LAMPa is delighted to welcome the Rev. Joel Folkemer to our Policy Council as a representative of the Lower Susquehanna Synod. Pastor Folkemer has been a long-time advocate and ally with LAMPa, and we are excited for a new chapter in our work together.

Folkemer serves Union Evangelical Lutheran Church in York, PA with a special focus of working with the people of Union, community leaders, organizations, and its neighbors to grow in our faith, reach new people, and love our neighbors as ourselves. Union was the inaugural recipient of LAMPa’s “Church Together” award at the 45th Anniversary Gala in 2024, due to the congregation’s commitment and accompaniment. As Folkemer reflected on receiving that award, Union’s mission is “to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. Love is what we are to do. Furthermore, we believe that we are called minister with and to whole people. We strive toward radical inclusion, welcome, diversity, and community, including engagement with the world toward the realization of the common good, and especially toward the care of neighbors who are vulnerable.”

Folkemer is a graduate of Shippensburg University where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Human Communication Studies. A 2011 graduate of The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, he served for three years, prior to his call to Union Lutheran Church, as the pastor of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mechanicsburg, PA. Pastor Folkemer and his wife, Ashlee, have two children.

“Pastor Folkemer has embodied the kind of partnership we hope is a model for all rostered leaders as they wonder how to engage with LAMPa’s work,” said Rev. Erin Jones, LAMPa’s Communications and Advocacy Engagement Manager. “He freely shares our work with his community, invites us to come alongside their work, and amplifies the call for justice throughout the church in the name of Jesus.”

“At Union, we seek to live into our partnerships with our neighbors and community organizations,” said Folkemer. “Serving on LAMPa’s Policy Council is another way in which I hope to show that we are better and stronger together.”