Our Pastor
Pastor Ron Bockhaus was ordained into Word and Sacrament Ministry in 1985. He is a native of Iowa and studied Forestry at Iowa State University. However, a funny thing happened to him on the way to the woods. Throughout high school and college he was involved in church, youth and outdoor ministry. In addition, he had the unique opportunity to volunteer on the church’s mission field in Cameroon, Africa. These experiences steered him toward full-time ministry and Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN where he received his M.Div. degree.
His first 25 years in the ministry took place in Minnesota serving three uniquely different Lutheran Church settings. The first stop was as an associate pastor on staff at an outer-ring suburban church. He then went to a rural area where he was a solo pastor for two congregations served by one pastor. This would lead to the opportunity to be a mission-developer pastor of a newly- formed congregation outside of St. Cloud, MN. Here he spent 15 years in helping lead the congregation through several stages of growth and change. Then in 2011 he was called to Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran. The change of location resulted from an openness to serve in Colorado where Ron has relatives. Never did he dream he would serve the ministry in Estes Park and live next door to the Rocky Mountain National Park.
Ron and wife Susan have been married for 32 years and have two adult children, Peter and Anna. Susan is a psychotherapist and runs her own counseling business in Estes Park. They both enjoy volunteering with the Restorative Justice Project in Estes Park as well as exploring the natural beauty of the National Parks and western-states area. In his free time Ron is often on his way to the woods hiking or on a river paddling his canoe.
Administrative Assistant
Jim Ecklund is the Church Administrative Assistant. He also is a native of Iowa and he too attended Iowa State University where he majored in Journalism. He graduated the same day as Pastor Ron, although the two didn’t know each other at the time. Jim’s Father was an ELCA minister and he “grew up in the church.”
A graphic designer and web designer by trade, he puts his skills to good use at SMLC. An avid outdoorsman, he serves Rocky Mountain National Park as a docent. Jim is a photographer and shares many of his photos of the park in the monthly church newsletter. In the ’90’s and early 2000’s he traveled extensively internationally with a travel group. He led two tours to Japan which proved to be quite productive. He met his wife on the first Japanese tour in 1993.