Pastor Kristin Santiago has served in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America since her ordination as a pastor in September 1988. Pastor Santiago is fluent and proficient in Spanish as her second language and served as a mission developer in the Latinx communities of Lorain, Ohio (1988-1992) and in the greater Columbus and central Ohio area (1993-1996). Pastor Santiago served a long-term pastorate with Christ Lutheran Church in Heath, Ohio from 2002-2018. She has been blessed to serve not only as a mission developer, and a pastor, but also in chaplaincy with hospice. As part of her certification for chaplaincy, she completed a post-graduate, year-long Clinical Pastoral Residency at Grant Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, where she served in trauma and oncology ministry. Pastor Santiago has also been trained as a Spiritual Director who companions persons who are seeking a closer relationship with God in the journey of their daily life. She was first trained through the Shalem Institute of Bethesda, Maryland, and then completed a three-year certification program in Spiritual Direction with the Wellstreams Training Program in Spiritual Direction in Columbus, Ohio. She is a member of Spiritual Directors International. Pastor and her spouse, Eric, have been married 30 years and have two adult children, Elisa and Jacob. She enjoys hiking, reading, travel, good coffee, family time, quiet time to reflect, and great conversation shared with people from diverse backgrounds, languages, and ethnicities. Pastor Santiago was raised in part on a farm near New Carlisle, Ohio and has a deep love for rural communities and family life.
