Weekly Updates

Pastor - Rev. John Rollefson

John Rollefson, a native of Oconomowoc is a farm boy brought up in a little Norwegian congregation that was founded in 1844. He is a graduate of Luther College and Yale Divinity School and has served urban and campus congregations in San Francisco, Milwaukee, Ann Arbor and Los Angeles with interims in Solvang and London. He is married to Ruth Gordon, a retired public school vocal music teacher and church musician, with whom he recently celebrated his 50th anniversary of marriage. They live in retirement in San Luis Obispo, CA where they enjoy tennis, golf, hiking, travel, wine tasting and concert–going. They are the parents of two sons: Griff, a professor of musicology who with his wife Mary and two children, Augie and Zadie, live in Cork, Ireland where he and Mary teach at University College, Cork; and Jake, a sales executive with Pandora/Sirius, who with his wife Julianne and two children George and Andrew, live in Shorewood, WI.

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. This summer Larry has been supplying at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Johnson Creek while the Pastor is on sabbatical.

Larry has been married to Mary for 30 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. 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. This summer Larry has been supplying at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Johnson Creek while the Pastor is on sabbatical.

Larry has been married to Mary for 30 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. Gerald Mansholt

Pastor Jerry Mansholt has spent the past year serving as Interim Senior Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Green Bay. He also serves on the Strategic Vision Committee for Wartburg Seminary and on the Board of the We Raise Foundation. Formerly known as Wheat Ridge, We Raise partners with Christian ministries to free people from poverty, violence and inequality. Early in his ministry Jerry served as parish pastor in Oklahoma, St. Louis, and Wichita, Kansas. Later he served as bishop, first in the ELCA Central States Synod (Missouri/Kansas) and then in the ELCA East Central Synod of Wisconsin. In 2021-2022 Jerry served as Interim Pastor of Hosanna Lutheran Church, Mandeville, Louisiana. Pastor Jerry and Anita live in Appleton, Wisconsin and are members of First English Lutheran Church.

Pastor - Rev. Gerald Mansholt

Pastor Jerry Mansholt has spent the past year serving as Interim Senior Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Green Bay. He also serves on the Strategic Vision Committee for Wartburg Seminary and on the Board of the We Raise Foundation. Formerly known as Wheat Ridge, We Raise partners with Christian ministries to free people from poverty, violence and inequality. Early in his ministry Jerry served as parish pastor in Oklahoma, St. Louis, and Wichita, Kansas. Later he served as bishop, first in the ELCA Central States Synod (Missouri/Kansas) and then in the ELCA East Central Synod of Wisconsin. In 2021-2022 Jerry served as Interim Pastor of Hosanna Lutheran Church, Mandeville, Louisiana. Pastor Jerry and Anita live in Appleton, Wisconsin and are members of First English Lutheran Church.

Pastor - Rev. Harold Usgaard

Rev. Harold “Huck” is a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He holds degrees from Luther College and Luther Seminary, and was ordained a pastor in 1973.

He served as a pastor at Zumbro Lutheran in Rochester, MN; Mt. Hope Lutheran in West Allis, WI; and St. Olaf Lutheran in Austin, MN. Between 2001 and 2013, Huck was elected to two terms as Bishop of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod. Prior to retirement in 2018, he served as Assistant to the President for Church Relations at Portico Benefit Services, a ministry of the ELCA.

Huck and his wife, Lynette, live in Rosemount, MN, with their three adult children and three grandsons living close by… perfect for attending games, concerts, family gatherings, and dog sitting.

Bethany Lutheran and Door County have been a valued summer experience for the whole family over a number of years. Activities shared and relationships renewed have been a blessing.

Pastor - Rev. Harold Usgaard

Rev. Harold “Huck” is a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He holds degrees from Luther College and Luther Seminary, and was ordained a pastor in 1973.

He served as a pastor at Zumbro Lutheran in Rochester, MN; Mt. Hope Lutheran in West Allis, WI; and St. Olaf Lutheran in Austin, MN. Between 2001 and 2013, Huck was elected to two terms as Bishop of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod. Prior to retirement in 2018, he served as Assistant to the President for Church Relations at Portico Benefit Services, a ministry of the ELCA.

Huck and his wife, Lynette, live in Rosemount, MN, with their three adult children and three grandsons living close by… perfect for attending games, concerts, family gatherings, and dog sitting.

Bethany Lutheran and Door County have been a valued summer experience for the whole family over a number of years. Activities shared and relationships renewed have been a blessing.

Pastor - Rev. Dennis Ellisen

A native New Yorker, Pastor Ellisen received his college degree at Upsala College in New Jersey. Prior to receiving his Master of Divinity degree at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, he was a social worker in New York City. He served congregations in Rochester, and Albany, N.Y. before accepting a call to Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Appleton,Wisconsin in 1976. During his tenure, Our Saviour’s grew in membership to 2600 members. Pastor Ellisen has served on the executive board of the Large Church Conference of the ELCA. Since retirement in 2008, he has served as an Interim Pastor for the East Central Synod in various congregations. He has recently retired.

Pastor Ellisen and his wife Cathy have 4 children and 8 grandchildren. They enjoy traveling, golfing, and watching the grandchildren participate at TCU for soccer and UConn for baseball. They also enjoy quiet sunsets at their cottage on the bay outside of Dycksville.

Pastor - Rev. Janel Kuester

Pastor Janel Kuester has been serving in a small town-rural congregation on the Minnesota prairie – Christ Lutheran Church in Cottonwood – for six years. She served three other congregations in the Saint Paul Area Synod as an ordained Pastor and one as a lay leader, prior to moving back closer to home. She is a second career pastor with an elementary teaching degree where she taught for several years before moving to adult learners for eight years when she worked at a corporate company offering computer and soft skill training courses. During seminary, she worked at the State of Minnesota Board of Barbers and Cosmetologist Examiner’s office as a Database Project Manager and built her own small HR and Bookkeeping business. Almost every evening, you will find her out taking Prairie Sunset photos and in the summer digging in her perennial and vegetable garden.

Pastor - Rev. Diane Dardon

Rev. Dr. Diane Dardón is the Director of Religious Diversity and Pastoral Care at DePaul University in Chicago where she also serves as the university’s Protestant Chaplain. 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, having served as campus pastor at Northern Illinois University and at the University of Northern Iowa prior to her time at DePaul. Diane is also faculty at Emmaus Accademy in Naples, FL, and recently became certified in spiritual direction.

Diane’s greatest joy is delighting in her Guatemalan-American family and accompanying her children as they begin their careers. Diane and her husband, Esturado, have two children: Brian who is currently in St. Louis, working as an engineer in the aerospace field at Boeing and Cathryn who is pursuing studies for a career in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity at DePaul Univerity while also serving as an executive officer for DePaul’s Student Government Association. The Dardón family enjoys travel and tries to spend time each year with Estuardo’s family in Guatemala.