Taste and See: Connecting With God Through Spiritual Practices

Beth Horsch is the lead Pastor at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church of Plymouth in Minnesota. The church is located next to a regional park and has expansive grounds that feature a walkable labyrinth and community garden. This is an expression of their vision to be a community partnering with God in the world. Beth is the first female lead pastor in the congregation’s history. She loves being able to ask people questions about where they see God’s presence, and she also enjoys supporting the formation of Christian community through her role. Beth is a spiritual leader, community builder, thoughtful communicator and observer, futuristic thinker, and adept practitioner of puns. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management from the University of Montana and a Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Rev. Blair Pogue is the Canon for Innovation in the Episcopal Church in Minnesota. In that capacity, she helps congregations all over the state go deeper in their practice of the Christian faith, and learn how to join up with spiritually curious neighbors Jesus loves who don’t go to church. Before joining Bishop Loya’s staff, she was the rector of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in St. Paul for 16 ½ years, and before she served rural and suburban congregations in Virginia, with a special focus on Christian formation. She has a Doctor of Ministry in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary.

David Tsai Shinn is the Associate Pastor for Congregational Care at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He works with trained lay leaders to meet the care needs of the entire church family, and he also serves as the liaison to the Westminster Counseling Center Board. David says he is called to match people’s passions with the needs of the church and the community, and to nurture and expand those gifts. He is also called to be an ambassador of God at the critical moments when he is invited into people’s lives. David was born in Taiwan and immigrated to the U.S. when he was 11. He earned his Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and his Doctor of Ministry from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

David Sorensen is a staff member at Pacem in Terris, a hermitage retreat center in Isanti, Minnesota. He welcomes and supports hermit guests and also serves as the group retreat coordinator and sacristan. David was drawn to Pacem by the possibility of working with people one-on-one in their faith journeys. He has been on the team for eight years. David is an oblate in the order of St. Benedict with St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. His background includes working as an office coordinator in a law firm and teaching high school for many years in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and New York. David has a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education from the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities campus) and a Master of Arts in Theology from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Dr. Donna Johnson is the Director of Internship and Placement at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is also currently the Pastor of Care at Mill City Church in Minneapolis, where she leads the prayer team and other care teams, provides one-on-one pastoral care to the church community, and preaches a few times a year. Donna has a Master of Arts in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from Bethel Seminary. Her master’s thesis was on the development of an intentional prayer ministry for undergraduate students. She launched the ministry, called Prayer First, at Bethel University and ran it for 10 years. Johnson’s life and ministry have both been shaped and transformed by intercessory prayer. She says it connects us to God and helps us get out of our comfort zones as we focus on the needs of other people. 

Tessa Pinkstaff is the founder of Practices for Life. This ministry, based in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, offers spiritual direction, resources, workshops, multi-week courses, and guided retreats for everyday Christians and ministry leaders. The focus is on helping people experience God’s presence for themselves through spiritual practices so they can grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus. 

She leads the weekly Dwelling in the Word online gathering, serves as a project consultant for Luther Seminary’s Faith+Lead, and has written several articles for the Faith+Lead blog. Tessa is the co-author of Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future with Dwight Zscheile and Michael Binder (Fortress Press, 2023). She facilitates workshops, courses, and retreats where people can try a variety of practices for themselves. Tessa has a Master of Arts in Ministry from Bethel Seminary and is in the process of becoming certified as a spiritual director.

Rev. Dr. Steve Thomason is an artist, pastor, and teacher, passionate about studying and teaching the Bible. He earned a Ph.D. in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary and then became an Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation and Discipleship within the seminary.

He is the author of “A Cartoonist’s Guide to the Bible” and “The Visual Preacher: Proclaiming an Embodied Word.” In his work as an artist, Steve regularly focused on writing and drawing about Spiritual Formation, Biblical Studies, Theology, and Art. 

He is a graduate of Wheaton College, where he studied art (BA, 1990), Bethel University, where he focused on Biblical Studies (MDiv, 2002), and Luther Seminary (Ph.D., 2015).