Debbie Jorgens to be Director of Visitation & Congregational Care

The congregation council recently accepted the recommendation of the Personnel & Selection Committees to hire Debbie Jorgens to serve as Prince of Peace’s next Director of Visitation & Congregational Care.  Debbie will begin her tenure among us the week of January 17.  Pastors Betsy and Peter look forward to welcoming her to our ministry leadership team and to have her working alongside us all in our mission “to build the church and love the world.”

Here is Debbie’s bio from our Staff page:

Before beginning a 25-year career with Thrivent Financial, I was a music teacher, children’s and youth ministries director, and director of children’s choirs. Most recently, I directed the outreach ministries at Grace Lutheran Church in Andover and served as an intern chaplain at Mercy Hospital. Valuing life-long learning, I followed a meandering path to Luther Seminary and graduated in 2019 with a Master of Arts in Christian Ministry. My husband, Bob, and I have five children and five grandchildren and are lucky to have them all living in the Twin Cities! In addition to playing with the grandkids, I enjoy playing the piano, baking, cheering on my favorite sports teams, and spending time at the Jorgens’ family farm near Scandinavia, Wisconsin. I’m excited to become part of the Prince of Peace community!

You will note that her title is slightly different from the title that Pastor Ruth held while serving our congregation in this capacity.  While holding comparable education credentials, Debbie is not an ordained pastor or deacon. The Personnel Committee did not see this as a barrier to fulfilling the core responsibilities of this position.  Her title as “Director” reflects her status as a lay professional in the church.  It will be appropriate to address her simply as “Debbie” but we shouldn’t also be bothered if the occasional “Pastor Debbie” slips out as her responsibilities remain rather pastoral in function.  Though not presiding over baptisms, weddings or communion, you’ll find Debbie engaged in most everything Pastor Ruth was doing previously, including preaching on occasion.

We will be eager to welcome Debbie to our congregation. An opportunity to greet her in person will be on Sunday, January 23. We will formally install her in her new role as a part of worship during both services that morning.