Staff

Meet our Pastor

Markus grew up in Brazil and as a child he lived in Braunschweig, Germany for almost three years when his father served as a Lutheran pastor there. Then the family returned to Brazil. His first spoken languages at home were Portuguese and German. His father died of cancer at an early age (48) and, on the day of his death, Markus felt in his heart that he should continue his dad’s vocation of teaching and preaching God’s Word. He was just eighteen when he felt this call and he would be the fifth person in his family to be called “Pastor Zeuch”. Markus followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, Rev. Heinrich Zeuch (who served as pastor in Germany, Venezuela and Brazil), his father, his uncle, Rev. Gerhard Zeuch, who served a German-speaking Lutheran church in Argentina, and his brother Rev. Dr. Manfred Zeuch, who served as a Lutheran pastor in Brazil and France and then also came to Canada to serve as President of Concordia Lutheran Seminary in Edmonton.

So, in 1982 Markus enrolled at the Concordia Seminary in Sao Leopoldo, Brazil to pursue his Theological Studies. He then married his first wife, Silvana, with whom he had two sons, Matheus and Filipe. He was ordained as a pastor in 1988 and took his first call to shepherd a parish in the north of Brazil. After having served two congregations, he became a teacher, professor and assistant chaplain at the Lutheran University in Manaus, Brazil from 1996 to 1999. In the meantime, his marriage unfortunately ended and his boys went to live in the South with their mother. In 2000, he married Thais. He continued to work as a teacher, professor, and assistant chaplain. He also worked as a choir director at the University, having founded a choir at that university, as well as assisting the local congregation with preaching when needed. He undertook a further degree in education and enrolled in a doctorate program in Systematic Theology through a partnership between the Lutheran University and Concordia Seminary St. Louis, U.S. But God had other plans for him, and he did not finish his doctorate program because in 2004 he received a call to come to Canada. He is certain that this was a divine call. He was called to serve as pastor at a small Hispanic congregation in Ottawa ON, where he served until 2008 in Spanish language.

In 2006, Pastor Zeuch and Thais had their first child, Lucas, born in Ottawa. During that period, Pastor Zeuch had the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua and teach systematic Theology to the seminary students there and visit several congregations and projects that were part of LCC mission for that country. The seminary students and the local pastors were happy to receive a pastor coming from Canada that didn’t require a translator!

In 2008 Pastor Zeuch received a call to serve as Missionary-at-Large at the East Canadian District in 2008. His ministry shifted between Ottawa and Kingston, ON. This ministry wouldn’t last too long, in fact, it became almost like a “summer job” because in that same year, he accepted a call to serve as pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church Calgary, where he serves in both German and English to this day! He was installed at SMLC on October 5, 2008. In 2010, Thais and Markus were blessed with their second child, Melissa.

P. Zeuch is also thankful for the fact that his sister and her family moved from Brazil to Calgary, so that the three siblings now live in Alberta!

There’s so much to thank God for. Among the many blessings he can count, here are some personal milestones during his time in Calgary: In 2015, he proudly became a Canadian citizen! A month after the citizenship ceremony, he had open-heart surgery. The congregation was very supportive and was able to continue its ministry until Pastor was able to return to his office.

In January 2024, p. Zeuch had to announce his unfortunate separation from his wife to our congregation. He is very thankful for the outpouring of support, compassion and love coming from the congregation and has moved into the parsonage in 2024. His kids Lucas and Melissa split their time between their mom and dad.

At our church, Pastor Zeuch has seen countless moments of joy and sorrow: Our centennial celebrations in 2013, then our 110th anniversary, people coming and going, receiving new members, presiding over lots of weddings, baptisms, confirmations and funerals. He can now see confirmed young men and women that he baptized as infants. He has a passion for using languages and music in his ministry. He has used Portuguese, Spanish, German and English to proclaim God’s love in Christ to others, having preached in

As for his personal interests, he loves music, playing the guitar, stargazing, linguistics & languages, studying theology, reading. He also loves travelling (especially road trips), enjoying the mountains, being in God’s beautiful nature, spending time with his kids, biking, hiking, kayaking, and of course, cheering for Brazil at the FIFA World Cup every four years! His most recent passion is motorcycling!

Pastor (and his whole family) love to live in Calgary and they are thankful to God for the amazing support and love that our congregation has given to them during all these years!

Meet our Organist

Johnson was fortunate to also have Chellan Hoffman of CSO/Knox United Church in Calgary, as his instructor. Johnson started playing the piano at the age of 11. Combined with piano knowledge and being self taught, he has been playing piano and/or organ for over 30 years.