On December 21, we were notified that Rev. Wanda McNeill was receiving hospice care due to the progression of a lung condition. It is with deepest sympathy that we report that Pastor McNeill has since passed away.
Wanda served in the South Dakota Synod for seven years at Lake Preston and North Preston. She was most recently rostered in the Northern Illinois Synod.
Our prayers are with the family and friends of Wanda McNeill as they mourn her loss.
Memorial Services will be on 1/16/2017 at 10 AM at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Rockford, IL.
Read the complete obituary here.
Letter from Bishop Jeffrey Clements, Northern Illinois Synod published on January 9, 2017.
Dear Friends,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is with sadness that I report to you the death of the Rev. Wanda McNeill on Thursday, January 5, 2017, in Rockford, Illinois.
Pastor McNeill was born February 21, 1944, in Sioux City, Iowa, and married Joseph McNeill on April 2, 1972. He preceded her in death on April 29, 1983. She graduated from St. Joseph College, N. Windham, MA in 1984. In 1988, Wanda graduated from Lutheran School of Theology at Gettysburg with a Master of Divinity. In 2005, Wanda received her Doctor of Ministry from Lutheran School of Theology, Philadelphia.
Pastor McNeill was ordained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on December 17, 1989 in, Bowie, Maryland and began her ministry as Assistant Pastor at Reformation Lutheran Church, Washington, DC from 1990 to 2000. Pastor McNeill was then called to serve as Pastor at Reformation Lutheran Church, Washington, DC from 2001 to 2007. In 2007, Pastor McNeill was called to serve at Lake Preston Lutheran Church where she served until her retirement in 2014.
Pastor McNeill’s great love for the church continued in her retirement as she served in interim ministry. Wanda was very passionate in social justice causes. She was a co-founder of a social justice ministry that offered job training to ex-offenders and welfare mothers in the Washington, DC area.
A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 a. m. onMonday, January 16, 2017, in Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4620 20th Street, Rockford. Visitation will be prior to the service from 10:00 a.m.-10:45 a.m. Clerics are appropriate.
As the church we offer our sympathy to her family and friends and because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we rejoice in God’s promise of eternal life, comfort and hope.
In Christ,
Bishop Jeffrey Clements
