About Us
Our Congregation
Lutheran Church of Our Saviour (LCOS), founded in 1978, is a vibrant assembly building faithful disciples in mission to Chesterfield County and to the world. We are a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest, most theologically progressive Lutheran denomination in the United States. We are also a member of the Virginia Synod, our regionally focused collective of ELCA churches.
Click here to learn about the history of our congregation.
Our Mission
Rooted in Christ, we grow together in faith and discipleship, serving our community in pursuit of God’s justice and peace.
Our Vision
A community standing for God’s justice and peace, making love and grace known to all we encounter.
Our Values
- Integrity in our faith commitments. Our belief in the saving and redemptive work of God in our world is at the heart of our life together. How we treat people and creation is supported and influenced by our faith commitments.
- Committed to seeing the face of Christ in others. All people are created in the image of God. Each person we see reflects Jesus back to us and so each person is deserving of dignity, respect, and having their basic needs met with compassion and love.
- Accountability. We will make mistakes and, when we do, we will be honest about the damage we have caused and take steps to repair that damage, if possible, and make amends. We will strive to continually live more into the reign of God in how we treat others and creation.
- Transparency. Our congregational structure and leadership will be open about how decisions are made and how finances are used.
- Forgiveness. Just as we intend to seek forgiveness for wrongs we have done, we will strive to offer forgiveness to those both in and out of our community when harm is caused and reconciliation is desired.
The Lutheran Tradition
“Lutheran” refers to the tradition inspired and begun by Martin Luther in the 1500s.
We as Lutherans believe in the Triune God. God created and loves all of creation—the earth, the seas, and all of the world’s inhabitants. We believe that God’s Son, Jesus Christ, transforms lives through his death on the cross and his new life, and we trust that God’s Spirit is active in the world. We are part of God’s unfolding plan. When we gather for worship, we connect with believers everywhere. When we study the Bible or hear God’s Word in worship, we are drawn more deeply into God’s own saving story.
You do not need to be a Lutheran or baptized to worship with us. God’s house is open to all!
If you have further questions, you can email our pastor. The ELCA’s website is also an excellent resource.
Meet Our Staff
Rebecca Ajer Frantz, Pastor
Email: pastorbecca@lcosva.org
Reverend Rebecca Ajer Frantz grew up in Southern California and felt the call to ministry while attending Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in music and religion, she began seminary at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. She completed a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education in Omaha, NE and spent a year interning at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Vancouver, WA before graduating with her Master of Divinity in 2013. In 2014, she was ordained in and began serving Shepherd of Life Lutheran Church in Lake Elsinore, CA. She felt the Spirit calling in a new direction and took a call to serve St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Littlestown, PA two years later, where she was a solo pastor for five years. After leaving St. John’s, she served as a co-interim pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Westminster, MD and as a part-time interim pastor at Big Springs United Lutheran Church in Newville, PA. Pastor Becca has supervised seminary students from United Lutheran Seminary and has always gotten involved with local Lutheran Outdoor Ministry sites. She loves worship and faith formation and has written for the ELCA resources “Bread for the Day” and “Sundays and Seasons”. In recent months, she began serving as a board member for Young Clergy Women International. She is married to Andrew, a park guide at Petersburg National Battlefield, and they have a two-year-old named Owen, who loves music, trucks, and animals.
Kayleigh Dumont, Administrative & Communications Assistant
Email: admin@lcosva.org
Kayleigh Dumont, born and raised in the Midlothian area, is a member of Lutheran Church of Our Saviour and began her position in early 2018. In 2017, graduated summa cum laude from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Arts in English, including two minors in creative writing and psychology. Her attachment to writing and editing has extended beyond her studies. In 2016 she served as a copyediting intern at Blackbird: an online journal of literature and the arts, and as an editorial intern at Virginia Living Magazine during the summer after graduation, where she oversaw the 2017 Made in Virginia Awards. Kayleigh also worked at both VCU Writing Center campus locations as a writing consultant. She won the 2017 Undergraduate J. E. Whitesell Award for her critical essay on Virginia Woolf’s 1922 novel, Jacob’s Room. She returned to VCU in 2019 where she volunteered at Blackbird, interned at British Virginia, and won the 2021 Graduate J. E. Whitesell Award; she earned her Master of Arts in English in 2023. Continuing her professional development post-graduation, Kayleigh has completed two certificates—one in digital marketing (Digital Marketing Institute and American Marketing Association) and one in copyediting (University of California San Diego). Currently, she serves as the digital content producer at PunkTorah, a nonprofit organization dedicated to independent Jewish spirituality. She enjoys pampering her three cats and binge-watching baking shows, and she always welcomes the opportunity to chat about grammar!
Susan Kish, Music Director
Email: musicdirector@lcosva.org
Susan Kish became our music director in January 2018. She is perhaps best known in our community for her prior role as choral director at Manchester High School, where she taught for 33 years and grew the choral program from 60 students in her first year to its all-time high of over 400 students in 11 choirs. Growing up in a large Disciples of Christ congregation, she was playing the organ by the age of 15 and studied sacred music and hymnody as part of her major in organ and music education at Lynchburg College. A Lutheran for over 30 years, she loves sharing the great hymns and choral music of the church at LCOS while directing the voice and bell choirs and working with the Sunday School and preschool kids. Susan is married to Rick and has three daughters and sons-in-law, four stepsons, and six grandchildren five and under.
We’re Hiring! Accompanist
Email: accompanist@lcosva.org
LCOS is seeking a part-time Accompanist to strengthen its congregational worship life through music. Click here for the full job description.
Meghan Ganschow, Preschool Director
Email: preschool@lcosva.org
Born and raised in Maine, Meghan graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts in 2002. She spent almost a decade working in the long-term disability industry before starting her own company in 2011. Thanks to her husband’s job, she lived a nomadic adulthood, living in Florida, Illinois, Iowa, and North Carolina before finally settling here in Virginia in 2024. She is passionate about music and movement in early childhood learning and was thrilled to join The Giving Tree as their lead 2’s teacher in 2024. As director, Meghan is excited to combine that love with her years of corporate and small business owner experience to help the Preschool continue to grow and thrive well into the future!
Jo Ann McEllen, Nursery Attendant
Jo Ann and her husband moved to Chesterfield in 1989. They have three wonderful adult sons and five beautiful grandchildren. Jo Ann loves seeing the world through a child’s eyes–there is nothing like it!
Theresa Poe, Nursery Attendant
Theresa has taught at the church’s The Giving Tree Preschool since 2016 as their lead 3’s teacher. She started helping in the church’s nursery in the summer of 2025.
Pastoral Services
Baptism
Parents seeking baptism for their child meet with our pastor to discuss the Sacrament of Baptism. Together they review the meaning of this sacrament and their child’s upbringing in Christ’s church. Adults desiring to be baptized also meet with and receive instruction from the pastor.
First Communion
If your child is inquiring and showing interest in our Holy Meal, then Communion instruction is available. The class explores what the bread and wine are, how and why Jesus gave chem to us, and what this meal means for Christian life. The pastor and parents decide on each child’s readiness for this class and sacrament.
Confirmation
This program prepares young people to publicly affirm their baptism and become confirmed members of the Lutheran Church. Instruction from the pastor includes studying the Bible and Luther’s Small Catechism, learning about the sacraments, and considering issues of faith in daily life.
Weddings
Our pastor provides premarital counseling to all couples and helps couples craft their Lutheran wedding liturgy.
Funerals
Our pastor coordinates funeral or memorial service times with families and funeral homes; plans the funeral, memorial service, or burial with the family; and walks with those commending loved ones to God.
Membership
These classes and events serve as an orientation for those wanting to know more about the Lutheran tradition or seeking membership in the congregation.
History of LCOS
1977 – 1978
In the Beginning . . .
Planning for our church began years before the church was formed. In November 1977, a call went out to Reverend Robert Lineberger to become a Pastor Developer for a new mission congregation in Chesterfield County, Virginia.
By early 1978, Pastor Lineberger identified a group of dedicated Christians who were interested in forming a new Lutheran congregation. This group first met formally on February 5, 1978, in the parsonage to discuss the organization of what was to become Lutheran Church of Our Saviour.
1978
Getting Started
Our first worship service was held in March of 1978.
The exercise room at the Chesterfield YMCA became our Sunday morning worship “home.” Each Sunday morning, this room was converted from a musty, swimming-pool-chlorine fragrant shell to our worship space. The altar and lectern were portable and collapsible; chairs were unstacked and set out in rows; hymnals and altar paraments were moved from the Pastor’s van; and homemade banners decorated the walls. An occasional siren from our neighboring fire department sometimes accompanied our worship services. Following each service, hardy Lutherans took to the task of converting the room back to its normal appearance. This was our Sunday morning routine for five long years.
1978 – 1979
Significant Dates
June 4, 1978: Our first Holy Communion Service.
September 10, 1978: Charter Sunday.
November 1, 1978: Submitted request to the Virginia Synod for formal organization of the congregation.
February 4, 1979: Organization Sunday. LCOS was recognized by the Virginia Synod as an organized congregation with 63 adults and 31 children. The congregation voted to call Reverend Robert Lineberger as its first Pastor.
May 13, 1979: Pastor Lineberger was installed as our first pastor.
1979 – 1986
Moving Forward
In January of 1983, LCOS worship services moved from the YMCA to the old Tomahawk Baptist Church facility on Hull Street Road. (The Tomahawk congregation had just moved into their brand-new church building next door, leaving the original structure empty.) Even though the building was originally constructed in 1911, it was a welcome home for us and served our worship needs well for another five years. While we still dealt with musty air and squeaky floors, we were grateful for a somewhat permanent home . . . at least one where we could have the hymnal, paraments, and banners in place and where we had actual pews instead of plastic chairs.
In May 1986, LCOS Church Council met with Virginia Synod representatives who authorized our first building program. Our Building Committee was formed in October of 1986.
1987
Second Pastor
In March of 1987, Reverend Joseph Vought was installed as our second Pastor. When Pastor Vought was called, we were still meeting at the Tomahawk Baptist Church site.
1987 – 1988
Breaking Ground
Excitement built quickly as a Building Committee came to life, teamed up with the Synod architect on plans, selected a builder, and got started. On May 10, 1987, Pastor Vought officiated at our LCOS groundbreaking service and in January of 1988, our new church building was dedicated. This was an exciting day, especially after numerous construction delays, a controversy or two with building inspectors over the building design, and a move-in day complicated by the first big snowstorm of the year.
1988 – 1997
Growth
In April of 1988, we began a schedule of two Sunday morning worship services (8:30 and 11:00 a.m.).
Dedication of an expanded church building was held on May 19, 1991. This addition doubled the size of our Sanctuary and provided us with a much-needed Education Wing.
From 1993 to 1997, we were spiritually and financially able to sponsor Seminary Interns to serve as student pastoral assistants: Ann Rowe (1993–1994); Jeff Lott (1994–1995); Jean Horman (1995–1996); and Stacey Brady (1996–1997).
1997 – 2012
Third Pastor
In 1997, Pastor Joe accepted a call to Muhlenburg Lutheran Church in Harrisonburg.
On October 18, 1998, Reverend Kenneth Ruppar, a retired U.S. Army Chaplain, was installed as our third pastor. During his tenure, we reorganized our ministry reams, launched an annual craft fair, renovated our building, and consolidated our two worship services into one.
2013 – 2019
Fourth Pastor
Pastor Ruppar retired from the ministry and LCOS in May of 2013.
As our congregation went through the call process in search of a new pastor, we consolidated our two services into one.
On March 14, 2015, Reverend Kathryn Pocalyko was ordained and installed as our fourth pastor.
In the spring of 2016, the church exterior got a much-needed facelift with the barn red siding being replaced by our current cream white.
2020
Adapting
With the COVID-19 pandemic, our way of worship drastically changed: in-person services and print bulletins were replaced by video recordings and PDF’s, and email opens and podcast downloads took over headcounts. However, distance did not keep us from staying connected.
In June of 2020, we created virtual and outdoor small groups so the congregation could gather for Bible study and fellowship.
In the fall of 2020, we cautiously returned to in-person worship with two service options: a “drive-in” service in the parking lot and a limited capacity indoor service. Contact tracing and other health and safety practices were established. During this time, we continued to monitor virus spread in our area and made changes to our worship accordingly.
During this year, our Church Council and Finance and Stewardship teams led two campaigns (“Generosity Matters” in the spring and “Live Courageously” in the fall) to boost congregational morale and in turn motivate continued giving. Their hard work and the generosity of the congregation left us in a comfortable financial position despite the drastic changes to our church life.
2021 – 2022
Fifth Pastor
In 2021, Pastor Katie accepted a call to Living Faith Lutheran Church in Rockville, Maryland; her last service at LCOS was on October 10.
During this transitional period, retired pastor and LCOS member Reverend Christopher J. Price served as interim pastor beginning in November.
In May of 2022, Reverend Rebecca Ajer Frantz accepted the call to serve as LCOS’ fifth pastor. She was installed on July 24.
2022 – 2024
Back to Normal
As the significant threat of COVID-19 declined, we began reincorporating parts of our worship and congregational life that had been put on hold, including singing more hymns, planning fellowship events, and getting back involved in outreach projects.
Due to generous giving and PPP funds, we entered 2022 with a surplus, half of which was set aside for a rainy-day fund. The other half was used as seed money for three significant needs of our church:
1. Pay down the remaining mortgage debt on our building.
2. Replenish and grow our Property Maintenance Fund.
3. Help fund a permanent child/youth director.
These focus areas were campaigned for in phases, starting in the fall of 2021 and ending in the fall of 2022. The congregation matched the allocated seed money for every campaign.
In early summer of 2022, fresh landscaping in front of the church was completed.
2024
Moving Forward
On June 20, 2024, the congregation celebrated the retirement of our mortgage, with appearances from Pastors Vought and Ruppar and a special video message from Pastor Katie.
In October of 2024, we recognized our growing Sunday attendance and moved back to two worship services, one at 8:30 a.m. and one at 10:00 a.m.
2025 – PRESENT
Growing in Ministry
Our worship attendance continues to hold strong across both services.
In October 2025, we launched a fundraiser for a Baldwin grand piano, as our current piano of fifteen years could no longer stay in tune. With the goal of having the new piano in our possession by December and the final payment made by February 2026, the congregation raised the full amount ($19,000) in less than a month. Our new piano arrived October 27.
In February 2025, we welcomed Elisabeth Chapin as a seminary intern with the official title of vicar. Elisabeth joined LCOS as a member in 2021 but had been away due to the pandemic as well as initial training at First English Lutheran Church. She completed her internship in January 2026. It was a joy to witness her ministry and reconnection with the congregation.