Pastor Amelia
Pastor Amelia Houdek was installed as the called, full-time pastor for Trinity Valley Luther Parish on Sunday, June 27th.
Pastor Amelia is a second career pastor having served the Minneapolis Area Synod and the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin. She has served all sizes of church from the smallest to the exceptionally large, but truly loves the smaller church experience. When asked the question, “If you could do anything else beside being a pastor, what would you do?”, she responds, “Nothing! This is what I was born to do!” Before she was ordained into Word and Sacrament Ministry Pastor Amelia was a microbiologist but found she would rather encourage people to grow in their Christian faith rather than grow microbes in a petri dish.
Chris and Pastor Amelia have been married for 30 years and have two grown children, Xander and Noah, and count their golden retriever, ‘Gibson’, as part of the family. They enjoy spending time together playing games, making good food, and when the weather is nice, boating on the St. Croix. In fact, Pastor Amelia and Chris live mostly on their boat, ‘Holy Ship’, from May through September. Her two favorite places are in the pulpit and on her boat. Oh, and in her bed. Her best hobby is napping!
An interesting fun fact about Pastor Amelia is that she is a 200hr certified yoga instructor and loves to incorporate yoga movement into her prayer practice as a spiritual discipline. The movement with the breath and the thought help her to connect to God in deep and profound ways. She is also an avid reader of literary fiction and what she calls “church books”, plays piano and sings, and landscapes her yard when the weather cooperates. She loves creating welcoming and peaceful places whether that be in her office at church, her home, or her yard.
Pastor Amelia is a second career pastor having served the Minneapolis Area Synod and the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin. She has served all sizes of church from the smallest to the exceptionally large, but truly loves the smaller church experience. When asked the question, “If you could do anything else beside being a pastor, what would you do?”, she responds, “Nothing! This is what I was born to do!” Before she was ordained into Word and Sacrament Ministry Pastor Amelia was a microbiologist but found she would rather encourage people to grow in their Christian faith rather than grow microbes in a petri dish.
Chris and Pastor Amelia have been married for 30 years and have two grown children, Xander and Noah, and count their golden retriever, ‘Gibson’, as part of the family. They enjoy spending time together playing games, making good food, and when the weather is nice, boating on the St. Croix. In fact, Pastor Amelia and Chris live mostly on their boat, ‘Holy Ship’, from May through September. Her two favorite places are in the pulpit and on her boat. Oh, and in her bed. Her best hobby is napping!
An interesting fun fact about Pastor Amelia is that she is a 200hr certified yoga instructor and loves to incorporate yoga movement into her prayer practice as a spiritual discipline. The movement with the breath and the thought help her to connect to God in deep and profound ways. She is also an avid reader of literary fiction and what she calls “church books”, plays piano and sings, and landscapes her yard when the weather cooperates. She loves creating welcoming and peaceful places whether that be in her office at church, her home, or her yard.
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TVLP Council President
Karen Gunderson |
TVLP Council Vice President
Jeremy Johnson |
TVLP Council Secretary
Shelli Wood |
Karen is a life-time resident of Spring Valley and member of St. John's Lutheran. She has served on church council in various capacities over the years, currently serving as President for both the TVL Parish Council and St. John's Church Council. Karen is married to her husband of 44 years, Earl. She is retired from a career in the food industry and enjoys spending time in Nashville with her daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren.
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Jeremy has deep roots in Spring Valley and Gilman Lutheran. Many people in the area are related to him since he was born and raised in this community and is a fourth generation member of Gilman Lutheran. He has held many council positions and is currently the Vice President for both Gilman Lutheran and the TVL Parish Council. His wife Brenda and himself have been Sunday School teachers and youth advisors. They along with their kids enjoy the outdoor life of raising produce, flowers, animals, and yardwork during the spring and summer. Hunting and ice fishing consume the fall and winter. They also enjoy sports of any kind and are die-hard Wisconsin athletic fans. They also host many gatherings throughout the year at their property. The best are the unplanned ones – feel free to drop in!
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Shelli has been a member at Spring Lake Lutheran for about 50 years. She was confirmed and married there. Her children were baptized and confirmed there. In the past, Shelli has been active with Sunday School, WELCA, and choir. She is currently serving as Vice-President of the Spring Lake church council.
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Linda Price is our administrator for Gilman Lutheran and Spring Lake Lutheran. She has been our office administrator since 2017 and a member of Gilman Lutheran since 1977. She and her husband Steve are part time retired and enjoy traveling to see their grandchildren.
You will find her diligently working Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to noon at the St John's Lutheran church office. If you have an up coming wedding, funeral, baptism or such please contact her at 715-778-4334 |
Ann Beyer is our administrator for St. John's Lutheran. She has been our office administrator since September 2020. Ann was born and raised in Spring Valley and raised her family here. She was baptized, confirmed and married at St. John’s. Ann and her family were also members of Spring Lake Church and returned to St. John’s in 2016. She loves getting together with family and friends. Any spare time she has is spent at her sewing machine quilting.
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