Nick Sjolin

I am married to my beautiful wife Missy for going on four years. We have two lovely children: Colt, age 3, and Estella, 3 months. We live in Buffalo, MN.

I believe strongly that the Lord will always provide us with what we need, not what we want or think that we need, and that there is a master plan that God has for all of us to fulfill.

I have been a member of Zion for four years. I came from Salem Lutheran in Greenfield, MN, where I attended both church and school since kindergarten.

I joined the council to help keep Zion on the path of improvement, to better the church for all, and to learn more about how the church operates. I hope that if there are any concerns of anyone, I can help bring attention to them.

I have worked for Molin Quality Concrete Solutions (out of Lino Lakes, MN) as a field foreman for 17 years. I do some small travel for work. I enjoy hunting, fishing, golf, bowling and just being outside working on home projects.

I try to live out my faith by taking care of God’s creations that he has given us to share. I am on the council for Big Woods Boss Gobblers, the Wright County chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Hope to see all of you around, and feel free to talk with my family and me.

Nick was elected in December 2018 to serve on Zion’s council from 2019-2021.

All Church Council Members

Email the Council

Safe Arrival in Zambia

By Kathleen and Benedict

We left Minnesota three weeks ago amid the beautiful colors of Minnesota in the fall. Driving across the US to MD we were in awe of the beauty that God has created. After a short time with children and grandchildren on the east coast, we were able to safely return to Zambia.

As we drove up our country road (1/2 mile) the children and staff from the Village, and staff from all departments were holding up welcome signs, waving and smiling, and touching our hearts with their greetings and love (pictured, right). Instead of fall foliage, we had a flamboyant tree (yes that is the name) in full bloom in our yard. After quarantining for a few days, we are gradually getting into the swing of things. We are eager to continue the work here while also caring and praying for our country during this time.

We are grateful for all of you at Zion and we have enjoyed being able to share worship over the internet. Thank you for your prayers and caring.

Financial Report 2020.10

The Church Council and the Finance Committee continues to monitor Zion’s financial information. Total income year-to-date for 2020 is down about 10% compared to 2019. General Fund year-to-date expenses for 2020 are about 11% lower than 2019 mainly due to reduced payroll, ministry, operations, and property related expenses. October 2020 General Fund expenses exceeded October 2020 General Fund total income by about $5,000. However, this was due to a timing issue. There were three payrolls in October 2020. Payrolls for 2020 and 2019 will be comparable again by the end of November 2020. The Building Fund income exceeded Building Fund expense for October 2020.

At the end of October 2020, excluding the funds received from the Payroll Protection Program (PPP), the General Fund’s cash-on hand was about $138,000. The Building Fund’s cash-on hand was about $47,000.
We anticipate that the entire amount of the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan will be forgiven. However, Zion will not know for sure until the forgiveness has been approved.

Thank you for your financial support of Zion.

God Will Handle It

Bob Strommen is one of our lead technicians here at Zion and has been an amazing help this year with helping record on Wednesdays for online worship as well as figuring out sound on Sunday’s for outdoor/parking lot service.

My name is Bob Strommen, I have been married to Diane for approaching 51 years. We have 4 children and 9 grandchildren. Our first great grandchild is due in May. I am semi-retired from MnDOT where I have worked since 1996 as an electronic technician. My love of music is probably my biggest hobby. I am in a trio of musicians called Heartstrings. I also sing or play percussion for any of the praise teams at Zion. My second biggest passion is golf. I finally joined a league this summer and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Bob included a little trivia that he has been a member of multiple churches named either Zion or Our Savior’s: Zion in Twin Valley and Buffalo, and Our Savior’s in Hillsboro, ND and Faribault, MN.

I was born and raised in northwest Minnesota and was baptized and confirmed at Zion Lutheran in Twin Valley. I have been a member of ELCA churches wherever we have lived. So, when we moved to Buffalo we were looking for a church home and stopped by Zion one Sunday. When we walked in Pastor Ed made me feel right at home. He introduced himself and we talked shortly like we had known each other for some time. When we attended the service Jubilee was performing and I liked the contemporary feel.

Bob’s favorite Bible verse is Matthew 28:19-20:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

It covers everything that needs to be said about our lives here on earth. It also gives us hope that whatever happens Jesus is always there to guide us through it.

Bob and his family had a very low moment in life where God was present and they were able to find peace.

When we were still farming in northwestern Minnesota I found out that we were going to lose the farm. I found myself feeling very low and I went to talk to my pastor at the time, Pastor Don Walker. He pointed out no matter what happens, Jesus is always with us and will protect and guide us. We prayed together. That gave me the insight that God is in control and since I have had a sense of inner peace knowing that no matter what happens God will handle it.

Bob has many fond memories of church.

Performing in a community musical called “The Rock” (the story is based the life of Peter) in Zion in Twin Valley. Another is all the Sundays being part of the group Jubilee. A great group of musicians and people.

Bob’s favorite worship song is “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)”

It speaks to me that although I am a sinner and continue to be the Lord can still forgive me of those sins no matter what.

Bob lives God’s call at Zion in many ways.

Giving back to my church of my time and talents of music and my knowledge of media equipment.

Bob (and Zion) are always looking for additional technicians to join the team!

As for 2020 this year has been nothing but interesting, with the beginning of recording the Sunday morning services in March and continuing with all of the recording of the musical groups and the installation of the FM transmitter. Things have certainly changed, but it is not all a bad thing. It has widened our vision of what worship can and needs to be. We have come up with some very creative ways to deliver the Word of God. I personally have gained new knowledge and experience of recording processes. Also with the Advent of being asked to look into the real-time live streaming of the service more is yet to come. Through it all God has guided me.

A Time for Everything

Dear Zion Family,
As I write this, I am remembering these words from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (from the Message)—

There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:
A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

These words offer guidance, and comfort as we enter this season of transitions.

During our four years together, we have probably experienced almost everything on this list. I remember the baptisms, weddings, funerals, cups of coffee, Wednesday night suppers, Lenten series, Advent activities, mission trips, youth galas, youth group hang outs, confirmation classes, Sunday school mornings, VBS weeks, singing, praying, preaching, fellowship, and friendship. I will savor it all! There was some tearing down of old ideas and planting of new ideas, some disagreements and some resolutions, some remembering and some forgiving, We have collected candy for trunk or treat, items for the Reverse Advent calendar, books for a Library in Zambia, medical supplies for Mission Jamaica. We have laughed and cried, mourned and danced and ate way too many doughnut holes and meatballs (sorry Lute lovers)! We have said goodbye to beloved members who have moved or have died and we have welcomed new people. We remodeled the youth room, built the Blessing Closet garage, strengthened partnerships with mission partners and weathered transitions in staff. We have survived VBS week, played at Camp Wapo/Ox Lake and embraced our history while worshiping at Marysville.

Throughout it all, we have grown in wonderful ways while experiencing a great deal of mercy, grace, joy and love! I have always believed that a pastor is called to a particular place, for a particular time, with a particular purpose to a particular group of people in a particular community.

We may have not accomplished everything that I had hoped for; yet still much was accomplished. It was always my intention to serve with integrity, passion, and grace. My time at Zion has seen the building on already established ministries and the founding of new ministries. My time at Zion has seen love and support, critiques and growth edges. I will remember my time at Zion with great fondness as a time when I grew in my confidence as pastor, was embraced by all the generations, and walked through times of challenges with a grateful heart and strength that can only come from God. As it says in Ecclesiastes 3:7, there is a time to keep silent and there is a time to speak. In my time at Zion I have experienced both. A time to watch and observe, a time to allow others to speak and for me to deeply listen. I have also found moments to speak up, to take a stand where I feel God is leading and speak for what feels to be right. I do find this time of transition as a time to speak.

The words I want to say to Zion in this time in this place is: You are the people of God, you must continue to come together to be God’s hands and feet in this world. I also feel the need to have a moment of great honesty with you, my time at Zion has not always been easy. God does not promise life will be easy. God simply promises we will never be alone. So my challenge for Zion is to continue to be God’s people, continue to listen to how God is calling you to be an active part of the ministry of God in this place. And a final word in this moment of honesty, please ask yourself

“am I a part of the problem or am I helping to find and work towards a solution.”

This season brings with it many unknowns and as Mary Lindberg says in The Graceful Exit,

“So we’ll open the gifts Jesus gave us—a home in him, the courage to move on, the peace that will get us through many unknowns. And we’ll trust that God is staying with those we love for many more seasons.”
Our stories will forever be intertwined, the people of Zion are part of my story, and I a part of your story at Zion. Thank you for all of your patience, kindness, mercy, grace, generosity and love that you have shown me! Thank you for the moments of challenge and helping me grow. My decision to leave Zion has be the hardest moment of discernment in my life, but I am trying to be faithful to the call of the Spirit. I don’t feel done at Zion, and yet I do feel God’s call on my life to continue serving by tending to God’s sheep at Camp Wapo & Ox Lake. You are an amazing group of people and I wish you all the best in this new season that you are about to begin. May you continue to grow in faith, hope and love, and remember to love God and love people. With tears in my eyes and gratitude in my heart I say “until we meet again.”

Peace,

Pastor Suzi

 

All Earth is Hopeful

Hope is a word that Christians use often. It can be used as a noun or a verb and gives the image of desire and anticipation. One synonym often used for hope is expectation, but to expect has a sense of some amount of certainty and imminence that hope doesn’t always convey. We hope when we don’t know if or when something will happen. Sometimes we hope against hope for things to occur; we rarely expect against expectation.

Our theme for Advent this year is All Earth is Hopeful, drawn from the hymn of that name in the red ELW. In the tradition of the Advent wreath, the candle lit on the first Sunday in Advent is the Hope candle, as we reflect on the hope we have in Jesus. Hundreds of years before his birth, Old Testament prophets wrote words of hope about the coming Messiah, and Jesus left us with promises to one day return. Advent is about to remembering those many years of hope and anticipation prior to his coming to Earth and our hope for him to come again.

I don’t know about you, but I could use a good helping of hope right now. I write this days after a contentious political campaign that saw differing opinions as an excuse to launch personal attacks on one another, verbally and even physically. The pandemic is starting its ninth month of ravaging this and other countries, with numbers on the rise and an uncertainty about how the coming flu season will affect the nation’s health. We’re facing the reality that the traditional Norman Rockwell-like scenes of extended family shoulder-to-shoulder around a Thanksgiving table or gathered in a living room looking at presents under a Christmas tree won’t be happening for many this year.

When I think of the context leading up to the birth Jesus, I recognize similarities. For centuries the Hebrew people had faced hardship. Slavery in Egypt, 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, the work that went into establishing the Hebrew nation in the Promised Land. And political troubles: unfit kings, attacks from neighboring countries, the destruction of their cities, years in exile. Famines and drought and other natural disasters. Maybe what we have today isn’t so bad. Yet through the prophets God still gave the message of hope. God was present with them in the hard times, and it would get better someday. And even more hopeful was the word that the Messiah was coming. The prophets just didn’t mention that a few centuries would pass first. So the people went on the best they could.

None of us knows when the pandemic will come to an end. We don’t know if our nation will find a greater sense of political unity. We don’t know what Thanksgiving or Christmas will look like in homes or at church. But we all go on the best we can. Our ecumenical faith partners around Buffalo have recorded readings and music that will be edited together for a virtual version of the annual Thanksgiving Eve service online. Meanwhile the Zion staff has been diligently working to plan what our Christmas celebrations will look like.

Perhaps the best message of hope we can hang onto this Advent season is that as we continue to do our best, through every hill and valley, God is with us. And I invite you to look around you during these four weeks. Who else is with you right now? Even though we can’t be physically together as much as we’d like—maybe more so because we can’t—we rely on family, friends, neighbors, Zion members and staff, and other people in the community, those who are with us in other ways, providing food, protection, medical care, and whatever connections we can for one another. We are not alone, no matter how hard it might be to remember that some days. Find hope in God and find hope in one another. I wish you God’s many blessings this holiday season.

A Note from Pastor Suzi

Dearest Zion Family,

It is through an unexpected moving of the Holy Spirit and mixed emotions that I sit down to write this letter. This letter is to inform the Zion community that I have accepted a call to be the program director of Camp Wapo and Ox Lake. This acceptance has come after a long period of discernment, prayer, and a few tears.

I am excited how the Spirit is moving in my life and I am thankful that this new call will allow for continued ministry with this beloved community, especially the youth and families. Taking this position will allow me to use the variety of gifts and skills I have been equipped with. It will also offer me a new challenge and adventure in ministry.

My time with Zion will come to a close at the end of November, with my last official Sunday being November 29. Our wonderful staff is working to plan a farewell reception on November 22. Details will be coming soon.

I am so incredibly thankful for the past four years while we officially did ministry together. I am thankful for the ways this place has shaped me as a pastor, for the relationships that have been formed and the memories made.

And so with gratitude in my heart and tears in my eyes, I begin to say goodbye. Throughout the month if you would like to have conversation, coffee or have questions please let me know.

Your Sister-in-Christ,
Pastor Suzi Orlopp

Stop and Listen to God

Katie grew up in a Lutheran church in central Wisconsin, also called Zion Lutheran, and attended a Lutheran school from age 3 through 8th grade.

My grandparents, Grandma Helen and Grandpa Clarence, both impacted my faith growing up. We lived next door to my grandparents and I was very close to them. I have so many fond memories of time with them. One of my favorite memories was getting to eat dinner with them because I knew that we would have devotions after we ate. My grandparents let me or one of my sisters read the Bible verse that went with the devotion. I witnessed their faith through how involved they were with all the groups and activities of our church. I was even lucky enough to join my grandparents for many of them.

The Deneen family moved to Buffalo 17 years ago.

We continued attending St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth, MN, until Abby was a 6th grader. We wanted her to go to confirmation classes at a church in the same town we lived, with people she knew. Our family started attending Zion during the summer of 2008. It was a really good fit for our family. There were many opportunities for families to become involved.

Katie taught Sunday school, volunteered for VBS, served as a confirmation guide, and volunteered for various events with the high school youth group, Blessing Closet, and SERVE Weekend.

Working with children has always been a passion of mine. I have been a Sunday school teacher and VBS volunteer since I was in middle school. Being part of a child’s faith journey and watching them grow stronger in their relationship with God is one of my greatest joys.

The greatest challenge to Katie’s faith has been her family’s journey through her husband’s cancer diagnosis and death in 2018.

Her favorite bible verse is Psalm 46:10:

“Be still and know that I am God!”

It reminds me to stop, listen to God, and know that He will walk with me through every part of my life. He has held me up and helped me move forward when it seemed impossible.

Katie has been an educator for the last 25 years, and currently teaches kindergarten at Northwinds Elementary. She has two children, Abby (23), a Registered Nurse at U of M Medical Center, and Peter (20), a sophomore at Michigan Technological University.

Music Can Speak To Us

Mike grew up in north central Iowa and attended a small Baptist church.

The Old Rugged Cross is a special hymn for me. Growing up, this was a hymn that my great aunt sang at many funerals and church services. Each time I hear it, it takes me back.

It wasn’t until I turned 20 that I was baptized, and I remember the happy look on my Grandfather Hoff’s face that day.

Mike has lived in Rockford, with his wife Jill, since they were married in 2000.

After Jill and I moved to Rockford we were looking around for a church and tried out Zion. Pastor Ed grabbed us as we were walking in. After that very service, we were attending the new members class. Imagine if he had been a used car salesman….

Zion is a warm, inviting church with lots of variety and opportunities to get involved.

Mike had been in Zion’s Senior Choir for one year when their children were very young, and this year he and Jill have both joined the choir.

Music can speak to us in ways the spoken word can’t always achieve. I enjoy the camaraderie and the chance to create new friendships at church.

After serving a term on the Church Council, Mike stayed involved with the Stewardship Committee.

Want to learn more about the Stewardship Committee and how you can get involved? Please talk to me, we are always looking for new members!

Mike enjoys CrossFit and activities like video games, Japanese anime, and WWE wrestling with daughters Ellie, a senior getting ready to graduate from Rockford High, and Tia, a freshman at Rockford High. They also have 2 rescue dogs, who he refers to as ‘7 Legs of Mayhem’ (their youngest dog had one of his hind legs removed due to an infection).