Special Congregational Meeting

Official Announcement

There will be a special congregational meeting February 10, 2008 at 10:00 AM (in-between services) in the Sanctuary for the purpose of voting on the recommendation of the Call Committee to call John D. F. Nelson for the position of Senior Pastor at Gethsemane Lutheran Church.


Bio for Pastor John D.F. Nelson

Pastor John D. F. Nelson has been the associate pastor at Transfiguration Lutheran Church in Bloomington since 2002. He graduated from St. Olaf College in 1990 and from Luther Seminary in 2002. He was ordained into the ministry in May of 2002.

Pastor Nelson worked at the Sky Ranch Lutheran Camp in Fort Collins, Colorado in 1991 and was the Associate in Ministry at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Boulder from 1991 to 1999. In addition, he was an intern pastor at Salem Lutheran Church in Minneapolis from 2000 to 2001.

His father is a Lutheran minister which introduced him to a life of service at an early age.
He can read and translate ancient Greek and Hebrew and can converse in Norwegian.

Pastor Nelson has been married to Stephanie for 12 years and they have two children – Sarah, 9 and Tyler, 6.

His answer to “What are your hopes for the ELCA?” was:

“I hope and pray that the ELCA will remain a vibrant witness to the mission of making Christ known throughout the world, both locally and globally. I believe that if we are flexible and innovative in lifting up our unique Lutheran witness that we are justified by faith through God’s grace alone, and if we can remain relevant to the changing cultural environment in which we live, we will remain a growing church. Our witness is a bold confession that confronts the very heart of these times that are filled with messages of self-idealized righteousness.

As a church we do face many complex and divisive issues but my faith remains in God because this is his church and the message of Jesus Christ is bigger than any one issue. The core witness of the church is not how we run it, but it is in the one who claims us and unites us to be ‘the church,’ to be the bearer of Christ for the world.”