meet our staff.
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Joyceann Kroger Congregational Care Joyceann grew up on a small farm near Medford, MN; attended Medford Public Schools from K-12, and the College of Saint Teresa in Winona, MN, where she received a BS, nursing. The summer of her freshman year in college, she had a summer adventure, and worked at Wall Drug in South Dakota, and her life hasn't been the same since! It was there she began to appreciate the diversity of South Dakota in its people, and landscapes, and history and culture. It was there, too, where she met her future husband, and also began attending her first Bible studies, and began to really grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ as one's personal Savior. For almost thirty years, she has worked as a registered nurse in a variety of settings.Ê Joyceann married Greg over twenty eight years ago, and they have two adult sons, Karl (and Michelle), and Kaleb. In her roles as daughter, sister, nurse, wife, mother, and then pastor's wife, she never expected the additional role of being in "Congregational Care", as a staff position. Her faith journey has included lots of roles supporting her husband's position, and doing her "own thing," which really isn't hers at all, but has had God's hand in them. ÊIn one of her former churches, she and others began a then untraditional women's Bible study at 7:00 AM in her home that met every Saturday morning before any soccer games started! She fell into leading an adult Sunday School class for two years at another church with a diverse group of people. She has led a women's retreat at Lake Poinsett United Methodist Camp for women of this church almost 4 years ago. She has an interest in missions that was piqued with short term mission trips to Haiti, Ecuador, and Sarajevo, Bosnia. Seeing starving children with the discolored hair and bulging bellies of malnutrition, hearing the stories of persecuted and whipped Christians high in the Andes mountains, and experiencing the war torn city of Sarajevo with UN soldiers, and yellow warning tape to keep you outside mined areas of city parks) have had a profound effect on seeing Jesus Christ in the faces of each person who has been created in His image. Joyceann feels humbled and blessed to be in this position at First United Methodist Church.Ê It is my hope to continue the coordination of the ministries under this congregational care umbrella, and to help care for this congregation that has such a rich history and diverse body of Christian servants. |
