Rev. Jason E. Bense
The Rev. Bense serves as the Pastor of a two-point parish the Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer and Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Sacramento. Pastor Bense graduated from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (MDiv ’08) and Valparaiso University (BA ’01). He served a vicarage in Kingston, New York, clinical pastoral education at Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital in Chicago, a term of studies at Oakhill Seminary in London, England, and is a native of Columbus, Indiana.
Jason has a passion for urban ministry, ecumenical and interfaith work. He served two years in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps working for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service to coordinate the Detention Watch Network in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education in Chicago, Illinois.
The Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer which Jason serves has a nearly 60-year history in Sacramento of social activism including protesting the Vietnam war, calling and ordaining the first woman for Lutherans in the region, activism around racial redlining in the housing market, and taking a public witness in support of gays and lesbians in 1989. The current focus of the congregation is confronting the abuse of the earth by working to create a community garden on its vacant acre lawn and encouraging the study of local food systems. Gethsemane Lutheran Church has a long history of interfaith and ecumenical work. Currently, the mission emphases of Gethsemane are in support of those facing domestic violence and older adult ministries.
In addition to serving as a Reserve Chaplain to the United States Airforce (Travis Air Force Base), Jason has done work as an Associate Chaplain for Sutter Medical Center and served on the hospital’s Bioethics Committee and the Professional Consultation Committee for the Spiritual Care Department. He has also been a member and officer of the Interfaith Counsel of Greater Sacramento and appointed representative on the North State Ecumenical Commission. An avid runner, Jason is a member of Frontrunners Sacramento and enjoys swimming and yoga.