Weekly Updates

Pastor - Rev. Dennis Tollefson

Pastor Dennis Tollefson is currently retired and lives with his wife Mary in Minnetonka, MN. He has served parishes in Vermillion and Wakonda, SD; Fargo, ND; Madison, WI; Cambridge and Ham Lake, MN.

Dennis graduated from St. Olaf College and served three years as an infantry officer in the U. S. Marine Corps. He attended Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. Dennis and Mary have three married daughters and eight grandchildren.

Dennis and Mary have been serving at Bethany for 26 years since coming for the first time in 1993.

Currently they are leading a small group from Westwood Lutheran Church in St Louis Park, Minnesota discussing a prayer of good courage found in the Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 304, Evening Vespers.

Pastor - Rev. Larry Pinnow

Pastor Larry Pinnow grew up on a farm south of Brodhead, Wi. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Luther College, Bachelor of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, a Master of Sacred Theology and a Doctor of Ministry from Wartburg Seminary. Larry served congregations in Racine, Monroe and Madison. Since retirement he has served 12 congregations as an Interim.

Larry has been married to Mary for 25 years. He has three children with his first wife who died of cancer, eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren. He loves to read history, travel and enjoy their house on the north side of Madison.

Pastor - Rev. Dr. Mark Throntveit

Rev. Dr. Mark A. Throntveit is the Elva B. Lovell Emeritus Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, MN. In addition to his 38 years at Luther, Dr. Throntveit has taught at the University of Saint Thomas, Concordia University, and Augsburg University, and has held visiting Professorships in Sweden and Slovakia. He has served parishes in Whitewater, WI, Richmond, VA, and Minneapolis. Mark’s wife, Carol, is the Director of Adult Learning at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. They have two grown children, Trygve and Trevor, and four grandsons. The Throntveits were here in the 1970s and ’80s and are excited to return to Bethany and lovely Ephraim.

Pastor - Rev. Fran Odden

Rev. Fran Odden was born and raised in Decorah, Iowa. He is a graduate of Luther College in Decorah and Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He served parishes in Sandusky, Ohio, Minneapolis and Albert Lea, Minnesota and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He also did interim ministries with churches in conflict, as well as working mainly with inner city congregations for the Greater Milwaukee Synod during a transitional period. He was involved in community services such as YMCA, Lutheran Social services, Outreach for Hope, campus ministry, Whitefish Bay High School ethics committee and spent twelve years on the Luther College board of Regents.

Miriam and Fran have a son and daughter and four grandchildren. They love Door County and its beauty and appreciate being with you at Bethany.

Pastor - Rev. Gisele Berninghaus

Pastor Gisele Berninghaus serves Faith Lutheran Church in Marshfield, WI. She worked for 13 years with Hands of Christ Deaf Ministry, an ecumenical ministry supported by the ELCA, Episcopal, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ and Methodist churches.

Her daughter Anastasia was born in Kankakee, IL where Gisele served as Pastor at American Lutheran Church and her son Nathaniel was born while she was serving congregations in Caribou and Stockholm, Maine. Gisele Graduated from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD and Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg, PA. She interned in Baltimore MD, and was a teacher with the Deaf in Des Moines, IA.

Tim Van Eyck met Gisele on a confusing mission trip to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina and they have happily been attempting to sort out life together ever since.

Pastor - Rev. Dr. Diane Dardón

Reverend Diane Dardón serves as Director of Religious Diversity and Pastoral Care at DePaul University in Chicago. A graduate of Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, Diane is an ordained ELCA minister who recently completed studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, earning a Doctor of Ministry Degree. Diane has spent the majority of her ordained ministry in campus ministry, serving at Northern Illinois University and the University of Northern Iowa.

Diane is married to Estuardo and they have two children: Brian, a senior engineering student at the University of Illinois; and Cathryn, a freshman sociology major at DePaul Univeristy. The entire Dardón family has been involved in community service and global mission work particularly in Estuardo’s hometown in Guatemala.

Pastor - Rev. Dr. Brian Beckstrom

Rev. Dr. Brian A.F. Beckstrom has served at Wartburg College (Waverly, IA) since 2009. He is currently Dean of Spiritual Life, overseeing the college’s ministry and promoting faith exploration and development in and out of the classroom. Pastor Brian teaches in the college’s Leadership Program and Religion Department. His writing has appeared in The Journal of Lutheran Ethics, Intersections Magazine, and on the ELCA’s Living Lutheran web site. He is currently working on a book about Lutheran Higher Education.

Brian’s wife Josie works as a labor and delivery nurse at the Waverly Health Center. They have two children, Soren (18) and Linnea (15). The Beckstrom’s are excited to be back at Bethany for another summer!

Pastor - Rev. Dr. Brian Beckstrom

Rev. Dr. Brian A.F. Beckstrom has served at Wartburg College (Waverly, IA) since 2009. He is currently Dean of Spiritual Life, overseeing the college’s ministry and promoting faith exploration and development in and out of the classroom. Pastor Brian teaches in the college’s Leadership Program and Religion Department. His writing has appeared in The Journal of Lutheran Ethics, Intersections Magazine, and on the ELCA’s Living Lutheran web site. He is currently working on a book about Lutheran Higher Education.

Brian’s wife Josie works as a labor and delivery nurse at the Waverly Health Center. They have two children, Soren (18) and Linnea (15). The Beckstrom’s are excited to be back at Bethany for another summer!

Pastor - Rev. Scott Benolkin

The Rev. Scott K. Benolkin is the pastor of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church, Rockford, Illinois. A Minnesotan by birth, he grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Lenexa, Kansas. He is a graduate of Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Syracuse University, and the University of Minnesota. Before hearing God’s call to the ministry of Word and Sacrament he worked as an economist for the EPA and the Federal Reserve. He enjoys computer programming, disc golf, and traveling with his wife Monica and seven-year-old daughter Claire.

Pastor - Bishop Gerald Mansholt

The Reverend Gerald Mansholt has served as bishop of the East Central Synod of Wisconsin since July 1, 2014. Prior to moving to Appleton, Bishop Mansholt served congregations in Oklahoma, St. Louis, and Wichita, KS. He also served as bishop of the Central States Synod (Missouri and Kansas) from 2001-2013. Bishop Jerry grew up on a farm outside of Bunker Hill, Illinois and is a graduate of Christ Seminary-Seminex. Bishop Mansholt serves on the Board of Directors for 1517 Media, the publishing ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Bishop Jerry and Anita will be leading a trip to the Holy Land March 23-31, 2020 and would welcome inquiries from interested travelers.