All Member Stories Updates

Months before Vacation Bible School, many volunteers were already hard at work, like this crew who are preparing for one of the craft projects. When Rodger Hessedal and his family moved to the Montrose area, he and his wife visited many churches, but in 1970, with the encouragement of Pastor Blair, Rodger and his family [...]

Deana Jeske was elected to the Zion council in December, and will be serving a three-year term. Please tell us about your family: I am married to Mike Jeske and live in Buffalo. I am the daughter of Ray and Dianne Hermosillo who have both passed away. I have an amazing Aunt Sue who is [...]

Hi! We are the Stanforths – Tom, Trish, and Lizzie. We have been members of Zion since moving to Buffalo from Long Island five years ago. When we started coming to Zion, we attended the 9:45 worship service and then Lizzie would attend Sunday school at 10:30. We became involved in Sunday school, Tom as a rotation [...]

If you have entered the front door of Zion on a Sunday morning in the last six months, you have probably shaken the hand of Wes Mahlberg. Wes has been a member of Zion since 1976, is an identical twin, and has a passion for making Zion a welcoming place that has driven him to [...]

Steve Peterson recently completed a standard 3-year term on the church council and is currently serving a 1-year term to fill an open position. He is the chair of the council. Please tell us about your family: I am married to Kathy, who is a member of St Francis Catholic Church. We have two adult [...]

Meet Christine My name is Christine Hartke, and I have been a member of Zion for 12 years. I grew up in a town of just over 300 people and was a member of a very small congregation. Zion was definitely a change for me when you consider the membership numbers, but when it comes [...]

A young girl sat in her favorite red hand-me-down dress, cross legged on the floor. Her hair in ponytails and a smile across her face as she awaited the brunette lady with the guitar who would sit in front of her and all the other children for the Sunday morning sing-a-long. The young girl took [...]

by Lee Ann Goerss  My faith journey at Zion has led me to be involved in almost all aspects of ministry including council, synod rep, various committees, Family Express coordinator, Sunday school teacher, VBS superintendent, Women of Zion officer, Call Committee member and Prayer Sister. Every path has offered me growth and fellowship with members [...]

Bill Deneen is new to Zion’s congregational council in 2012. His term runs through the end of 2014. Please tell us about your family: I’ve been married to Katie for 16 years. We have two children, Abby (14) and Peter (11). Where do you work? I’ve been employed by Excel Energy at the Monticello Nuclear [...]

Beverly Logas Koopman has served on Zion’s congregational council since the beginning of 2011. Her term runs through the end of 2013. Please tell us about your family: Darrell Koopman is my most important supporter, friend and husband.  My grown children are  Brian (and Michelle), Linnea (and Ross Stirratt), Alex, and Elizabeth; I also have [...]

Hi everyone!  My name is Randy Griffith, and I have had the wonderful opportunity to lead Sunday school and confirmation groups for years now, at Zion.  It truly is an ‘opportunity’ as well, for you get the chance to make a real positive impact on a child’s life perspective- relating to how they view God and Jesus, [...]

By Kelly Hanson As a red headed country kid, my parents had three rules: 1) complete your chores, 2) dinner is at 6pm, 3) don’t set fire to the lake, again. 1 My parents employed a hands-off approach to parenting. My older brother and I had the run of Irving Township. We cast a wide [...]

Let me introduce myself: My name is Jessica Johnson. I have been a member of Zion since I was 8 years old. I remember visiting Zion with my mom, and we met Pastor Ed Blair after the service. I can still picture that day in my head. I was wearing one of my favorite dresses [...]

It must have been about 1996 or so. We were in our mid-20s, living in our first house, Kirk worked at the local elevator and I was a stay-at-home mom with a toddler. We were somewhat active participants at Zion. We were fairly regular worshippers, Kirk sometimes volunteered as an usher, and I was starting to [...]

As you may or may not know, I have been a member of Zion since I was baptized. I went to VBS every summer, attended Sunday school every school year, and went to church (almost) every Sunday. Zion is my home. It has given me support and the best of friends. I started out giving [...]