Pastor Rako Zech
Pastor Rako Zech started serving with the people of God at St. Paul’s in January 2020. He is from the great state of Montana. He made his way to Chicago for college, met his best friend Melissa, and moved to Pennsylvania where they were married. Rako was previously a middle school teacher in Pennsylvania as well as a market farmer.
He learned about Jesus and after high school became a Christian in Mexico and was baptized in a river there. He received his undergraduate degree in Evangelism & Discipleship from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. He later taught middle school students for 17 years and earned a Master of Education in Secondary Education. Rako and his family moved to Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 2017 and Rako earned his Master of Divinity and was called by St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church as their pastor.
Rako loves cheering for his favorite AFC team (the Bills) and his favorite NFC team (the Eagles). He loves gardening, drinking coffee, making noise on the guitar, doing grunt-level woodworking and hanging out with his family and friends. He likes trap shooting, deer hunting, gardening, and talking with friends and family in his spare time.
Pastor Zech would love to hear from you.
Pastor Ben Eder (Emeritus)
Pastor Ben Eder – Pastor Emeritus (Retired)
Pastor Ben Eder (AKA “Pastor Ben”) is an active member of St. Paul’s and was a parish pastor for 38 years. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Upon graduation from the seminary, he was assigned his first Divine Call to the Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word in Florence, SC, where he remained for eight years. He then accepted the call to Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenmore, NY, where he served for 30 years until his retirement in September 2023.
He also served his district for several years as both a Circuit Visitor and Vice President.
As Pastor Emeritus in the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, Pastor Ben is eligible to preach, teach, visit, and carry out other pastoral duties. He is available to assist Pastor Zech at St. Paul and to assist in pulpit supply locally as the need arises. He is married to Linda, a Registered Nurse (Retired). Their two adult children also live in Western New York. In addition to spending time with his family, Pastor Ben enjoys reading, watching movies, walking and bicycling, and following his hometown team (the Green Bay Packers) as well as his adopted team (the Buffalo Bills).
Organist Curtis Cook
Curtis is known as one of the youngest performers and educators in Western New York. He began his musical career as Principal Organist at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Clarence, NY. He has served in this position since 2010. Curtis is also an organist in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo where he serves as Director of Music at St. Timothy’s Church in Tonawanda, NY. At the age of 18, Curtis began performing on the theatre organ and was given a volunteer house organist at the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda, where he still plays the Wurlitzer organ before events, and accompanies silent films. Two years later, he was offered a Staff Organist position at Shea’s Buffalo Theatre, where he continues to play the Mighty Wurlitzer before touring Broadway shows. He is also the arena organist for the Buffalo Sabres, having made his debut at the Keybank Center for the start of the 2016-2017 season. In the years since, he has rooted himself deeply in the performance community, accompanying and directing musicals and operas for local theatre companies. Curtis also the accompanies the Brothers of Harmony male chorus. Curtis has taught general music and chorus at the elementary and middle school levels and appeared as a student conductor while he was a member of the Niagara County Community College Choir, and the Canisius Chorale. Curtis obtained an Associate’s Degree from Niagara County Community College in 2016, and continued his studies in music at Canisius College in Buffalo. He currently is a technical assistant and adjunct instructor of music at Niagara County Community College.