Presentation Topic: The importance of confessions and creeds in Confessional Lutheranism today.

Biography: The Rev. Erik Alair was ordained in 2023 in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. He was installed as the pastor of Ascension Evangelical Lutheran Church on July 16, 2023. Pastor Alair was raised in a small town in the Central Valley of California. After graduating from high school in 2007, he moved to Southern California where he earned a bachelor’s degree in biblical and theological studies at Biola University. He then went on to complete a master’s degree in theology at Talbot School of Theology in preparation to become an evangelical Christian (Reformed) pastor. However, during his graduate studies, Erik developed a deeper appreciation for the historic Christian faith and discovered the unique emphasis the Lutheran tradition places on the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ in the doctrine of justification by faith alone. As a result, he decided to pause his pastoral pursuits for a time and eventually relocated to Wisconsin in order to enroll at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. During his third year of study, he served as the vicar at St. Jacobi Evangelical Lutheran Church in Greenfield, WI. In May 2023, Erik was awarded a master of divinity (M.Div.) degree and assigned to be the pastor at Ascension Evangelical Lutheran Church in Antigo, WI.

Presentation Topic: The 175th Anniversary of the WELS, including parallels with Nicaea.

Biography: The Rev. Benjamin Phelps was born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and lived in Plymouth, WI most of his childhood and teenage years. in 2014 he graduated from Martin Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Languages with a German emphasis. From there went on to Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, WI. Upon completion of his seminary studies in 2018, he was called as pastor to Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Kenai, Alaska.  In 2023 he accepted a call to serve as associate pastor at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Marathon, Wisconsin.  Ben and his wife, Molly, are blessed with two daughters, Emma and Ava, and a son, Silas. Ben is currently a doctoral student in the reduced residency historical theology program at Concordia Seminary.

Ben loves all things history and enjoys traveling.  A descendant of over a dozen Lutheran pastors, Ben has an interest in his family roots, especially 19th-century Lutheranism, and has written several papers and journal articles on the topic.  His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the 2018 John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize.  He won two awards of commendation for historical articles from the Concordia Historical Institute in 2022.

Presentation topic: Learning from the stalwart confession of Nicaea to make the bold confession against modern heresies.

Biography: Mr. Joshua Nelson is a member of the faculty of Wisconsin Lutheran High School in Milwaukee, WI. He is part of the Science Department, where he is has taught classes such as Chemistry and AP Chemistry since 2018. Previously, Mr. Nelson taught at Christ-St. Peter Lutheran School and and before that served in a variety of roles, including a year of missionary service in China. He is married to Erika (Koepsell '98), and they have three children — Ben, Adeline, and Theodore. Mr. Nelson enjoys fixing cars, hunting, fishing and tinkering. The Nelsons worship at St. Peter, Milwaukee.

Worship Workshop
One of the highlights of R2W is our worship. But many Pastors (and not a few laymen!) have asked: How can I take this home with me? Our Kantor, Daniel Baker, is here to answer that question and more at a worship workshop, which will kick off our plenary Conference on Friday afternoon! Although this session may seem geared toward Pastors and worship coordinators, anyone is welcome to attend and learn how to take the Divine Service literally home with them. This workshop will explore the purpose of worship and why it is organized the way it is. We will discuss how the flow of our worship services and even the architecture of our worship spaces augment the mysteries of God and the renewal of God’s people. The session will also highlight how to best use our Synodical worship resources (the Christian Worship suite) to create a rhythm of Biblical worship in the pattern of our Lutheran forefathers in both the Church and home.

Biography: Dr. Daniel Baker was called to be the Kantor of Return to Wittenberg in 2020. He has been the principal organist and worship director of R2W from the very beginning. He is an associate organist and Vice-Chairman/Elder at St. John's Evangelical-Lutheran Church (Oakwood) in Oak Creek, WI, the oldest founding congregation of the WELS. He has a Master of Music in K-12 Music Education from the University of Florida, as well as a parish music degree from Concordia University Wisconsin. His PhD thesis at the University of Birmingham focused on the influence of Anglican Church music on Synodical Conference Lutheranism from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. Kantor Baker is also a Schalk Scholar at the  Center for Church Music in Chicago.