Meet Our Pastor

Rev. Robert Ricard

"I lived and grew up in Rhode Island for 18 years, until I moved to sunny Florida in 2009. Both of my parents work in retail, and I am the oldest of five siblings. I met my wonderful wife Jenna, during my first year of seminary while working at my field work congregation at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Avilla, IN. My wife has a degree in culinary and baking from Ivy Tech in Fort Wayne, IN.  Jenna desires to go back to school and become a school teacher. We were married on June 10, 2017, and went on vicarage to Trinity Lutheran Church in Hampton, IA. After we returned from our amazing time in Hampton, we moved back to Fort Wayne, IN for my final year of seminary.

A final thing I’ll share with you is my past as a Roman Catholic. As a Roman Catholic, I feared God and I was unsure of my salvation because of my many sins. No matter what I did to make up for my sins, I could never find any peace or comfort because the good that I did was always tainted with sin and always left me with doubt. But on one lifechanging weekend, I went with my grandparents to Our Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church in Smithfield, RI. And from then on, my conscience, which was once burdened with fear and guilt, was finally comforted by the pure preaching of the Gospel. It was at this church that I learned that God was not a mean and terrible judge, but our Great Redeemer, who did everything that was needed to save us from our sins. And after a few years of attending Our Redeemer, and after much, much prayerful consideration, I wanted to become a pastor so that I could preach the Word and help others in the same way that my pastor once helped me. I desire nothing more than to preach and proclaim Christ crucified to troubled and misguided souls; so that they too, may finally receive the true comfort and peace which only comes to us through Word and Sacrament."

“For I, the Lord your God,

hold your right hand;

it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not,

I am the one who helps you.’”

-Isaiah 41:13