contemporary, historic, liturgical, folk, and blues music. In 2008, Diana released her CD, Tradition Bearer. Diana also created and hosted the weekly radio program “Chesapeake Folk” on WBYC Community Radio in Crisfield, MD, for the Chesapeake Community Radio Network. Diana retired in 2024 from Salisbury University and is now a volunteer therapeutic musician, bringing music to the bedsides of hospice patients and their families. Diana can be reached at dianawagnermusicarts@gmail.com.
The CLC Praise Team consists of vocalist, Lori Janssen (she/her), guitarist & vocalist, Lee Trueheart (he/him), and ensemble leader & guitarist & vocalist, Dayna Feher (she/her).
Dayna has sung in church choirs since she was 6 years old and in her teens started playing guitar. She sang and played guitar in her hometown Lutheran Church and around the campfire at Luther Heights camp in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. Dayna continued singing at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Ocean City, MD where she led the praise band for 16 ½ years. After joining CLC in early 2025, Dayna again heard the call to sing and play guitar in worship and she is now the leader of the CLC Praise band.
Lee started learning music in the fourth grade, playing the flute and later the E♭ tuba in junior high school. Started singing and playing self-taught guitar in high school. Later became an avid writer of poetry, song, blogging, (with a dissertation thrown in later), and the world’s okayest podcaster for the church (https://thetransvoice.com and
CLC Praise Team
Don Nemeth (he/him)
"Participating in the Music Ministry at Community Lutheran Church has given me an opportunity to share, to grow, and to belong to a community. I have been a musician since a very young age, and what I enjoy most is to be able to share my love of music with others. Over the years, I learned about music from different peoples: Hungarian, Italian, Polish, German and Irish among others. It takes both the performer and the listener to create the musical experience. It is not only technical aspect, but the style and soul of liturgical music that is different from the other genres I’ve played. I’ve also grown by learning to play other instruments than the piano. When everyone participates in the singing of the hymns and songs, then the meaning of the words can truly be felt in the soul of the church."