The Rev. D. Lowell Chilton (he/him)

Pastor

Cell: 518-285-0441| Email: lowell@firstlutheranalbany.org

Pastor Chilton joined us in January 2022 as Interim Pastor. In December 2022, the congregation called Lowell (and he prefers just Lowell, or just “Pastor”, in conversation) to the Office of Pastor (without the “Interim” qualifier) and he was installed as our pastor on February 26, 2023. Since January 2024, Lowell has also served Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Loudonville, in a pastor sharing agreement between the two congregations.

Lowell comes to us from New Berlin, Pennsylvania, where he served as the pastor of Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church for several years. Prior to New Berlin, Lowell served Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church in Anchorage, Alaska, as Interim Synod Authorized Minister. He received a Master of Divinity degree from the Seattle University School of Theology and Ministry in 2017, with a year of Lutheran studies at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary.

Prior to entering vocational ministry, Lowell worked in the PlayReady team at Microsoft. He is married the Rev. Kate Drefke, pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Troy and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Poestenkill. They reside in Albany with three cats and a lot of board games.

Lowell and Kate also serve the Albany Maritime Ministry as chaplains.