Weekly Updates

Pastor Gerald Mansholt

After 12 wonderful years filled with memories, Pastor Jerry and Anita Mansholt moved to Chesterfield, Missouri in February of this year. They moved to be closer to family though some suspect it is also to get Jerry closer to Busch Stadium and Cardinal baseball. Jerry has served as a parish pastor in Oklahoma, St. Louis, and Wichita, Kansas. Later he served as bishop, both in the ELCA Central States Synod (Missouri/Kansas) and the ELCA East Central Synod of Wisconsin. Since leaving the office of bishop Jerry has served as interim pastor in Mandeville, Louisiana; Green Bay and Sheboygan. He continues to serve on the Board of Directors for Wartburg Seminary and the We Raise Foundation.

Pastor Vicki Simon

Pastor Vicki Simon has been serving at Immanuel Lutheran Church in downtown Cedarburg, WI for the past 12 years. Pastor Vicki, or “PV” as her church kids call her, is a voracious reader, a member of several book clubs, and will want to know what is on all of your summer reading lists! She and her local ELCA colleagues have been having fun leading their congregations in exploring different spiritual practices of a Christian. Vicki is so excited to return to Bethany and see her Bethany family this year.

Pastor Patrick Jenkins

Pastor Patrick Jenkins has served American Lutheran Church in Bourbonnais, Illinois since 2021. His passion for ministry is preaching, leading worship, teaching the bible, and feeding the hungry. He is dedicated to helping people discover the difference God’s grace makes in their lives, and the difference the community of faith makes as they navigate life’s ups and downs. He is a musician with a background in worship leading and songwriting and delights in helping people experience the joy of ‘singing their hearts out’ to God. Patrick is a 2017 graduate of Luther Seminary (St. Paul, MN) and previously enjoyed serving Grace Lutheran Church, Sisseton, SD.

Pastor Patrick is married to Amy, and together they are raising a blended family of five children, aged 7-16. He is a lifelong learner with a special interest in history and culture.

Rev. Roy Nelson

Although Pastor Roy Nelson retired from full time ministry in 2022, last year he served for 6 months as interim executive director at HOPE Center in Waukesha, WI, an organization that feeds and clothes people while helping them get back on their feet. Before that he served as part time bridge pastor at Vernon Lutheran, Mukwonago, WI and Galilee Lutheran, Pewaukee, WI. Prior to retirement, Pastor Roy served 11+ years at All Saints Lutheran, Wales, WI and 4 years at First Lutheran - DeKalb, IL. Before uprooting Jean and their children, Ben and Calla, in 2004 to attend seminary at Wartburg in Dubuque, IA, he was an attorney for 15 years in Milwaukee, and before that, a police officer for 11 years for the City of Brookfield and 2 other agencies in WI.

Jean and Pastor Roy have been married for 32 wonderful, adventurous years, and have two great kids, Ben and Calla. Bethany already knows their son, Pastor Ben, and Megan, his sister Jan Abrahamson and Ted, and niece Kristin Wisely and Patrick.

Life has been an amazing journey and God has blessed him abundantly along the way. Pastor Nelson is grateful for the opportunity to preach at Bethany Lutheran and spend some time in beautiful Door County this summer.

Rev. Ben Nelson

Pastor Ben Nelson serves way over yonder on the western side of the state at Zion Lutheran Church in Woodville. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with his wife Megan in a small house full of pets, and in his free time they enjoy a good meal at a nice restaurant, gardening, and taking advantage of the outdoors. Ben and Megan honeymooned in Door County and are excited to have the excuse and opportunity to be back in a place they hold dear with family and friends.

Pastor Preston Fields

Pastor Preston Fields is the pastor of Lutheran Campus Ministry- Madison. He holds a BA in Religion and International Studies from Maryville College, an MDiv from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and an MSSW from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He was ordained in 2018. Before seminary, he served as Director of Community Engagement at Maryville College, and from 2018 to 2025, he was Pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Sycamore, Illinois. He has been a writer and contributor to Augsburg Fortress and ELCA Worship materials. He is married to Dr. Wesley Lyons, DVM, and they have a son, Neyland.

Pastor Heidi Johns

Pastor Heidi grew up on the western end of Michigan's upper peninsula near Lake Superior, which means you can call her a Yooper! She attended Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN and was ordained in 1991. Her first call was in rural North Dakota, near Devil's Lake. She then moved to Milwaukee and served at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Menomonee Falls. From there she moved to the suburbs of Chicago and served at Faith Lutheran in Glen Ellyn. Finally, she moved to Cincinnati in 2014 to serve at Good Shepherd, and then retired from there in 2022. Heidi and her husband Chris were married in June of 2021. Chris has two grown sons, one lives in Wauwatosa and is married with four children. The other son is engaged and lives in Cincinnati. After Heidi retired in May of 2022, she and Chris purchased a travel trailer and began traveling part-time. She continues to do Interim ministry around the Cincinnati area. Heidi is grateful to be with us at Bethany today!

Pastor Vicki Simon

Pastor Vicki Simon has been serving at Immanuel Lutheran Church in downtown Cedarburg, WI for the past 12 years. Pastor Vicki, or “PV” as her church kids call her, is a voracious reader, a member of several book clubs, and will want to know what is on all of your summer reading lists! She and her local ELCA colleagues have been having fun leading their congregations in exploring different spiritual practices of a Christian. Vicki is so excited to return to Bethany and see her Bethany family this year.

Pastor Diane Dardon

Rev. Dr. Diane Dardón recently left her position as the Director of Religious Diversity and Pastoral Care at DePaul University in Chicago and is on sabbatical while awaiting call to part-time ministry position in the Metro-Chicago Synod of the ELCA. Diane received her Doctorate of Ministry Degree in Ecumenism from Catholic Theological Union (Chicago) and is a graduate in the Masters of Divinity program from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Prior to taking on responsibilities at DePaul, she served for several years as parish pastor, but her true ministry passion is within the academic setting. Diane is also faculty at Emmanuel Lutheran Global Seminary in Naples, FL, and is certified in spiritual direction. Diane and her husband, Estuardo, have two children: Brian who is currently in LA, working as an engineer in the aerospace field at Boeing and Cathryn who just graduated from DePaul University and is preparing for grad school. The Dardón family enjoys travel and tries to spend time each year with Estuardo’s family in Guatemala.

Pastor Troy Troftgruben

Troy is an ordained ELCA pastor who serves as Associate Professor of New Testament at Wartburg Theological Seminary, where he has taught since 2013. Before that, he served for five years as a pastor at Calvary Lutheran church in Grand Forks, ND. A graduate of Luther Seminary (M.Div.) and Princeton Seminary (Ph.D), Troy’s areas of focus are Luke and Acts and early church communities. He has written Rooted and Renewing: Imagining the Church's Future in Light of Its NT Origins (Fortress, 2019) and Bearing Witness in Acts and Today (Cascade, 2025). Troy also contributes regularly to Augsburg's Sundays and Seasons: Preaching.

By vocation, Troy sees himself as a pastor with a specialized call: the spiritual formation of church leaders. He is married to Maria, and together they have two children in high school. On Sabbath time, Troy enjoys playing music in a local band, biking, being outdoors, and practicing the discipline of hope by following Minnesota sports teams and the Chicago Cubs.