Peter was born on a summer Sunday morning in Traben-Trabach, Germany. Returning home stateside, Peter grew up in Wisconsin, where, at thirteen years old, after visiting a state park with excellent granite top rope routes, a life-long love for the mountains and outdoor adventure was born. That love took him to the Adirondacks for six summers during high school and college, where he worked as a hiking guide at Camp of The Woods. Today, Peter is an avid hiker/walker and enjoys the thrill of skiing and mountain biking – “greens.”

At seventeen years old, Peter had a spiritual experience that initiated his sense of call to become a pastor. After high school, Peter enrolled at Northland College on the shores of Lake Superior in Ashland, Wisconsin to pursue a degree in forestry and outdoor education. However, the call to ministry soon prevailed, and Peter transferred to Moody Bible Institute and double majored in New Testament and Theology. While at Moody, Peter was drawn to become a Presbyterian, and ultimately joined the Fourth Presbyterian Church in downtown Chicago, which took him under care and supported him through his three years at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree and received the Jagow award in excellence in preaching and the Maitland Award in New Testament Exegesis. During seminary, Peter served a year-long clinical pastoral care/chaplaincy residency at Trenton State Psychiatric Hospital, as well as a two-semester internship as a pastoral resident at Moorestown Presbyterian Church in Moorestown, New Jersey.

Since graduating from Princeton Seminary in 1999, Peter has served pastoral roles in Flint, Michigan. Waterloo, Iowa. Austin and San Antonio, Texas. Peter began his pastoral tenure with Christ Presbyterian Church Telluride on June 30, 2024.

In addition to being an avid reader, Peter is the author of multiple books, and is widely known for his book of daily prayers, Centering Prayers and is pleased to announce the forthcoming Vol. 2 of Centering Prayers for Turbulent Times, forthcoming fall, 2024. Peter is a leading voice for the renewal of contemplative practices in the church. In recent years, Peter has also served as an Adjunct Faculty Member in Spiritual Formation Member at the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas.