Thomas R Gaulke

Thomas R. Gaulke is a belief-fluid Lutheran pastor. From 2009-2023, he served communities in Bridgeport & South Loop, Chicago, and in the Town of Cicero, Illinois. With many others, he cofounded and collaborated with neighborhood groups across Chicagoland, working to shut down dangerous polluters, provide public transit, and abolish cash bail in Illinois, occasionally co-teaching Public Church at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. In 2023, Tom followed his incredible spouse to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she was called to serve in public health. Tom is currently writing and enjoying fatherhood. He works in South Central Wisconsin as a rural and small-town community organizer. Tom is the author of An Unpromising Hope: Finding Hope Outside of Promise for an Agnostic Church and for Those of Us Who Find it Hard to Believe (Pickwick Publications, 2021), and coauthor of Everyday Armageddons: Stories and Reflections on Death, Dying, God, and Waste (Cascade Books, 2023).