Rev. Lois Knutson

Montevideo, Minnesota

Rev. Lois Knutson

My name is Pastor Lois Knutson. We're in Montevideo, Minnesota. I serve as a visitation pastor at Our Savior's Lutheran Church. We have a membership of 2,000 members. Over 500 members are over the age of 65 and I serve that segment of the congregation as well as I serve as chaplain at Luther Haven nursing home where we have 120 beds.

How did you get into being a pastor?

I felt called by God to be a pastor. I felt called to be a pastor even when I was in high school. At that time though the Lutheran church wasn't ordaining women.

Because the church wasn't ordaining women and I had a deep faith even as a junior high school student and a high school student, I did feel called to ministry. I decided to major in music at the University of Minnesota because for me religion and music are expressions of one's soul, of one's faith and of one's relationship with God. At that time, majoring in music was as close to ministry I could get.

What was the big break that allowed you to study and be ordained?

Well, the Lutheran church began ordaining women in 1970. At that point I was still in college and I was so far along in my degree that I continued on with that. In 1977 I entered seminary. When I entered seminary I had never met a woman pastor. Consequently I had never heard one preach.

Has it been easy for you?

Being a pastor? Not necessarily but it's been very rewarding. God has blessed me with a sense of inner peace that comes from being a wounded healer in my own life. Ministry is rewarding because I think that because of some of the struggles in my own life, I'm able to resonate with some of the pain that other people experience. As God gives me that sense of inner peace I like to be a vehicle of God to try to bring that inner peace to other people.

How important is family to you?

My family is very important. My mother is my best friend.

Are you a caregiver to your Mom?

I'm a long-distance caregiver to my mother. My mother lives a 400-mile round trip drive from Montevideo. When I needed to purchase a new automobile, I purchased an automobile that I knew would get good mileage and it would last for many years. I told myself that I need an automobile so that when I make that 400 mile round trip drive I'll have a comfortable drive and I will be in a very good spirit when I get to my Mother's house. If I'm in a very good spirit we'll have an even better time than we would have had before - which would have been a good one.

What about caregiving and this movement and recognition that we need to honor our parents by taking care of them and returning the favor of their raising us. Can you tell us a bit about that?

Well, for me caregiving is an opportunity to be a vehicle for God. As they said to bring inner peace to people whether it is my own family or my parishioners. The opportunity for caregiving personally for me evolves from my mother being a family caregiver to my grandmother when my grandmother had Alzheimer's in the later years of her life. I saw my Mother become quite a sacrificial, dedicated, loving caregiver to my grandmother and now as my mother ages I strive to be just part of what my mother was. My mother was so dedicated to my grandmother and as a long-distance caregiver to my mother, my goal is just to be the best daughter to her that I can. I call her every morning to make sure she's okay and I call her every evening when we chat a while.

Next: Rev. Knutson talks about her parishoners