Pastors & Staff – Gloria Dei St. Paul

PASTORS

At Gloria Dei, I have the gift of preaching and presiding, leading the staff and lay leadership in our many and varied ministries, keeping us connected with one another, and lifting up the vision that our gathered assembly so powerfully named in its mission statement. I’m always inspired by how God can work through any one of us, even with our challenges and hurts, including my own. I seek to be a gentle and humble servant of this assembly of saints.

I grew up in Ohio, attended Ohio University, received a graduate degree at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, and did doctoral work at Emory University in pastoral care and liturgical studies. I’ve served at Calvary Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio, the Office of the Chapel and Religious Life, Emory University, and St. John’s Lutheran Church, Atlanta.

I live in Minneapolis and think both cities have great charm and am glad to call both home. My husband, Darin, also an ELCA pastor, serves as a chaplain in long-term senior care, and we love to spend time at home, cooking, savoring the outdoors, reading good books, taking walks and biking on all the great bike trails.

I serve as the Associate Pastor, helping this church create community and serve our hurting and beautiful world. Most of us spend time in a metaphorical middle school lunch room, looking for somewhere to sit. My great joy is when we foster a sense of belonging for all of God’s wild and holy people to find their seat at a table. Raised by farmers in ND, I love helping things grow.

I started working in the ELCA first in Outdoor Ministry, which led to a decade in fulltime youth ministry in both Idaho and here in the Twin Cities. While attending Luther Seminary, I started a new church called Humble Walk Lutheran Church and served as the pastor/church planter for 15 years.

I am lucky to be married to Nate, a baker and musician, and together we have two incredible offspring. I love reading, live music, being outside and traveling. I am genuinely good at hanging out.

One of the things I love most about being a Lutheran Christian is that we proclaim we are saved by grace through faith. Because we are freed from the burden of having to save ourselves, we can focus our attention on the needs of our neighbor–not because we need to earn God’s love, but simply because others need our care and support. When we recognize that our salvation is God’s doing–an act of grace–we can turn our gaze outward and respond to the needs of the world, doing acts of mercy to alleviate pain and suffering, and working to transform systems and institutions that perpetuate injustice.

I am a native of Pine River, Minnesota, in the Brainerd Lakes Area. After graduating from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2006, I received a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School in 2009. I worked as a community organizer with OutFront Minnesota and the Minnesotans United campaign, before serving as the Interim Faith Work Director for the National LGBTQ Task Force. I was ordained and installed at Gloria Dei in August 2014. I live in the Hamline-Midway neighborhood with my husband Oby Ballinger, who is also a pastor, our dog Ruthie, and two cats, Amos and Hosea.

I serve as Pastor of Faith Formation at Gloria Dei, encouraging spiritual and faith formation in people throughout the lifespan. I love to encourage people of all ages to grow in their understanding of how God is working in their lives, but am especially excited about the ways my work at Gloria Dei allows me to encourage adults in their faith development.

I was raised in the Midwest and went to seminary in Chicago. Since ordination in 1989, I have served two other congregations before coming to Gloria Dei in 1999. My husband John and I live in Eagan where we raised our three wonderful children. I love coffee, music, the Chicago Cubs, gardening, cooking, computer games, and my job at Gloria Dei. I work part-time, and am usually in the office on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.

I am so excited to be serving as the Deacon of Youth and Family Faith Formation here at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church! I have been serving in youth ministry since 2009 and love bringing youth and families together in their faith, celebrating their church life and finding friendships that can talk about the deep stuff (while also having fun)!

I have bounced between North Dakota and Minnesota most of my life and am excited to be living here in the Twin Cities again. I look forward to enjoying our family cabin in the summer, as well as Twins Games and live concerts. I became ordained as a Deacon in 2021 after receiving my Master’s Degree in Children, Youth and Family Ministries from Luther Seminary here in St. Paul. I love sharing the word of God through preaching, teaching Confirmation, and random hangouts with our teens. I look forward to serving God through our time together here at Gloria Dei!

MINISTRY DIRECTORS

I have the great joy of leading the music program at Gloria Dei, where we have wonderful participation in both our choirs and in congregational singing. We are also blessed with excellent instrumental talent, from kids to adults, and our worship is enhanced and enriched by all of these musical gifts. I am a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, where I majored in church music and business administration and I hold a Master of Music degree from Indiana University School of Music in organ performance and church music. Besides my church position, I am also a freelance accompanist and regularly accompany Magnum Chorum, a Twin Cities based auditioned choir. I live in the Como Park neighborhood of St. Paul, where I enjoy gardening and entertaining and am always busy taking advantage of the outstanding musical and theater opportunities that the Twin Cities offers.

My name is Kyrstin Schwartz and I am thrilled to be a part of the Gloria Dei team. I live in Inver Grove Heights with my husband Keith and two children, Gus (9 years) and Lila (5 years). As a family we love spending time in our pool, having movie nights, playing legos and going on adventures!

I have been involved in Children’s Ministry since I was in high school! I began by volunteering in the Nursery at my Church where I grew up in Minneapolis and then led a summer church day camp during college. After graduating from Gustavus Adolphus College I taught Preschool before beginning full time ministry in 2005. I served at Faith Lutheran Church in Forest Lake as the Children, Youth and Family Director for 13 years. in 2018, I was thrilled to join the Gloria Dei team as the Children’s Ministry Director. It is such a joy to grow in our faith together at Gloria Dei!

Learn more about Gloria Dei’s Children’s Ministry.

Faith Community Nursing is a specialty practice that involves caring for the whole person: spirit, mind, and body, three indivisible parts of a whole entity that makes up each very individual human being. My goal is to help people to stay healthy in all of these ways. At Gloria Dei, the parish nurse works with pastors and member-led caring ministry teams to address needs within the congregation as well as supporting health promotion efforts for our neighbors in the community such as Circle of Caring blood drives, Project Home, and local food pantries.

I grew up in St Paul and am happy to be a lifelong member of Gloria Dei. I earned a bachelors’ degree in Nursing from The College of St Catherine and a master’s degree in Nursing from the University of Minnesota. I am a Minnesota-licensed RN, Public Health Nurse and Licensed School Nurse with national credentials in Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing and Faith Community Nursing. I have worked with people in hospitals, home health care, public health, and educational settings. Regardless of physical ability, our souls can be amazingly strong, joyful and resilient. This gives me great hope.

I live in St Paul with my husband Scott, who is retired. We have two adult sons who live in Duluth. I enjoy spending time outdoors, reading, and spending time with my family and friends.

As Director of Instrumental Ensembles and Composer-In-Residence, my responsibilities include leading congregational song from the piano, leading orchestral-instrument and jazz ensembles, handbells, the Matins Choir, and providing original music for worship and special events at Gloria Dei. It is a privilege to serve in close coordination with Tim Strand sharing the transformative power of music for faith and community formation and transcendent experience.

With BA from Bethel College (KS) and MMus and DMA from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice, I conducted and taught at Valparaiso University as Reddel Professor from 1991 to 2019 when we moved to St. Paul. Since then, I’ve served as Director of Music at St. John’s Lutheran in Lakeville, and conducted in Shanghai, Warsaw, Chicago, New York, and locally at St. Olaf College and the Ordway. Like Tim, I have original music in Evangelical Lutheran Worship along with accompaniments in This Far by Faith.

Grateful to be deeply engaged with our grandchildren, Michelle and I are living the dream of close family while enjoying great arts, food, recreation and new friends in Minnesota!