Prince of Peace Welcomes Pastor Jill Bergman & Pastor Rory Philstrom
News & Stories
Welcome, Pastor Jill Bergman & Pastor Rory Philstrom!
We are pleased to announce that the Prince of Peace congregation voted to call Jill Bergman as Associate Pastor of Family Ministry and Rory Philstrom as Associate Pastor of Engagement in a special congregational meeting during all worship services on March 23. The meeting resulted in 381 voting yes, 6 voting no and 3 abstained for Jill Bergman and 369 voting yes, 17 voting no and 4 abstained for Rory Philstrom. Both pastors will join us June 1.
Please join us in welcoming Pastor Jill Bergman and Pastor Rory Philstrom to Prince of Peace!
Pastor Jill Bergman Bio:
Pastor Jill Bergman grew up in Albert Lea, MN and received her B.A. from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter with a double major in environmental studies and religion. She earned her Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary and has served three congregations prior to Prince of Peace.
Pastor Jill met her husband, Randy, at seminary, and they have been married since 1998. Together, they have raised three daughters with their youngest currently in college. Pastor Jill tries to make time to run as often as possible, having completed five marathons and multiple other distances as well. Her hobby is being a group exercise instructor at the YMCA. She is certified to teach Group Power (weightlifting), Group Core, Group Centergy (PiYo) and Pilates. One of her greatest joys in ministry is leading people outside of their comfort zones and watching them encounter Jesus in a brand-new way. Pastor Jill is looking forward to encountering Jesus with you!
Pastor Rory Philstrom Bio:
Pastor Rory Philstrom has served as the Lead Pastor at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Bloomington, MN since 2016 where he led the community through institutional change, community health and the pandemic response, and addressing the moral issues of affordable housing, anti-racism, and LGBTQ+ allyship. Prior to that, he served as co-pastor with his wife at a four-point parish in western North Dakota.
A Nebraska native, Pastor Rory studied religion at Texas Christian University and was a national student organizer for United Students for Fair Trade before serving in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps and earning his M.Div. at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
Passionate about spirituality, joy and innovative ministry, Pastor Rory founded a unique ministry called Roll for Joy that integrates faith and play. He is a current doctoral student in spiritual direction at United Theological Seminary where he is training as a spiritual director and researching the use of tabletop roleplaying games as a tool for spiritual development.
Pastor Rory is married to Rev. Carolyn Philstrom, a hospice chaplain and rare disease community organizer, who thinks Rory’s best qualities are that he is “patient, passionate, generous, and fun-loving.” They have two children, Edan (6) and Josephine (3), who say their dad is “really good at building stuff, helping others when they need help and helping kids when they are hurt or sick.”
Welcome, Pastor Jill Bergman & Pastor Rory Philstrom!
We are pleased to announce that the Prince of Peace congregation voted to call Jill Bergman as Associate Pastor of Family Ministry and Rory Philstrom as Associate Pastor of Engagement in a special congregational meeting during all worship services on March 23. The meeting resulted in 381 voting yes, 6 voting no and 3 abstained for Jill Bergman and 369 voting yes, 17 voting no and 4 abstained for Rory Philstrom. Both pastors will join us June 1.
Please join us in welcoming Pastor Jill Bergman and Pastor Rory Philstrom to Prince of Peace!
Pastor Jill Bergman Bio:
Pastor Jill Bergman grew up in Albert Lea, MN and received her B.A. from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter with a double major in environmental studies and religion. She earned her Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary and has served three congregations prior to Prince of Peace.
Pastor Jill met her husband, Randy, at seminary, and they have been married since 1998. Together, they have raised three daughters with their youngest currently in college. Pastor Jill tries to make time to run as often as possible, having completed five marathons and multiple other distances as well. Her hobby is being a group exercise instructor at the YMCA. She is certified to teach Group Power (weightlifting), Group Core, Group Centergy (PiYo) and Pilates. One of her greatest joys in ministry is leading people outside of their comfort zones and watching them encounter Jesus in a brand-new way. Pastor Jill is looking forward to encountering Jesus with you!
Pastor Rory Philstrom Bio:
Pastor Rory Philstrom has served as the Lead Pastor at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Bloomington, MN since 2016 where he led the community through institutional change, community health and the pandemic response, and addressing the moral issues of affordable housing, anti-racism, and LGBTQ+ allyship. Prior to that, he served as co-pastor with his wife at a four-point parish in western North Dakota.
A Nebraska native, Pastor Rory studied religion at Texas Christian University and was a national student organizer for United Students for Fair Trade before serving in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps and earning his M.Div. at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
Passionate about spirituality, joy and innovative ministry, Pastor Rory founded a unique ministry called Roll for Joy that integrates faith and play. He is a current doctoral student in spiritual direction at United Theological Seminary where he is training as a spiritual director and researching the use of tabletop roleplaying games as a tool for spiritual development.
Pastor Rory is married to Rev. Carolyn Philstrom, a hospice chaplain and rare disease community organizer, who thinks Rory’s best qualities are that he is “patient, passionate, generous, and fun-loving.” They have two children, Edan (6) and Josephine (3), who say their dad is “really good at building stuff, helping others when they need help and helping kids when they are hurt or sick.”
