The Rev. Christopher Otten ![]()
The Rev. Christopher L. Otten was called as the Assistant to the Presiding Bishop for Federal Chaplaincies of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in January 2019. Chaplain Otten served nearly twenty-one years as a Federal Chaplain, activated United States Air Force Chaplain, and Air National Guard Chaplain/Federal Technician. He now oversees the 120 ELCA Federal Chaplains who serve the government in the military, Veterans Administration hospitals, Bureau of Prisons, and other Federal Agencies. Beginning in June 2021, he also supports and coordinates for nearly 560 Chaplains within the ELCA, serving in hospitals, hospices, and other service agencies.
In his last Chaplain position, Ch. LtCol C. Otten returned from Operation Enduring Freedom, where he was the Wing Chaplain for the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing in Afghanistan, overseeing Chaplain ministry in Kabul at Hamed Karzai International Airport, Kandahar Combat Airfield, and Bagram Air Base, working in the Chapel, Headquarters, and the Craig Joint Theater Hospital.
Chaplain Otten retired from the Air Force in February 2020 as the full-time support Chaplain for the 175th Wing of Maryland’s Air National Guard, responsible for the spiritual welfare and morale of 1,500 personnel and their families. He advised the Commanding General, developed the integrated Airman Care Team, and was active in the State Partnership Program with Estonia, serving as an Instructor in Ethics. In addition to Afghanistan, he deployed to Kyrgyzstan and Aviano AFB, Italy, as well as domestic missions for disaster recovery (Hurricane Katrina), a Presidential Inauguration, and for civil unrest in 2015 and 2017. The Air Force certified him in Grief Recovery to work with Gold Star Families, as well as relationship enrichment skills and applied suicide intervention.
Chaplain Otten was assigned to three Wings: the 175th Wing in Baltimore, Maryland, where he was Commissioned in 1999; the 178th Fighter Wing in Springfield, Ohio (2005-2008); 149th Fighter Wing at Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas (2008-2013); and he returned to the 175th Wing.
Pastor Otten was Ordained in 1995 after completing his BA in Philosophy at Nyack College, New York, and his MDiv at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. His Clinical Pastoral Education was at Laclede Groves (Webster Groves, MO) and his Internship at Bethany Lutheran Church (Alexandria, VA). He has served congregations as a Pastor, Assoc. Pastor, and Sr. Pastor in the DC/MD/VA area, as well as Wahiawa, Hawaii; Cleveland, Ohio; and McAllen, Texas. He currently serves as the Pastor-in-Residence at Trinity Episcopal Church in Newport, Maryland, south of Andrews AFB, Maryland, a historic congregation that was founded in 1744 by tobacco farmers and “watermen” of the Chesapeake Bay.
Chaplain Otten, who grew up in Greensboro, NC, now lives part-time in DC and part-time in Rehoboth Beach, DE, with his spouse, Timothy P. Credle, originally from Remsen, NY. He has a 21-year-old son, Elliott Samuel, who resides in Baltimore, MD. He commutes into DC, where he works in the ELCA’s Capitol Hill office and represents the Presiding Bishop to the Federal Government. In his personal time, Christopher loves music, travel, his 3 dogs (Augustus, Phoebe, and Atticus), coffee, and smoking meats on his Weber grill.
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