Paulette Dummer is Teacher, Innovator, Girl Scout and Clown

A Girl Scout, a teacher, a “career grandma,” a clown, a life-long member of Gethsemane, all of the above roles are played by Paulette Dummer.

Paulette’s parents, Alice and the late Paul “Curt” Janke, joined Gethsemane when they moved to Hopkins from Minneapolis in 1951. Alice worked at Northwest Bank and Curt was a plumber. He brought an artistic flair to his work, creating fountains for Loring Park and other public spaces.

Paulette was the oldest of four. Her siblings included brothers Larry and Eliot and one sister, Nancy. She describes herself in childhood as “a busy kid, who didn’t sit around much.”

At Hopkins High School (before it became Eisenhower) she was involved in Pep Club, Theater, and Variety Shows.

In those high school years Viktor Franck’s book Man’s Search for Meaning, led Paulette to self-examination. She decided that she didn’t need to suffer to “do something big.” As a behind-the-scenes person she would make use of her spiritual gifts of helpfulness and insight. He mantra became “My Hope is in Jesus Christ. I am anchored in the Word.”

When she and her high school friend, Bob Dummer both enrolled at the University they carpooled for a time.

Paulette transferred to Golden Valley Lutheran with thoughts of becoming a parish worker, but in 1975 she and her carpool companion were married at Gethsemane, the church where she had been baptized.

Bob’s background was Catholic, and you might say he experienced a “gradual conversion.” Paulette explains that he “eventually found the liberating power of grace” and joined her church in 1981.

At Gethsemane the two have attended the Alpha program, gone on a Lutheran “Via de Christo” weekend and a Marriage Encounter weekend. They have also teamed on several adult education projects for the church.

The Girl Scouting that began in childhood has continued to have a central interest. In high school she earned the God and Community Award, with 50 hours of community service through Gethsemane. In adult years she has worked as a Scout leader and trainer.

Although Gethsemane’s activities have drawn on her bubbling energy for a whole lifetime, she considers herself “a tiny cog in the life of the parish.” At church she has taught Sunday school, helped with Confirmation, journeyed to Montana with the 9th graders twice, gone with the senior high mission trip to Poland and Lithuania, helped with Mother’s Morning Out, Adult Education, Vacation Bible School, musicals, GCW programs, Bible studies, and calligraphy.

Her current focus is to develop a web-based connection for young people away from home, particularly college students. She doesn’t want them to break the link. Through these Bible studies she hopes they will feel more comfortable coming back.

Obviously, Paulette is deadly serious about “growing in Christ,” as per the mission statement, but she has never taken too seriously the reality of growing up. The girl who adored Dr. Seuss in childhood still finds delight in Harry Potter and other fantasy books.

If she loved playing dress-up as child, she still slips into costumes and masks for the Renaisance Festival or (at church) to become Letty the Clown for Rally Day, the Glamour Witch or Batty the Rainforest Bat.

When her three children were small, Paulette did day care at home, and for 9 years she has done contract work (fact finding) for a medical foods company now owned by Nestles.

Paulette’s community interests have included Toastmasters Club, Mrs. Jaycees, and involvement in the Raspberry Festival.

The Dummers’ three grown children are: Brian, a certified computer support technician; Kevin, an architect living in Pennsylvania; and Michelle Albers, an artist living in Burnsville with husband Ben. That bright-eyed toddler often seen on Paulette’s hip at Gethsemane is grandbaby Ellisandra (Ella) Albers, her pride and joy.

Paulette’s travels have taken her on Girl Scout trips to Canada and Mexico, a recent Triennial Convention of the Women of the ELCA in St. Lake City as well as East Coast trips with Kevin, including a targeted stop at Dummer, New Hampshire!

Her personal heroine? Tiphanie Dirnberger, who “brings wonder, excitement, and inclusiveness to Gethsemane’s children.”

Paulette Dummer is a woman who believes in miracles, in the real presence of God, in shared prayer and in the healing power of the Holy Spirit.

She sees a genuine youthfulness of spirit in century-old Gethsemane. She wants her church to continue to be a welcoming place, a safe place where members can learn and grow and find opportunities to give back.