Meet Our Staff

Pastor Lloyd Menke

Pastor Lloyd grew up on a farm in Southern Minnesota and received degrees from St. Olaf College and Luther Seminary. He served congregations in South Dakota, Iowa, and southern Minnesota before being called to serve as the Senior Pastor at Our Saviour’s in 2000. 

Pastor Lloyd and his wife Gaye have two grown children, Joshua and Katherine. Joshua is also an ordained ELCA pastor and Katherine is a middle school teacher. Gaye works for the Red Wing School district as a Physical Therapist.

For Pastor Lloyd, God is not a concept, idea or a doctrine. God is a living power that he has personally experienced, transforming despair into hope, hatred into love and sorrow into joy. Lloyd’s ministry is driven by a desire to assist others to discover God’s power and presence in their lives – to know there is something – MORE – when life looks dark or feels hopeless.

Reflecting on his call to serve as pastor at Our Saviour’s, Pastor Lloyd shared, “Serving at Our Saviour’s has been an honor and privilege. The people of Our Saviour’s have welcomed, supported, and shown genuine care for my family and me. Our Saviour’s is a congregation filled with many gifted people who are willing to share their gifts to the glory of God. The last 20 years have truly been a blessing to me both personally, spiritually, and professionally.”

When not serving members or continuing his education, Pastor Lloyd enjoys hiking, photography, hunting, fishing, traveling and exploring historical sites.

Pastor Joel Rova-Hegener

Pastor Joel grew up in South Minneapolis, graduating from Roosevelt High.  He holds degrees from, Waldorf and Augsburg Colleges, and Luther Seminary.  Prior to ordination, Pastor Joel ministered as a canoe guide in the BWCA, and did short-term missions ministry in Mexico and Estonia.  He has served congregations in Northern Minnesota, Western Washington and Norway, beginning his call at Our Saviour’s in the autumn of 2019.

What drew Pastor Joel to Our Saviour’s is the congregation’s vibrant ministry with its members, to the Hastings community beyond its doors, and to the greater world.  Our Saviour’s truly seeks to be the hands, feet and heart of Christ to its neighbors.  This is the embodiment of Jesus’ command to, “Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself,” the heart of our call as Jesus’ disciples!

Joel has been blessed to be able to worship with his Christian sisters and brothers in many places in the world.  He has experienced that no matter the denomination or culture, the gathered congregation’s shared faith in Jesus and his saving grace is what binds us together, and that Jesus’ love surmounts the boundaries of language, culture and dogma

Pastor Joel and his wife Emily, an ELCA pastor, have two teenaged sons.  Joel greatly enjoys time with his family, traveling, being in the wilderness (canoeing, hiking, hunting), reading, taking photos, visiting museums, and having good conversation over good coffee.

Joyce Nelson

Joyce was born, raised and lives in Red Wing, MN. She attended UW-Eau Claire where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Accounting. Joyce held accounting and supervisory positions at Red Wing Software, Red Wing Corner Drug and Red Wing Shoe Company before joining the Our Saviour’s staff in 2017. She and husband Dave have two grown children, Amanda and Alex; both are married. Joyce enjoys spending time in the fishing boat on the Mississippi River or Lake Pepin, reading, music, movies and watching sports, especially the Twins, Vikings, Wild and Gophers. Joyce and Dave also love spending time with their grandson, Jasper.

Joyce handles the business side of Our Saviour’s —financial administration, human resources, overseeing administrative and maintenance staff, technology, insurance and accounting. The responsibilities are many, but Joyce is always ready to face the next opportunity with a smile.

When asked what makes Our Saviour’s special, she is quick to respond, “The congregation of Our Saviour’s is so generous with their time and financial resources in supporting the church and the community. It’s a joy to work with so many people that support the mission of the church in so many different ways.”

  • Director of Children, Youth & Family
  • (651) 437-9052 Ext. 30
  • cyf@osel.org

Amy Hanson

Amy was born in Guin, AL a small town about 150 miles southeast of Memphis and raised primarily in Hastings and Hutchison Minnesota. Amy has lived in Hastings four different times throughout her lifetime and today, happily calls it home for her busy family of four. Amy has been a member of Our Saviour’s since she was young. Her grandparents were members and her parents were married at Our Saviour’s. Amy fondly remembers being a part of the many youth programs offered as she was growing up. “Our Saviour’s has always felt like home to me. A place where all are welcome and God’s Word is shared as truth. Not sugar-coated or dressed up, but simply put forward for all to hear.”

Amy is married to her best friend, Trent and they have four kids and one fur baby. The family enjoys being outdoors, especially at the cabin on the lake and in the mountains on the snow. S’mores are the favorite summertime food of choice, while homemade pizza takes its place during the winter. Amy’s adventuresome attitude has led her to visit almost all 50 states (Alaska, she’s still coming for you!), and places like the Great Wall of China, Auschwitz-Brikenau in Poland, Tamarindo in Costa Rica, and several major National Parks like Yosemite, Glacier, Olympic, Rainier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and the Grand Canyon.

In her downtime, Amy enjoys reading, relaxing by the lake, and listening to uplifting messages and music.

Linda Gathright

Linda grew up in Staples, MN with her parents, three brothers, one sister and a grandfather who also lived with the family for nearly 20 years. Linda met her husband Gordon on a weekend lay witness mission and their love for music and their faith in Christ drew them together. They journeyed to Knoxville, TN where Gordon received his education and became an ordained minister. After serving a church in the Texas Panhandle the couple moved back to Minnesota with their three young children and Linda joined the Our Saviour’s staff in 1986. She has been creating worship bulletins, newsletters, worship participant schedules and handling incoming phone calls ever since. Linda is also the Chancel Choir piano accompanist. She plays for worship, wedding, funerals, and special occasions at Our Saviour’s and other churches in the community. Linda and Gordon’s three children are married and have blessed them with six grandchildren, which sometimes requires a trip to Canada where their oldest daughter and four grandchildren live.

Linda enjoys learning about alternative healing remedies, cleaning products and healthy lifestyles. She loves the people of Our Saviour’s and the way they are always willing to help meet the needs of others in this community and beyond. Linda loves working with the volunteers who regularly help assemble bulletins and mailings. She surprised herself by skydiving after receiving the adventure as a gift from her children. Most of her travels have consisted of visiting family in Texas and Canada but also enjoyed a trip to Hawaii with her husband and friends.

Ann Traeder

Ann grew up in Bloomington, MN as one of six kids in her family and as she was the youngest admits she was a little spoiled but assures it was a “good” spoiled. A long time ago she was a commercial lines underwriter with The Hartford Insurance Company and CNA, but took a long leave from a career (24 years) when she had kids of her own. She moved to Hastings in 2014 with her husband Bob and three children from Kansas City, MO. Even though Missouri is now a few years in the rear-view mirror, Ann is still a big fan of the Kansas City Royals baseball and Chiefs football teams along with the MN Gophers sporting teams, especially Women’s Volleyball. She developed the KC sports fondness from her son Bobby as he was a typical elementary school sports fan when they lived there. Now,  two of her kids are away at college, Bobby at South Dakota State studying computer science and music; Chloe at St Olaf College studying Biology and Spanish. Her daughter Lydia, graduated from the Nursing program at South Dakota State University in 2022 and is working as an RN in Rapid City, SD.

Ann performed a lot of volunteer work at her many church homes and officially joined the staff at Our Saviour’s in 2016 when the office admin assistant vacancy opened and is often the cheerful and helpful voice answering the phone when you call the main office. Ann is involved in supporting staff as well as the many groups and programs, funerals and weddings offered at Our Saviour’s. She says, “Getting the chance to meet so many people with deep roots in the Hastings community here at Our Saviour’s has been a blessing to me.”

The last few years Ann’s spare time has been filled with volunteering for several high school activities that her kids were involved with, including being a “Band” and “Show Choir” Mom. Now she loves attending the college performances and being able to sit in the audience to listen and not be running around back stage. She hosted an exchange student, (Sarah) from Switzerland in the 2019/2020 school year and she looks forward to the day when she can travel to Switzerland to visit Sarah and her family. Ann has been involved with Bible Study Fellowship, a weekly bible study, for several years and has made several good friends through the organization. Her kids being off at college is a new life chapter and it has been an adjustment going from cooking for five or six to cooking for just two. She also enjoys British TV dramas, reading, baking and cross-stitching and spending time with her family and friends.

  • Organist
  • (651) 437-9052 Ext. 21

Jason Craft

Jason has been playing piano for most of his life. After graduating from UW-Eau Claire with a music degree in 1999, he has been a full time professional piano and organ player, performing as a soloist, in groups with top local and national artists, and in the studio on 100s of recordings.

In addition to being a full time musician, Jason is also a prolific eLearning developer, graphic designer, and devoted family man. When not staring at a computer screen writing code, or sitting at a piano exploring harmony, he loves to be surrounded by nature enjoying almost any outdoor activity with his family.

Jason joined the staff of Our Saviour’s in 2015 and enjoys immensely the New Creation band’s musicianship and friendship, the congregation’s compassion and warmth, and his role as band leader. “I have been blessed to meet and work with so many talented individuals from Our Saviour’s, and look forward to creating more opportunities to showcase this talent in a worship environment.”

Jeff Conklin

Jeff was part of a military family, born in Connecticut, moved to Virginia and then back to Connecticut before moving to Red Wing, Minnesota. He graduated from Red Wing High School and the Industrial Machine Maintenance course at Red Wing Vo-Tech, began working at Remmele Engineering four days after graduating from Vo-Tech. He stayed at Remmele Engineering for 40 years in the rolls of Maintenance Tech, Maintenance Supervisor and finally Maintenance Manager.  Jeff was responsible for maintaining CNC machine tools, three buildings totaling 300,000 square ft. and the grounds. His work also included being responsible for contractors and a multitude of safety and environmental programs. His involvement in Capital Equipment provided opportunities to travel to France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy multiple times.  

Jeff is married to Cheryl, who was raised in Hastings, and have two grown children, Jennifer and Jacob, and four grandchildren. They enjoy boating on the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers in the summer, hiking on the north shore and hosting game nights with family and friends. Jeff’s main hobby is woodworking and he makes furniture and small gifts.  

Sherri Lohmann, RN

Sherri grew up on a dairy farm between Cottage Grove and Hastings with three younger sisters.  She went to school in Cottage Grove, but was born in Hastings. Sherri has always had a connection to the community of Hastings as her family worshipped at a Lutheran church here.

Her first job as a Registered Nurse was at the hospital in St Croix Falls Wisconsin. The following years she worked at Bethesda Lutheran Medical Center on the post-cardiac telemetry unit.  As Sherri’s family grew, her nursing jobs changed to fit the needs of her growing family. At Regina Hospital she worked in OB, medical surgical and the Grace Unit. Then for years during the school year, she was the RN at Kennedy Elementary in Hastings and worked in psychiatric clinics during the summers. Later she moved on to nursing supervision at a residential treatment center for men with substance use disorders and mental health disorders. She also supervised a clinic that provided treatment for opioid addictions.  Following that, she was a nursing supervisor at an Assisted Living Facility in St. Paul. Managed care came next. At health insurance companies she reviewed clinical information, provided authorizations, and offered referrals for people seeking treatment for substance use disorders and mental health disorders. Sherri also took crisis calls from members and their families and provided guidance and access to the help needed in crisis. Sherri began her role of OSEL Parish Nurse on March 1, 2021.

Family is an important aspect of Sherri’s life. She is blessed with 4 sons (Justin, Brett, Matt and Mike), 4 daughters-in-law (Tracy, Andrea, Annie and Kim), and 12 grandbabies. Spending time with family is a high priority.  Being able to care for these little ones brings her great joy! For years she felt called to serve the Lord by using her experience to help the members of Our Saviour’s. The position of Parish Nurse meets the need for both spiritual life purpose and flexibility. Sherri has been a member of Our Saviour’s since 2003 and is grateful for the welcoming spirit here.

As Parish Nurse, Sherri promotes physical health, mental health, and spiritual health to fellow members, through visits, advocacy, support, education, and guidance.  The diversity of her experience helps her relate with and work across the generations. Sherri is honored to walk alongside the members of Our Saviour’s as their Parish Nurse and offer help and hope.

David Doll

It turns out, I’m a musician! It began in the early 1970s in south Minneapolis with piano and trumpet… my Norwegian Lutheran mother and family steered me into choir and handbells, but the calling of drums and percussion was too great. I came up through formal classical Percussion training, Youth symphonies, marching and jazz ensembles and ultimately touring and studio drumming throughout the 1980s until today. I have been fortunate enough to play with many great symphonies across the US, and also in various ensembles throughout South America, Europe and even Istanbul, Turkey. Early home audio recordings soon turned into studio demand, and I have been fortunate enough to record in many studios from LA to Nashville, and here at home, including Paisley Park and FlyteTyme studios.

A trusted friend and fellow musician asked about 14 years ago if I could assist him in some outdoor mixing at a large church in Golden Valley. Mixing live worship was completely new to me, but it was a great challenge providing support and ultimately being on staff for almost 10 years at that same Golden Valley church. Most recently, I had been helping with the bidding and installation of a large A/V Church sound system in Excelsior Minnesota, and then I was asked to be on staff there for another six years… When Jason put out a feeler for some support technicians at Our Saviour’s, I was excited for the opportunity to help in any way possible.

Drumming and percussion has been truly strange yet rewarding – with gigs playing puppet shows, avant garde electronic jazz, cross country fly dates to play with symphonies, and also a scary Colombian national prison gig. I will say however, staring down the baton of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Sarah Hicks is far scarier!

I look forward to the consistency and stability this talented musical church has to offer… and I’m honored to help.

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