Published 5:00 pm Friday, June 14, 2024 By Staff Reports By Ayanna Eckblad St. John’s Lutheran Community in late April hired a new chaplain to their staff. This chaplain is the Rev.
Michael Mandsager. He has been with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for 32 years. He worked as a pastor at traditional church parishes throughout southeastern Minnesota for many years but transitioned to a career as a chaplain three years ago.
“I’m still kind of getting acclimated, getting comfortable and getting to know people,” Mandsager said. Currently a resident of Northfield, Mandsager said prior to pursuing the job at St. John’s, he had never been to Albert Lea.
He was still familiar with the community, however, because his father’s cousin, Rev. Monrad Mandsager, had worked as St. John’s chaplain for 14 years in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Monrad passed away in 2018, but some of St. John’s residents still remember the impact he had on their lives. “He made a big impression here.
[He was] very well-beloved and well remembered,” Mandsager said of his relative. Mandsager was not sure what to expect when he came to Albert Lea, but he found a beautiful town with a welcoming community. “I didn’t realize what a beautiful town Albert Lea is,” he said.
“I’m enjoying being here. It’s a great community ..
. [I’m] looking forward to getting to know everybody better.” Life as a chaplain can get very busy.
Mandsager conducts two Sunday church services, a m.