Board Members

Carrie Hardt

President (Executive Board)
Trinity, Litchfield
twtnmath@hotmail.com

Carrie is a life-long disciple at Trinity Lutheran Church in Litchfield and currently serves as president and secretary of the congregation council. She sings in the choir, teaches Vacation Bible School, and has served as the president and secretary of Trinity’s Women of the ELCA group; she also previously served as a Sunday School teacher.

Carrie works at Central Illinois Home Furnishings in Springfield. She is an avid bowler and enjoys spending time with her parents and brothers. She tries to let the Lord lead her in all her endeavors.

Marci Malnar

Secretary (Executive Board)
Mount Moriah, Anna
marcimail@hotmail.com

Nancy Schmidt

Treasurer (Executive Board)
Zion, Gillespie
dumez57@yahoo.com

Nancy was born in Litchfield, Illinois, and raised in Wilsonville, about five miles south of Gillespie, where she now lives. She was baptized Lutheran at her mother’s home church in Granite City.

Her father was killed on Mother’s Day 1968 when I was 10. Close friends of the family, who belonged to Zion Lutheran Church in Gillespie, suggested her mom send the three older kids to Vacation Bible School at Zion to take their minds off losing their dad and keep them occupied. That’s when they joined the congregation.

It was a life altering experience after the shock of losing a parent. Terrified someone else in her family would die, Nancy found that she still had a heavenly Father who would never leave and always take care of her. That innocence and naïveté of faith has never wavered as she was steadfast in her belief of that heavenly being continually watching over her. It was the only thing that kept ger grounded and feeling safe growing up after that and throughout her life.

Nancy met her husband, Larry, and married in August 1976 a week before moving to Washington, D.C., to take jobs with the FBI. They returned to Gillespie when Larry was invited to join the Illinois Secretary of State Police, and Nancy joined transferred to the FBI office in Springfield.

Zion is a big part of their lives. Nancy and Larry have both been Sunday School teachers, and Nancy has taught and directed VBS for many years. Larry and their son have both served as council presidents, and their youngest daughter has been on church council; their oldest daughter started playing the piano in church when she was 10 and has been the pianist since she was 17 and now also plays the organ.

Nancy retired in 2023 after 25 years working as a paralegal for a local attorney. All three of their children were baptized, confirmed, and married at Zion, and they now enjoy eight grandchildren; all but one have been baptized at Zion. Nancy has been the treasurer at Zion for 13 years — Larry lovingly says it is a life sentence!

Nancy pledges to do her best as treasurer for the C/SIS WELCA and looks forward to meeting new friends in faith.

Jean Scherer

Mission Chair
Grace, Springfield
j.d.scherer2@gmail.com

Jean is a life-long Lutheran, growing up in Peoria and attending Salem Lutheran Church. Over the years, she has moved to Crystal Lake and attended Bethany Lutheran Church, and for the last 30 years, she has been a disciple at Grace Lutheran Church in Springfield.

She currently serves as the chair of Grace’s Community Ministry committee, volunteers at Grace’s food pantry, serves on the Central/Southern Illinois Synod’s Global Mission Committee, is the president of Grace’s Women of the ELCA, and is a member of Ruth Circle. She previously served the C/SIS Women of the ELCA as mission chair, president, and co-editor of the newsletter.

Jean loves to read and walk her dog Jake, and she is learning tai chi. She and her husband Randy have two sons, one living in Los Angeles and the other in Iowa.