‘Filled with gratitude’

There is a time for everything, as the Good Book says, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

So, after 25 years of comforting the grieving, celebrating newborns and guiding generations through faith, the Rev. Heidi Heimgartner decided it was time for her to step down.

Her final Sunday at First Lutheran Church in Blooming Prairie was Aug. 16, and if you’re a numbers person, here’s about where Heimgartner landed:

529 baptisms

385 students confirmed

191 weddings

505 funerals

But ask Heimgartner questions about her career, and her answers are filled with the names of other people.

Landing in BP

“First Lutheran has LeMar Nelson and his brother, Randy, to thank for our original connection,” she said of her introduction to Blooming Prairie.

She sensed a call to ministry at age 17, declaring a religious studies major when she registered for classes at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The call continued to grow as she worked in campus ministry.

A Wisconsin native, her Minnesota residency became official when Heimgartner arrived at Luther Seminary in St. Paul for its Master of Divinity program.

Two years later, she was in Blooming Prairie to serve her required year of internship as part of her master’s program.

She and her husband Paul had married that summer; they moved into an apartment above the beauty salon, across from what is now MBT Bank and the former U.S. Bank.

“I loved that apartment,” Heimgartner said. “This was long before smartphones, and I could look out our living room window to read the time and temperature.”

The Rev. Dick Hegal “was a capable and kind supervisor,” she said, “and I was truly embraced on day one, with open arms and hearts – both in the congregation and in the community.”

Coming ‘home’

Heimgartner was ordained in July 2001; the couple returned to Blooming Prairie, where Heidi again served with Hegal, this time as associate pastor.

Again, she runs down a list of people: the Revs. Curtis Johnson, Karl Korbel, Diaconal Minister Barb Peterson, the Revs. Charlie Leonard, Chris Miller, Jeff Sandgren, Mike Walerius, “and the freshest edition to our staff, Pastor Laurel Meester.

“She’s a talented preacher, keen theologian and the best knitter I have ever seen,” Heimgartner said.

“I could write books about how special each staff member is,” she continued, naming music leaders, worship leaders, teachers, office staff and more.

“Just know the contributions of the church staff, past and present, is inspiring,” Heimgartner said.

“I embrace that we all need role models, especially as we begin – but also all the way through,” she said of her own role in being a mentor. “Ministry can be lonely, and the best way to solve dilemmas can be complex. My colleagues know I will always advocate for the promise and potential of rural communities, because stereotypes persist.”

She discovered what she calls “a newfound visibility when I was called as the first female lead pastor of First Lutheran in 2017, and I wanted to set a quiet intention to use any trust I had earned to lift up others with gifts to serve.

“Women, sure,” Heimgartner said, “but when given permission, leadership will emerge from lots of unexpected places, from lots of unexpected people… When you keep your ears open, you will find there is endless possibility, and people willing to commit to causes they care about, all over this community.”

Being “the first” can be a big responsibility, she said, “but it also brings a lot of opportunity to empower a congregation. I have prayed each day to be worthy of the trust of God’s people. That’s what any spiritual leader has to remember: The ministry is God’s, not ours.”

Covid congregation

The pandemic hit Heimgartner professionally and personally.

“When Covid began, I remember thinking, “OK, God, now I understand why I am here at this time and place,” she said.

Paul, a microbiologist by training, was moved to the new Covid lab at Mayo Clinic, where he spent the next six months on the front lines of gathering and disseminating information about the disease.

Heimgartner said her husband described his time Covid-testing thousands of samples daily as “building the airplane while we are flying it.”

The church, too, had priorities: Anything that was redesigned to accommodate restrictions had to be safe, simple and personal.

“People were suffering, and not just with illness,” Heimgartner said, “but with isolation, anxiety and disillusionment. We were blessed that we had the radio ministry, a website and online giving.”

Like many churches, Trinity Lutheran needed months – and plenty of money – to increase its video capacity to livestream.

Heimgartner wrote a weekly column for the church’s elders for more than a year; she set an individual goal of answering each letter the church received – and of calling five or more members every day.

“Each Sunday, we tied prayer ribbons to a cross form in the sanctuary,” she said. The ribbons were later sewed into several quilts.

“I remember tearing up many Mondays, knowing members’ work hours had been reduced, and still, the donations continued,” Heimgartner said. Because of that generosity and adaptability, “we persevered.”

She performed outdoor baptisms, outdoor graveside services for burials, micro-weddings and individual first communions.

“I stood outside Prairie Manor at residents’ windows and called their cell phones to visit,” Heimgartner said. “We spent Christmas Eve 2020 in the church parking lot singing ‘Silent Night’ when the windchill was -40.”

The education coordinator and church musicians were instrumental in creating online vacation Bible school and Sunday school. The stewardship team made red “We Have Hope” lawn signs.

The congregation didn’t gather in person for about 14 months, she said, “and it took more than another year for things to feel back to normal.”

Up next

Heimgartner will appeal to the Synod Council to seek a classification known as “on leave from call.”

“This will give me time to rest and discern what’s next, as well as give unpressured time to relocate,” she said. “Paul’s work remains the same, though we do hope to shorten his daily commute. We have never had a ‘regular’ weekend our entire marriage, or even the same day off, except for planned vacations.”

Things like parents’ weekend at college or catching a nephew’s soccer tournament bring a sense of excitement, she said.

Their son, Luke, is a junior at the University of Minnesota-Duluth; their son, Jon, has started his freshman year at UMD.

“I did offer that I would be available for emergency pulpit supply in our synod once per quarter,” Heimgartner said. “I hope leading worship is like riding a bike…”

A fulfilling life

“I was given a tremendous privilege to preach the gospel, administer the sacraments and care for the spiritual life of thousands,” she said, “and I am filled with gratitude.”

Once again, she shares the credit.

“Nothing ever gets accomplished in any organization by one person alone,” Heimgartner said. “In Lutheran churches, leadership is absolutely shared by volunteers, those elected to offices, and people who take a role on the church staff.

“From wedding coordinators to custodians, and communion servers to stewardship team members… every acolyte who lights a candle and every volunteer Sunday school teacher… and all who sit in a pew singing on Sunday, or is an ecumenical participant in Bible study,” have been an integral part of her own service.

“I truly believe First Lutheran is uniquely vital – and, I pray – welcoming, centered in grace and future-oriented,” Heimgartner said. “Even the thankless jobs like compliance reporting, chipping sidewalk ice, tying up filets for the lutefisk dinner, pulling courtyard weeds, or caulking a roof; there are people of good will and great faith who step forward.”

Because of that, she said, it would be too difficult to name any specific experiences that stand out, “and many of them are too tender to put in the newspaper.

“Though I like to laugh and have fun, most people who know me know I am not a casual person, and I don’t do things halfway, really, ever,” Heimgartner said.

“So if you’re reading this, and wondering if our connection meant something: Yes, it did, and yes, I was touched, and yes, it was holy time, and yes, God was near.”