Elaina Salmon

Elaina Salmon, MDiv, earned her masters from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and has served as a congregational pastor since 2008.  She currently serves at Bethany Lutheran Church in Lemont, IL.  Since her days in seminary, Elaina has always valued the sacredness of sharing a story.  In 2023, she co-authored a book Beyond Chit-Chat: Sharing Stories that Matter to Build Deeper Faith Communities.  The book is designed for congregational small groups to read and discuss together as they consider their story in light of God's story.  Also in 2022-2023, Elaina completed Claret Center's Spiritual Direction Internship and has continued with leadership in the program ever since.  For her, Wednesdays at Claret Center offer sacred space and holy time.  Elaina shares life with her husband (a jazz musician/professor), teenage son (Scout and Volleyball player) and daughter (beautiful dancer) and Bubbles, the cat.  She and her family enjoying getting out in nature for a stroll through the woods. Elaina loves a good story in any format--book, movie, theater, and especially the stories we tell around the table.

Currently, Elaina is the Coordinator of the Spiritual Direction Internship program.