Special Congregational Meeting (3/23): Letter of Call for Associate Pastor Positions
News & Stories
Dear Prince of Peace,
I am excited to share that the Prince of Peace Board of Directors reviewed and discussed the recommendations made by both active pastoral call committees at the board meeting on Tuesday, March 4. After careful consideration, the Board voted to recommend that the congregation extend a Letter of Call to the final candidates for two important roles: Associate Pastor of Engagement and Associate Pastor of Family Ministry.
A special congregational meeting will be held during all worship services on Sunday, March 23 (8:45 am and 10:30 am) to vote on calling these pastors to our congregation. All votes must be made in person.
To maintain the confidentiality of the recommended pastors and their current congregations, we will not be revealing their identities or biographies until the day of the congregational vote.
All members are encouraged to attend and participate in this exciting next step in our church’s journey.
I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the members of both pastoral call committees. Their dedication, patience and commitment to this process have been invaluable in helping us reach this important moment.
Pastor of Engagement Call Committee: Lindsey Bauer, Kaaryn Cooper, Megan Kot, Julie O’Shaughnessy, Reid Ridpath, Calynn Schuck and Mike Sheldon.
Pastor of Family Ministry Call Committee: Amber Aslakson, Heidi Dummer, Jolene White, Kat Hendrickson, Katie Knight, Lance Odegard, Liz Ridpath, Martell Dennis and Tom Backus.
I look forward to coming together as a congregation on Sunday, March 23 to consider these recommendations and continue moving forward.
Peace,
Paul Dean
Lead Pastor
*This article was updated on March 23 with the candidates bios found below
Pastor Jill Bergman Bio (Associate Pastor of Family Ministry):
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 (Associate Pastor of Engagement):
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.”
I am excited to share that the Prince of Peace Board of Directors reviewed and discussed the recommendations made by both active pastoral call committees at the board meeting on Tuesday, March 4. After careful consideration, the Board voted to recommend that the congregation extend a Letter of Call to the final candidates for two important roles: Associate Pastor of Engagement and Associate Pastor of Family Ministry.
A special congregational meeting will be held during all worship services on Sunday, March 23 (8:45 am and 10:30 am) to vote on calling these pastors to our congregation. All votes must be made in person.
To maintain the confidentiality of the recommended pastors and their current congregations, we will not be revealing their identities or biographies until the day of the congregational vote.
All members are encouraged to attend and participate in this exciting next step in our church’s journey.
I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the members of both pastoral call committees. Their dedication, patience and commitment to this process have been invaluable in helping us reach this important moment.
Pastor of Engagement Call Committee: Lindsey Bauer, Kaaryn Cooper, Megan Kot, Julie O’Shaughnessy, Reid Ridpath, Calynn Schuck and Mike Sheldon.
I look forward to coming together as a congregation on Sunday, March 23 to consider these recommendations and continue moving forward.
Peace,
Paul Dean
Lead Pastor
*This article was updated on March 23 with the candidates bios found below
Pastor Jill Bergman Bio (Associate Pastor of Family Ministry):
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 (Associate Pastor of Engagement):
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.”
