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William (Bill) Beckstrand (fourth from the left) was recently ordained at Trinity Lutheran Church. Since 2014, with Pastor Kristin Garey, Bill has served as a part-time lay pastor and minister of music at Trinity Lutheran. Photo courtesy of Phillip Anderson
Reverend William A. Beckstrand was ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at a service held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Hovland on Saturday afternoon, March 20, 2021. The Presider and Ordinator was Bishop Amy Odgren of the Northeastern Minnesota Synod. Participating clergy were Philip Anderson, Peter Beckstrand, Mark Ditmanson, Kristin Garey, Anne Swallow Gillis, and Tom Murray. The ministry of music at the service was provided by Pastor Beckstrand (comprised of his own compositions over many years) and Erika Ternes as Cantor. Erika Ternes was bellringer. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, physical presence was limited to family and members of Trinity’s ordination committee, but the service was livestreamed with many in attendance. With generations of Lutheran pastors in the family, Bill’s brother Peter preached the ordination sermon.
Bill Beckstrand is well known and much appreciated throughout Cook County as a musician, composer, teacher, and director of the Borealis Chorale and Orchestra since 2010. His journey to ordained ministry has evolved over many years within his vocation as a church musician. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Bachelor of Music, 1985), Concordia University-River Forest (Master of Church Music, 1992), and Luther Seminary (Master of Arts in Systematic Theology, 1993), Bill has served as minister of music at University Lutheran Church of Hope in Minneapolis (1989- 2002), Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Grand Marais (2004-2007), First Lutheran Church, Duluth (2007- 2010), as well as several interim and artist-in-residence positions. His compositions of sacred music include many commissioned pieces.
Bill has had a long association with Trinity Lutheran Church, beginning almost twenty years ago when he moved to Owen Island in Little Pigeon Bay. From 2004-2007, he served as half-time lay minister at the congregation, sharing his time with Bethlehem. Since 2014, with Pastor Kristin Garey, Bill has been part-time lay pastor and minister of music and worship. Bill’s ordination is the culmination of years of discernment, completing the ELCA’s TEEM program at Wartburg Seminary, with Mark Ditmanson as his internship supervisor, and working with Trinity’s ordination committee (chaired by Karen Nasby) and the Northeastern Minnesota Synod.
Supported by family, congregants, and many friends along the way, the ordination service also honored the presence and influence of the late Pastor Ham Muus in Bill’s life. He was vested with a stole gifted by his family and installed in the service as co-pastor with his colleague for many years, Pastor Garey, in the shared ministry of Word and Sacrament. It was a beautiful, solemn, and festive occasion.
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