Biography

Claudia Pressley Wise is the Minister of Administration & Finance at St. John's Lutheran Church. After working at UT, Claudia came to St. John's Lutheran Church in May of 1998. Claudia is a lifelong resident of Knoxville, having grown up in the North Hills section of town and graduating from Fulton High School. Claudia was blessed with wonderful Christian parents, John and Marie Pressley, and as a family they were members of City View Baptist Church. Claudia attended the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, majoring in Music Education (Voice). After her marriage to Rick Wise, also a lifelong Knoxvillian, they became members of Lincoln Park Baptist Church, where they were youth leaders and Claudia directed the Children's Choir. Rick and Claudia became team leaders with YOKE Youth Ministries and served in that role for several years. Claudia and her husband Rick now have two children, Arman and Kimball (Kimmie), both adopted from the Philippines, and the family attends Fellowship Evangelical Free Church, where they have been involved as teachers in the Children's Ministry program. For five years, Claudia also served on a team from Fellowship that led a short-term mission trip to Central Europe each January.

In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family, participating in activities with the Philippine-American Association of East TN (of which she is a board member), being a board member of "A Hand Up for Women" and singing with the contemporary Christian group, "Hearts Turn."