Kristen Capel is a mother, spouse, artist, musician, writer, and pastor. She grew up in Iowa, went to college in Iowa (Wartburg College), and attended seminary in Iowa (Wartburg Seminary). Weirdly, she doesn’t live in Iowa now. She lives here in MN with her husband (Dan, a civil engineer and long-distance mountain biker) and two creative and independent children (Lia and Annika). Kristen has served three fabulous ELCA churches, and absolutely loves the congregation and community of Nokomis Heights! Kristen works 3/4 time at Nokomis Heights, and keeps busy with her very part-time gigs as a Generosity Consultant and Freelance Writer. When spare time is found, she loves to read, cook, bake, and go on long hikes with friends. Kristen’s ministry and life is grounded in Matthew 22:37 – Love God. Love your Neighbor.

Pastor Steve and his wife Donita have three adult children and nine grandchildren. He was ordained in 1978, and over a 40+ year ministry served congregations in Maryland, Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota. Before retiring last September he served as Bishop of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod, ELCA, from 2013 to 2019. Besides being an outstanding preacher, Pastor Steve has a warm personal style that will fit extremely well with the visitation role. He enjoys reading and being outdoors – walking, running, biking, tennis, golf, skiing – and in February 2020, he accomplished one of his bucket list experiences: climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania!

Yesenia is a student at Wartburg Theological Seminary. She did her internship at Nokomis Heights and is now serving as our Pastoral Associate. She was born in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, grew up in Illinois, has lived in Puerto Rico and South Dakota and has been residing in MN for 14 years with the hope of staying in MN for many more years to come. When you can’t find her preaching, studying, translating, listening, caring and praying for everyone in the Nokomis Heights community and beyond, she might be practicing contemplative/centering prayer barefoot grounding in nature, or spending quality time with her Mom, her siblings, nieces and friends, or playing with her two dogs Lucero and Simba or her cat Temixco. Yesenia’s participation in God’s loving mission is grounded in her strong belief that our liberation is intertwined with our neighbor including all of God’s creation knowing that God in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit has set us free from that which wants to separate us from who God created us to be and free for lovingly serving our neighbor.

A native of Worthington, MN, Amber studied vocal music and speech at Minnesota State University, Mankato and received her Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary. Amber left the state in 2010 as the recipient of The Graduate Preaching Fellowship from Luther and returned thirteen years later after serving alongside her husband Kevin in South Dakota & Southern California. Amber used her gifts for ministry alongside her creative gifts as a mom to three daughters, photographer, supply pastor, graphic designer, and has always been an entrepreneur at heart. Music, art, travel, and language have always been part of Amber’s DNA. She’s thrilled to be able to put those passions to good use alongside the gifts of others in the Nokomis Heights family.

Originally from Danbury, Iowa, Travis lives in the Nokomis neighborhood of south Minneapolis with his partner, Rachel Anderson, and their three children, Norma, Miles, and Emilia. He has been with Nokomis Heights since the spring of 2024. In addition to his role at Nokomis Heights and being a dedicated father and husband, Travis works full-time as the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) of Gopher Athletics at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family. Passionate about the great outdoors, Travis enjoys hiking, camping, and exploring nature. His involvement with youth ministry allows him to share his love for adventure and faith with the next generation.

Cindy Nelson has led creative programs for children at Nokomis Heights for more than 35 years and has held the position of secretary since 2011. A graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, she previously worked as an editor at Augsburg Fortress Publishers. Cindy has put her writing skills to work over the years, producing VBS and Sunday school curriculum and devotionals for both Nokomis Heights and the greater church. She is a master at creating biblical scenes from cardboard and coming up with crazy games and crafts that keep kids busy. And as an editor, she puts her keen eye to making sure each Sunday’s bulletin is a work of art.

Marc Olson is an author, editor, theologian, dad, and stepdad. He has worked as a teacher, pastor, garbage collector, manager of a family homeless shelter, and undertaker’s assistant. In addition to helping develop a number of curriculum projects for children, youth, and adults, Marc has written four kids’ books, including the award-winning “The World Jesus Knew: A Curious Kid’s Guide to Life in the First Century.” Currently, Marc works full time as a developmental editor at Hazelden Publishing. He has degrees from Pacific Lutheran University and Luther Seminary and lives with his wife Sara in St. Paul.

Originally from Venezuela, Blanca moved to Minnesota in 2003 to earn her second Master degree in Education at Hamline University. Since moving to the United States, she has worked with the Latino community as a leader and as a Parent Engagement Director to support low-income families, find resources for the community, and fighting against inequality and injustice. In 2010, she founded the Bilingual Learning Center (BLC) a bilingual-bicultural school program located in Windom School and Nokomis Heights. Blanca’s passion is working with children and diverse communities, offering them equal opportunities to learn in a welcoming, safe environment regardless color, sexual and gender identities, religion, and cultural background.  She wrote a book about mindfulness for kids: “The Boy and the Blue Heron.”

Joyce Suek joined the office staff in 2007 as a part-time secretary. It’s Joyce’s friendly voice you hear if you call the office on Mondays and Tuesday and every other Wednesday. A native of South Minneapolis and a former member of the Hale Page Diamond Lake Association (HPDL) board, Joyce is our go-to for any news or information regarding the neighborhood.

Julie Urban has been sharing her gifts as organist at Nokomis Heights for 34 years. She is a graduate of Augsburg College in Minneapolis. Julie’s skill at the organ and her attention to worship planning and knowledge of hymnody have been a source of great pride for Nokomis Heights. Her musical gifts help bring meaning to worship and send us out of the church each Sunday with a song in our hearts. In addition to her duties as organist, Julie also arranges for special music and works with soloists and small groups of instrumentalists and singers.

Holly is an artist, writer, and graphic designer with more than 25 years of experience. She has worked for a variety of organizations as a freelancer, but most of her clients have been arts organizations such as the Guthrie Theater, Ten Thousand Things Theater, the Gay Men’s Chorus, and Project Success. Holly also spent eight years as a designer and writer in a church setting, creating and writing weekly small group materials that grappled with difficult questions of faith. Holly paints in watercolor and acrylic, and every color is her favorite.