Galen Ervin Grulke was born on March 25, 1945, in Roger's City, Michigan, and second oldest of the seven children of Elaine and Ervin Grulke.  He attended St. John's Lutheran School during his elementary years.

In 1959 Galen moved to Saginaw, Michigan, where he spent his high school years at Michigan Lutheran Seminary.  After high school graduation in 1963, he was accepted as a member of the first class enrolled at the newly-constructed Concordia Lutheran Junior College in Ann Arbor (now Concordia University).  The last two years of his college work were spent at Concordia Teachers' College in River Forest, Illinois, from which he graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education.

Galen's first teaching assignment was at Trinity Lutheran School in Jackson, Michigan, where he served sixteen years, mainly as junior high teacher and coach.  It was during this time that he met his loving wife, Patricia and were blessed with two children -  Courtni (a 1998 graduate of the University of Michigan) and Travis (a 2001 graduate of Concordia University, Ann Arbor).

In 1983 Galen accepted a teaching position at Lutheran High East, one of the Lutheran high schools in the Detroit area.  A few years later he accepted a Call to Community Lutheran Church in Flat Rock, MI, where he served as their Director of Discipleship with Christian Education, Family Life Ministry, Assimilation of New Members, Membership Involvement, and Spiritual Gifts Ministry as his main areas of responsibility.

In the fall of 1988 the Grulke family moved back to Jackson, and Patti again entered the Day Care business to help support the family while Galen commuted to Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he completed his requirements for the pastoral office of the ministry.  Weekends during his seminary studies were spent as the Worship Leader for the new mission congregation, Grace Lutheran Church in Leslie, just north of Jackson.

With his seminary requirements completed, Galen was assigned to do his vicarage in a mission congregation in Ossineke, MI, just south of Alpena.  On June 30, 1991, Galen was ordained as a pastor in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and was called to St. John's Lutheran Church in Waltz, MI, just north of Monroe, as their Missionary at Large to plant a new congregation in northern Monroe County.  Pastor Galen and Patti worked with a core of dedicated people from St. John's-Waltz and a number of individuals from some of the other Lutheran churches in the Monroe area to birth a new mission congregation - Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church. 

In February of 1997 Pastor Galen accepted the Call to be the Senior Pastor of Trinity - Jackson, the congregation in which he began his full time church work as a teacher in 1967, thirty years earlier. The passion to plant a new church led Pastor Galen to accept a Call in January 2002 from Shepherd of the Lakes in Brighton to serve as their Mission Developer/Church Planter.  Through the effort and energy of the mother congregation and a dedicated core of mission-minded families, Heart of the Shepherd was birthed the weekend of September 7/8, 2002.  Pastor Galen now serves as this mission church’s first pastor.

Heart of the Shepherd thanks and praises God that Church Extension Fund in June 2004 agreed to partner with them financially in the construction of their Phase I Mission Headquarters on Burkhart Road, a multi-purpose facility completed in the fall of 2005.  This new Mission Headquarters serves as their Family Life-Worship-Child Development Center.  Pastor Galen and Patti eagerly look forward to the ways God will guide and move the Family of God here at Heart of the Shepherd in the use of this facility in living out our church’s Mission Statement:
GO - with passionate, Spirit-given power - AND MAKE DISCIPLES by boldly speaking, living, and loving God’s Word into the hearts and lives of others.

"God has truly been good to my family and me throughout these many years,” Pastor Galen says, “but especially during the transition from teacher to preacher.  He's blessed me with a lovely wife, Patti, who has put up with me for these many years and has worked beside me every step of the way...Words can’t express our gratitude for God’s precious gifts of our daughter – Courtni (who serves as the Director of our church’s Child Development Center and is pregnant with our third granddaughter expecting to be born in April 2010 ) and her husband Kevin, the proud parents of our first grandson – Mason Blue, and for our son - Travis (Principal at Redeemer in Cuyahoga Falls, OH) and his wife Lori (Kindergarten teacher at Redeemer), the proud parents of our first and second granddaughters – Mallory and Elise, and for the privilege of being their loving parents and blessed grandparents.  Thankfulness fills my heart as I think about the many dear friends He's placed in our lives and in the life of our family…By His gracious kindness and forgiveness, God has led, guided, equipped and prepared me to be a loving husband, caring father and grandfather, sincere friend, a passionate church planter and faithful pastor whom He forgives daily when I fail Him, my loved ones, and others…Yes, God is good…May the Shepherd’s heart of love and compassion empower our hearts, lives, families and church for Christlike, loving actions!"

The following words of God give Pastor Galen encouragement, comfort, and assurance: "Don't be frightened by the size of the task; be strong and courageous and get to work, for the Lord your God is with you, and He will see to it that everything is finished correctly" (1 Chronicles 28:20).

Pastor Galen has served on various District boards and has had the privilege and honor to serve as the Junior and/Senior Counselor to the Michigan District’s Lutheran Women’s Missionary League during 1994-1998.

Contact Pastor Galen at 517-552-7218 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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