
GALILEE LUTHERAN CHURCH
Gathering to hear God's story, be nurtured in faith, and share the good news
STAFF
Pastor Dana Nelson

Administrative Assistant
Paul Swenson, Music Coordinator
Tim Rand, Organist

Before entering Luther Seminary Pastor Dana volunteered at various community organizations including Project Minnesota-León and the Community Movement, Canada’s Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), and the Peace Corps. She has lived in Nicaragua , Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, South Africa, the Philippines, China and Ethiopia.
Pastor Dana is a 2006 graduate of Luther Seminary with a Masters of Divinity. She was an assistant researcher of mission for Dr. Freider Ludwig, director of the Global Mission Institute of Luther Seminary and wrote Mission and Migration: Fifty-two African and Asian Congregations in Minnesota, published by Lutheran University Press. From 2007 to 2013 she worked through ELCA Global Missions with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Peru, serving as a pastor to the congregations of Cristo Rey in Surco and Talitha Kum in Cusco. While she was in Peru, she taught Liturgy and Homiletics at the Lima campus of the Latin American Biblical University of Latin America. She currently lives in St. Paul with her husband, Tom Ososki and their two children. En Español
In addition to the above mentioned article, Pastor Dana has published:
• Foreigner Talk https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED353826.pdf
• Dana Nelson (2006) Dry Bones Can Live Again, Journal of Religion &
Abuse, 8:1, 49-54, DOI: 10.1300/J154v08n01_09. Download citation
https://doi.org/10.1300/J154v08n01_09
• Working Preacher Commentaries in Spanish:
Matthew 5 and 17
John 13, 14 and 20
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Maná y misericordia
Manna and Mercy has been translated into Spanish, by Dana Nelson and the folks at Transvisual in Peru!
http://mannaandmercy.org/in-spanish.html
Paul grew up in Jamestown, ND, where I learned about snow shoveling, baseball, theater, movies, singing in and accompanying choirs. Although I loved music, I didn't pursue it right away, and got a degree in philosophy as I worked as a hospital aide, a janitor and a camp counselor. Eventually, I did get a degree in music at the University of North Dakota, where I was an instructor for five years. I also found music work at at local churches. In 1989, a Lutheran campus ministry to Michigan State University hired me as music director. In 1991, I married my college sweetheart here at Galilee and the following year became organist at Christ Lutheran. Elen and I have a daughter, Joanna, who is now 30 years old, and who was baptized and confirmed at Galilee.
Tim Rand has been an organist at Galilee Lutheran Church for about 20 years
He has a BA degree in music with a concenration in organ from Carleton College in Northfield, MN. He is active in the Organ Historical Society and American Guild of Organists with whom he holds the Servive Playing Certificate. He is also a registered nurse in inpatiend hematology-onocology at the University of Minnesota Medical Center.
Tim Rand, Music Coordinator
Raymond Nottidge, Organist

LEADERSHIP
2023-2024 Galilee Congregational Council:
CarolAnn Hart, President
Steve Bartz, Vice President
Joan Jarombek, Secretary
Elen Swenson
Peter Solberg
James Hart
Cherie Garrod
Leesa Matthews
Barb Strenge, Treasurer
Miriam Peterson, Financial Secretary
Pastor Dana Nelson