Our Team
Rev. Mike Von Behren, Pastor
Pastor Mike has served Holy Cross Lutheran Church since 2005. Prior to that, Mike served as a vicar of Holy Cross Lutheran Church while he was a student at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. Mike has a passion in ministry for proclaiming God's Word and helping others grow and deepen their faith in Christ through the study of Scripture and service in Christ's church. Mike and his wife Jennifer have two beautiful girls, Micah and Moriah. As a family, they enjoy cool nights camping, steep trails, baseball in any form, and family movie nights.
Mark Werfelmann, Visitation Deacon
Mark grew up in Holy Cross where his father served as vacancy pastor in the early 1970s. He was confirmed by his father in 1973 and has been an active member from that time on. A graduate of Eastern Washington University, Mark served in the US Air Force from 1988 to 1994. He returned to Holy Cross and has facilitated LifeLight Bible classes since 1996; sings in the choir; occasionally serves as cantor and liturgist; and is a trained and certified Stephen Minister. In 2004 Mark was elected to the Board of Elders. Mark completed the Leadership Advancement Program (LAP) and is licensed as a Lay Deacon in the Northwest District of LCMS. He and Kristine were married in 2002 and are blessed with a healthy and active son, Nathan.
Susan Comi, Office Administrator & Business Manager
Susan grew up in a family that moved often, then married a pilot in the Air Force and continued to move often until they finally settled down in Spokane in 2000. She has now lived here longer than anywhere else in her life, so considers herself "from Spokane." Having started her adult life going to Nursing School at the University of Northern Colorado, she decided to stay at home and raise four wonderful and very smart children, even homeschooling them through a part of their lives. She then moved on to teaching preschool for a couple of years before discovering she really enjoys working in a church office with a wonderful group of Christian people. Now, with all of her children out of the house and married, she is trying to rediscover "free time," through her new hobby of glass fusing & slumping, camping, spending time with the grandkids, and walking the family dogs.
debi McBride, pianist, organist, praise team leader
Staci littrel, office administrator
Staci and her husband Mike have lived in Spokane since 1987. They were very active members of Holy Cross for many years while raising their 3 oldest boys. Staci was a Sunday School teacher, a MOM's group leader, helped with VBS, preschool and the youth group. They transferred to Pilgrim Lutheran for 10 years where Staci was pretty much involved in the same things while raising their 3 youngest boys. Staci and Mike returned to Holy Cross in 2022. She is enjoying being in the quilting group, LWML, helping in the preschool and now working in the office part time. We are thrilled to have Staci on staff as she brings many gifts and talents to our ministry team.
Heather selset, pianist & Praise Team leader
Heather and her husband Lee live in Suncrest with their dog, four cats, and a chinchilla. In addition to her musical offerings at Holy Cross, Heather works from home part-time doing background investigations, and also live-streaming cozy video games and artwork. She and her husband enjoy living out in the peace and quiet, as it allows Heather to manage her Fibromyalgia (chronic pain and fatigue) the best she can. Even with Fibro, Heather is very thankful to God that, through Holy Cross, she gets to continue using her Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Concordia University, Ann Arbor.