Pastor – Messiah Lutheran Church

Pastor Rev. Dr. Holger Roggelin

Serving Messiah Lutheran Church since February 1, 2015. Pastor Roggelin, born and raised in Lübeck, northern Germany, arrived in the United States in 2000. Pastor Roggelin received his theological education at the universities of Kiel and Tübingen in Germany, as well as at Keble College, University of Oxford/UK. After graduating from Kiel University with the equivalent of a Masters in Divinity in 1989, Pastor Roggelin pursued doctoral studies followed by his seminary training where he served his internship in the city of Hamburg from 1991 to 1993.

On December 5, 1993 Pastor Roggelin was ordained and started to serve his first call in a small town in northern Germany. In 1999 he received his Dr. theol. (PhD equivalent) from Kiel University for a thesis in modern church history, covering the biography of Franz Hildebrandt, a close friend of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, pastor and martyr.

From 2000 to 2014, Pastor Roggelin served Zion Lutheran Church in Baltimore, a bilingual (German/English) congregation of the Delaware/Maryland Synod of the ELCA. In this role, Pastor Roggelin, served both a congregation spread across the metropolitan area as well as the city- center neighborhood of Baltimore. Pastor Roggelin served as the Synod Bishop’s Ecumenical Representative from 2006 to 2011 and served on the Board of the Central Maryland Ecumenical Council, as well as on the Mayor’s Faith Group Advisory Board. In 2003 Pastor Roggelin was a voting member of the ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

In December 2014 Pastor Roggelin accepted the call to Messiah Lutheran Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Pastor Roggelin’s pastoral ministry is centered in proclaiming the good news through word and sacrament, encouraging people to experience grace and become what we receive and are: the body of Christ in a given place and time.

Pastor Roggelin and his wife Alexandra Mattern-Roggelin, became naturalized US-citizens in 2010 and reside in Swatara Township, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with their beloved felines. Pastor Roggelin has a love for music in various forms, enjoyment of travel and passion for everything historical.

Come meet Pastor Roggelin while receiving the word and sacrament each Sunday!