Trinity Lutheran Church

Pastor William (Bill) Beckstrand, Pastor and Director of Music

My first encounter with Trinity was nearly 20 years ago, when I attended worship as a new seasonal resident - having just acquired a tiny Island in Little Pigeon Bay (Lake Superior), just across the border in Canada. I knew immediately, that first summer, that I wanted to make this my home, and Trinity my faith community. I have been here in some form, on and off, ever since, as my ministry in the church has called me here and there, in all sorts of capacities.

Much of my ministry and background has been in worship and music, and for years I served University Lutheran Church of Hope in Minneapolis. I also attended Luther Seminary, graduating from there in 1993. During that time, I was deeply involved in the professional musical circles of the Twin Cities, primarily in choral music, and as a composer (a vocation that is still very much central in my life). An MA in Church Music (Concordia University, Chicago) was completed along the way, and in the years that followed I served parishes in Duluth, Thunder Bay, Minneapolis, and elsewhere, and for a brief time taught in the music department at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. In recent years I have enjoyed directing Cook County's BOREALIS CHORALE AND ORCHESTRA , an enthusiastic civic musical ensemble that draws 100 or so participants from our community.

Ordination has been chasing me around for some three decades now, and until recently God has had other plans for me. Trinity  finally became the catalyst for my answering a call to Word and Sacrament ministry, and I was ordained on March 20, 2021.  I look forward to a future of pastoral leadership in this beautiful and faithful place.

Kristen Carlsgaard, Ministry Assistant

Kristen grew up in the spiritual tradition of the Evangelical Covenant Church, and participated in several youth training programs at Adventurous Christians near Grand Marais, and worked at Covenant Park Bible Camp in Mahtowa, MN. She attended North Park College in Chicago for an undergraduate degree in English and Spanish.  She served as a short-term missionary with the Evangelical Covenant Church in Mexico City. After attending the Missions Orientation program at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, Kristen served a four-year term as a missionary with the Covenant Church in Oaxaca, Mexico.  Training and working alongside young people who served their churches and communities in the areas of Christian Formation, pastoral work, literacy, public health, and development was a vocational experience forever dear to her heart. Hovland and Trinity have welcomed Kristen, John, and Martine into the life of the congregation.

Kristen has been involved at Trinity in multiple ways for many years, most recently as the church custodian and prior to that as Youth and Family Facilitator. She assists principally with office organization and communication. As needs arise, Kristen will also be available to assist in other areas.