2021 Vine Deloria Jr Theological Symposium Rev Manuel Retamoza, Guest Preacher Pastor Manuel Retamoza, III was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern CA He received his bachelor’s in Fine Arts from Seattle Pacific University After spending three years as a teacher for Head Start, San Joaquin County, CA, Manuel and his family relocated to Minneapolis, MN where he earned his Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary It was during his time in seminary that Manuel transferred his church affiliation from the American Baptist Churches USA to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) While in seminary Manuel drove a bus for Minneapolis public schools, worked at Home Depot, was on a residential construction crew, started an after-school program for students living in shelters in Minneapolis and as a mission developer in Northeast Minneapolis After his ordination, he accepted a call to serve St Andrew’s Lutheran Church in San Diego, CA as Associate Pastor of youth and social ministry, where he now serves as senior pastor Pastor Manuel is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation and is a first-generation Mexican American Being raised in California means his family history includes the US/Mexican border crossing with his family and his family’s crossing the border for generations This family history and experience inform his call to ministry as he guides several border education experiences for groups from across the country and in his own congregation each year In addition to serving St Andrew’s, Manuel serves on the candidacy committee for the Pacifica Synod, as a convocator for California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA, is on the executive planning team for the ELCA Youth Ministry Network Extravaganza, serves as VP of the board for American Indian and Alaskan Native Association of the ELCA, is on the MYLE Tech and Talent team for the 2022 ELCA National Youth Gathering and is the chair of the board for Miracle Ranch Children’s Home in Baja California, Mexico Manuel spends time with his family camping in their teardrop, riding his bike regularly, and working on home projects His wife Lisa is a skilled chef who shares her culinary skills with St Andrews for meals throughout the year Manuel Glen, their son is a student at Mesa College and can often be found helping his father with projects around their home and at St Andrew's Their daughter Isabel lives in Chicago where she is the publications manager at the National Association of Women Lawyers