Caleb Staehr '19 to lead special Christ the King service at Trinity Lutheran in Springfield, Missouri

Seward, NE (11/14/2025) — Caleb Staehr '19 currently serves as director of parish music at Trinity Lutheran Church in Springfield, Missouri. He has a bachelor of arts in K-12 music education and Lutheran Teacher Diploma from Concordia University, Nebraska and a master of music in scoring for TV, film and video games from Berklee College of Music.

"I believe there is no greater place to be this side of heaven than at the intersection of music and faith, and I get to be at that crossroads daily!" he said. "I get to work with people who love the Lord and who want to use their talents to be in community with fellow believers and make music."

This year, Staehr has enjoyed the matchless opportunity of planning and organizing a special Christ the King service, which will take place at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Springfield. The service will include a live orchestra and a mass choir composed of members of area The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) congregations. Staehr composed one original orchestral piece to underscore Revelation 5, two original hymn settings for orchestra, choir and congregation and two orchestral canticle arrangements for the service.

"The intention of this service is to provide an opportunity for our LCMS members to join together on the last Sunday of the church year in an evening of worship and song celebrating Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior," he said.

The service will follow the order of Prayer and Preaching from the Lutheran Service Book and will include newly-composed orchestral music, choral anthems and fresh arrangements of favorite congregational hymns as "Voices Raised to You We Offer," "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" and "Crown Him With Many Crowns." Rev. Timothy Steckling of Faith Lutheran Church in Springfield, Missouri will give the message.

Both of Staehr's parents - Concordia Nebraska Assistant Professor of Education Jerrita Staehr '95 and Brian Staehr '94 - attended Concordia Nebraska, and all three of his siblings attended as well. He said his time on campus as a student was informative, edifying and encouraging.

"I miss the genuineness of Pastor Matthias in his chapel messages. I could clearly see evidence of his relationship with Christ through how he spoke of Him, and God strengthened me in faith through that daily chapel time. Joining in the music of Christmas at Concordia was also a strong highlight of my time at Concordia," he said. "My music professors provided me with exercises that improved my total musicianship as a theorist, instrumentalist, conductor and music analyzer. My theology professors encouraged my faith in terms of both spirituality and academia. Jeff Blersch, in particular, challenged me to achieve more than I thought possible on organ, encouraging me to think about my musicianship on the instrument from multiple angles. Paul Soulek, too, gave me many opportunities to play for services at St. John, and he allowed me to build on my compositional skills by writing and arranging instrumental music for worship."

Staehr said his time at Concordia Nebraska amply prepared him for his current service.

"My participation in varied music ensembles at Concordia exposed me to a wide variety of musical styles and textures that play into who I am as a musician today. In particular, the use of hymnody and liturgy at St. John and in chapel helped foster a sense of importance and profoundness in the structure of Lutheran worship for me," he said. "God was at work through the friends I met at Concordia to help me see that Christ is present in my day-to-day life. I recall friends stopping to pray with me in the middle of campus. I remember getting to attend evening prayer services every Tuesday and Thursday. I feel like my Concordia experience taught me that worship is a lifestyle, not just a Sunday morning social gathering. We are to acknowledge our Triune God in all our ways, and that starts with recognizing Him in our daily routines."

Following his time at Concordia Nebraska, Staehr moved to Rockford, Illinois, for his first call as a grade 3-12 band teacher and 6-12 choir teacher at Rockford Lutheran School.

"I taught there for four years before getting accepted into the year-long, intensive master of music program in scoring for film, TV and video games at Berklee College of Music's European campus in Valencia, Spain," he said. "I lived in Spain for a year studying music composition as it relates to picture, and professionally recording my music in Valencia, in Budapest, Hungary, and in London, UK. After graduation from Berklee in July 2024, I accepted a call to be the full-time director of parish music at Trinity Lutheran."

At Trinity, he plays the organ for worship each weekend, teaches a children's choir, rehearses with an adult choir and handbell group, plans hymns and liturgy for all services, hiresinstrumentalists and writes and arranges additional or complimentary music for worship services and events.

"I get to help teach people to see the beauty of Lutheran hymnody and liturgy as it relates to Scripture, to history, and to what Christ has done for us," he said. "I also get to use some of the skills I learned in my master's degree program to enhance worship by providing additional instrumental music to accompany the church's song."

The special Christ the King service will take place at Redeemer Lutheran Church (2852 S. Dayton Ave, Springfield, Missouri) on Sunday, November 23, 2025, at 6:30 P.M.

Media Attachments