Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

Thank you for bravely answering the call to host an intern this year at Bethlehem.  I am thrilled to have been invited into the worship and life of this community of faith.  Over the next year, I will be working hard to learn and experience the story of this particular people of God called Bethlehem Lutheran Church.  As a means of initial introduction let me share a little bit about myself with all of you.

      I grew up in Appleton, WI and was blessed with a loving and supportive family and faith community.  My parents and my sister still live in Appleton and I am grateful for any opportunity to spend a few hours in the car to see them.

      I graduated from St. Olaf College in 2002 with majors in history and religion.  I took advantage of the numerous travel opportunities afforded students at St. Olaf and spent two interims abroad, my junior year in Russia and senior year in Cuba.  Those experiences were a tremendous amount of fun but also critical in gaining a greater perspective of my place and calling in the world.

      While at St. Olaf I was fortunate to meet the woman who would later become my wife.  Beth and I were married last August here in Minneapolis at Mt. Olivet, where she and her family grew up.  Beth grew up in Eden Prairie but went to high school in Hopkins.  She is currently working for Target Corporation in Minneapolis.  Together with our beagle Ole (as St. Olaf alum we couldn't resist) we live in the Kenny neighborhood in Minneapolis.

      After graduation I served as the Youth Ministries Coordinator at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in St. Paul for 2 ½ years.  In that context and with the support of family and friends I began to discern a call to ordained ministry and began my study at Luther Seminary in 2005.

      In my travel, my work, and my study I have consistently been shown the many and diverse ways in which the Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of the people of God.  Time and time again God appears, creating anew, often despite our best efforts to stand in the way. I am excited to listen with this community, to see what new things God may be calling us to be together, for the sake of this world.  I invite you all to help me learn over the course of this year, to tell me your stories, and to pray with and for me.  I look forward to getting to know names and faces as soon as I can.

In Peace,

Ben Cieslik