Church Staff
Mark Nelson
Senior Pastor
It’s terrific to be at Peace! It is a privilege to serve the Gospel of Jesus Christ with this congregation!
And also to return to my hometown. I grew up in west Bloomington, went to Bloomington schools—Ridgeview, Penn, and Lincoln. I attended the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and, following graduation, entered Luther Northwestern Seminary.
Following graduation from seminary in 1984, I accepted a call to serve as Associate Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Long Lake and was ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament in 1984. Following eight years at Trinity, I served as an interim pastor at Bethany Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Woodlake in Richfield, and Nokomis Heights, south Minneapolis. In 1997, I was called to be the Senior Pastor of Nokomis Heights Lutheran Church. I also accepted responsibilities in churchwide leadership. I especially enjoyed serving on the Evangelism Task Force of the ELCA in 2001-2002.
In 2003 I received a call from the Division for Global Missions asking us to serve on behalf of the Church in Egypt. For the next two years, I served as Senior Pastor of St. Andrew’s United Church in downtown Cairo. This was followed by an invitation to assist with ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem. Upon returning to the United States, I served as Interim Senior Pastor with at Peace, then Faith-Lilac Way, Robbinsdale, and Our Saviour’s in Minneapolis before returning to Peace.
When I am not engaged in the life of the church, I seek a sense of balance through other activities. I enjoy running, tennis, and reading. We like to travel to visit family and new places.
My chief joy in life, however, is in spending time with my wife, Marcie. We live in southeast Minneapolis in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood. She underwrites long-term care insurance at Allianz Corporation. We have four children. Brittany and her husband, Chris, live in Ada, Michigan, with their four children; Julia, Sam, Jack, and Aidan. Melissa and her husband, Aaron, live in south Minneapolis with their infant son, Jens. Tim is completing his doctoral studies in political science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. John lives in Brooklyn Center and manages a soccer equipment store.
Jenifer Brolin
Children's Ministry Director
Jenifer Brolin is the Children’s Ministry Director of Peace. She began in this role in July of 2003. In this position she is responsible for all of the children’s activities from Sunday School, JAM, 1st Communion, summer camps, and much more.
Jenifer obtained her bachelor’s degree in Business Management from St. Cloud University. She became a store manager for Northwest Fabrics and Crafts right out of college. She then worked for ADP for 10 years as a Client Account Manager.
Jenifer lives in Savage with her husband Wade, two children – Nikki and Willy, and two dogs and one cat. She came from a family of six girls of which she is the youngest. She grew up in South Dakota where her parents owned a bakery. She grew up working at the bakery and her sister still owns it. Jenifer loves to do crafts and read (when there is time!). She also spends a lot of time watching her kids play sports.
One of Jenifer’s favorite parts about working at Peace is watching the kids grow over the years. Her favorite bible verse is Matthew 19:14 “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’”
Lori Thomson
Administrator
Lori Thomson has beenthe Administrator at Peace since October 2001. This position has great variety...everything from financial management, facilities management, technology, working with volunteers and general clean-up duties. She and her family have been members of Peace since 1992. Lori attended the College of St. Catherine for her undergraduate degrees in Biology and Psychology and the University of Phoenix for her MBA. The majority of her career has been spent in the medical field, the first few years as a Medical Technologist. She then spent several years with CIGNA in many roles; Members Services Manager, Provider Relations Manager, Director of Provider Contracting and IS Manager. She then decided make a change to part-time and eliminate business travel. After working at a start up technology firm for a couple of years, she began to work at Peace.
Lori has been married to Jim for 21 years. They lived in Phoenix, Arizona for 5 years then moved back to MN and have lived in Bloomington since 1991.Lori and Jim have two children, Jimmy and Emma and a cute little dog named Pepper.
Lori's favorite part of Peace is working with the people. The Peace community is very warm, friendly and caring group of people. When Lori is not working, she spends a lot of time as a chauffer. She enjoys watching her kid's activities, reading, and working around the house.
Sue Larson
Communications Specialist
Sue Larson is the Communications Specialist. She grew up in Minneapolis, and graduated from the University of MN-Duluth with a BA in Accounting. She and her husband Steve have lived in Bloomington since 1981. They have 3 children, Andrea, Brad and Mandy.
Sue enjoys volunteering for the Bloomington Athletic Associaton in her spare time, as well as cooking, and reading. She is an AVID college football fan and enjoys following the U of M Gophers.
“I am excited to work at Peace Lutheran and interact with all the great people here.”
Bill Linder
Building Maintenance
Bev Porter
Building Maintenance
© 2008 Peace Lutheran Church
All Rights Reserved
Last Modified: May 28, 2010
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