Lynn Hartmann and Mary Johnson
Lynn and Mary have devoted their lives to serving others. Lynn is a retired oncologist who worked at the Mayo Clinic, while her wife Mary is a retired hospital Chaplin who worked at the Mayo Clinic for 32 years. Both recently relocated from Rochester, where they attended Cavalry Episcopal Church. They started attending St. John’s last March and can usually be seen at the 8 AM service, so if you’re an early bird, be sure to say hello! They’ve been together for 24 years and married for five. Their hobbies are spending time with friends and cats, as well as being involved with their community. Mary is even a playwright! We’re so blessed to have them here at St. John’s, and we look forward to getting to know them and their gifts even more in the coming months and years.
Robin Bloom
Robin and his wife, Liz Pawlak, moved back to Saint Paul, from Santa Fe, NM in January of 2018. Robert began the task of searching for a church to join, and a former co-worker greeted him at St John’s and recommended he become a member. Robin soon discovered that the St Paul Grief Counseling Coalition was meeting at St John’s until their summer break. The St Paul Grief Counseling Coalition has provided wonderful support for Robin and his wife while grieving the death of their son due to depression and related issues.
Robin was born in Wisconsin but has spent most of his adult life in Minnesota. Robin was raised Congregational/UCC but was received into the Episcopal church when he was 20. He was first attracted by the liturgy of the mass and the pageantry of the service. Since then he has been a member of Episcopal Churches across the country.
At St John’s, Robin has been participating in Adult Faith Formation which he finds enlightening, Men’s Breakfast, and is going through the Basics Class. Robin’s wife is a Minnesota native who attended the “U”. They are both retired, him from Hennepin County, she from the MN DOT.
Josh Tucker
Raised in the Palmetto State, Josh graduated from the University of South Carolina with his Master of Social Work and worked in the prison system there. Then why Minnesota Josh? You won’t believe it, but he wanted to live in a place with a great deal of snow so he could learn to ski.
Josh is already at the intermediate level on the slopes, working the Lutsen area of the North Shore as well as Colorado. He keeps a bag packed and is ready to find time away from his job down at St. Peter in the Minnesota Security Hospital where he employs his skills and education as a psychotherapist.
Josh enjoys the music of St. John’s, the energy which the church brings to his life, and he hopes to more fully integrate into the life of the parish once his busy life settles down, with a residence both in Mankato during the week and in The Cities on the weekend.
Jeff Chen
Several friendly conversations with Margaret Thor and others at the 8:00 service led Jeff to join our faith community. He is a Professor of Mathematics at St Cloud State University and lives in his condo there during the week. But he enjoys the urban ambiance of the metro area so regularly stays with friends in St Paul on the weekends.
Jeff was born Jian-Ping Chen in Taiwan. The English Club at his college asked their members to select an English name for themselves—he selected Jefferson—which he later shortened to Jeff. He earned his doctorate degree at Yale University in the mid-1990s and briefly taught there before venturing to Waldorf College in Iowa and eventually St Cloud State to teach math.
Jeff’s faith journey has found him in several Christian communities over the years including Assembly of God and the Church of Christ. He is an early riser so he can swim at the St. Cloud YMCA for fitness before classes. He has also been teaching himself to speak French. This was most helpful while he lived in Paris last year doing sabbatical research on the history of mathematics.
