Deacon Mandy Carpenter was born in Muscatine, Iowa. Her family moved around northern Missouri and Iowa due to her father’s first career in retail management and his second career as an ordained pastor in the ELCA. She graduated from Pella High School in 2005 and Wartburg College in 2009, with a Bachelor of Arts in both History and Religion. She attended Luther Seminary, receiving her Master of Arts in History of Christianity in 2013. Deacon Mandy served as the nursing home chaplain for The Tawas Area Ministerial Association, where she led worship and provided pastoral care for four different nursing homes in the Tawas area for seven years. She was consecrated as a deacon in 2019 and took her first call at St. Paul Lutheran Church in AuGres, Michigan which ended in August 2020 when her family moved to Ohio. There, Deacon Mandy served a two-point parish (Bethlehem/St. Mark’s Lutheran Churches) in Defiance, Ohio until December 2024. Deacon Mandy started serving as the deacon of Jerusalem Lutheran Church in January 2025. She enjoys reading, cross-stitching, gardening, fishing, and spending time with her wonderful husband and kids.
Pastor Matt and Deacon Mandy met in 2008 in Waverly, Iowa. They were married in 2011 and together they have four children: Gabriel, Cecilia, Michael and Isaac.
deaconmandy@jerusalemlutheran.com