During Lent, Wednesdays and Sundays are a bit of a scramble these days for Pastor Joe Jorgensen.
Especially Sundays.
After delivering the sermon at 8:30 a.m. in Kenyon, Lutheran pastor Jorgensen drives to Faribault to deliver that same sermon at 10:30 a.m.
The current service schedule will be reversed after Easter, so that Jorgensen, who lives in Northfield, will start his Sundays in Faribault before driving to Kenyon.
Since January, Jorgensen has juggled being the senior pastor at Gol Lutheran Church in Kenyon and at Christ Lutheran Church in Faribault. The partnership, which calls for him to be in Faribault 75% of the time, and in Kenyon 25%, gives both congregations the benefits of engaging with a 42-year old, family focused faith leader who previously worked as a special education teacher for Northfield Public Schools.
“I appreciate the opportunity to connect with both communities,” said Jorgensen. “But I do feel a little guilty when I can only sit and have coffee with Gol members for about 15 minutes until I have to leave for Faribault.”
“The realities are that the Gol membership is aging with many on fixed incomes,” said Jorgensen. “A lot of rural churches today share resources.”
Neil Whannel, council president at Christ Lutheran, said they arrived at the decision to share Jorgensen after first getting feedback from the congregation and meeting with Gol leaders.
Christ Lutheran, which was established in 1987, was founded as a mission church with early supporters knocking on doors to build up a congregation, one person at a time.
Today, the 225 member church on the hill has about 40-50 regular attendees at Sunday services.
The black and white framed photos that hang on the walls of the new wing of Gol Lutheran Church, which was built in 1975, show scenes of life the rural church being built, picnics in the attached graveyard with fading headstones, many names and dates carved in Norwegian in the aging headstones.
The Kenyon church derives its name from the Gol municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. Construction on the church located 1 mile west of Kenyon on Highway 60 started in 1864.
Last year, after hail damaged its steeple, Gol Lutheran spent $135,000 on a new roof using cedar shake shingles like the original building. Bob Peterson, GOL council president, said the council members debated whether to use steel on the roof but then elected to honor the history of the building by using the same materials.
Peterson, who said he’s been a member of Gol for about 50 years, said about 30 to 40 parishioners attend Sunday services.
Whannel said one of the most important issues to work out in the sharing arrangement was in the timing. For a decade Christ Lutheran started its service at 9:30 a.m., as did Gol.
“Joe comes in at 10 a.m. and he’s our pastor,” said Whannel. “After church, he stays for the fellowship hour. We really haven’t missed a beat.”
Whannel said his congregation, composed of mostly families with working parents, appreciates Jorgensen’s energy, fresh ideas and experience as a teacher.
A team composed of three members from each church has been formed and in a few months will evaluate whether the sharing option has been successful.
Jorgensen said he wants to continue to connect and reconnect with members at both churches both in person and by using social media.
“We’re all doing the same things,” he said. We’ve got similar goals to re-engage young people and support our faith community during all stages of life’s journey.”
Asked if there was a shortage of pastors in southeastern Minnesota, Jorgensen said many younger pastors are attracted to the Twin Cities area.
“My wife was worried when I accepted this arrangement,” he said. “She knows that I will jump in 100% to serve both churches.”
Jorgensen said being fully committed to two congregations in two communities that are 14 miles apart has not been a problem yet.
Faith pivot
Jorgensen said he thought about pivoting from his teaching career to the ministry after witnessing his father, a paramedic, switch gears at age 55 by going to seminary and becoming a lay pastor.
“Why can’t I do that in my 30s,” he asked himself.
It was during an evening car ride when he decided to “take the leap” and finally pursue his faith calling.
“I heard something different in a song titled ‘Voice of Truth,’” he said. “I decided that I’ve got to stop arguing with God. Instead, I should try to discern what God was saying to me and pray about it.”
That doesn’t negate his belief that wrestling with God over life’s challenges is actually a healthy practice. Jorgensen said he thinks making tough decisions in the harder moments enables people to explore the meaning and joy in God’s teachings.
“I’m grateful that I have a bit of a lived experience to share,” he said. “I try to be present with people and meet them where they’re at.”
He remembers considering the ministry in high school, but instead pursued an education degree. Joe met Alissa, now the assistant director of Buntrock Commons student center at St. Olaf College, during choir practice at Waldorf College in Iowa. The couple has three children.
For many years, Jorgensen was the youth minister at Christiania Church in Lakeview, where he was ordained after completing his seminary studies at Luther Seminary.
One of the main messages Jorgensen wants the members of his two Lutheran church congregations to know is that he’s open to hearing new ideas for ways that more people can form a relationship with God.
“This is not just your grandma and grandpa’s church, or your mom and dad’s church anymore,” he said. “It’s your church.”
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