Rev. Ted Tollefson has been our minister since the summer of 2006.

Biography for Reverend Ted Tollefson

My first 'call' to ministry came in River Falls, WI, where I worked at a nursing home withReverend Ted Tollefson Beth Ray and Pam Korsgaard. There I learned about listening with the heart and the healing power of singing and storytelling. In 1976 I left to study for the ministry at Starr King School in Berkeley, California. After graduating in 1979, I completed a master's degree in clinical counseling from Cal. State University, Hayward.

My first UU congregation was White Bear Lake where I served from 1980 to 1989. WBUC taught me about resourceful communities, playful ritual and the necessity for adult religious education. From 1990 to 2000, I co-founded a non-profit organization (Mythos Institute) inspired by the work of Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung. From my 'Mythos' days I discovered how difficult it is to build the stage, sell tickets, perform and clean up afterwards. I served the UU Fellowship of Northfield as consulting minister from about 1999 to 2006. From them I am still learning how community is formed by relational covenants heart-warming potlucks. This past spring I served as guest sabbatical minister at First Universalist Church, Minneapolis. Its 960 members reminded me how words and music enliven Sunday services and how important it is to have fun in the midst of work.

Besides ministry, I teach world religions at United Theological Seminary and St. Mary's University and psychology at Metro State University. In my spare time, I run an internet book business and retreat center from our home in Frontenac, Minnesota. My wife Kristen has run a used academic bookstore (The Bookhouse in Dinkytown) for over 30 years. She also works to increase public participation in energy policy in Minnesota.

I'm delighted to return to Rivers Falls where my aspirations to ministry began.


Nancy HoldenNancy Holden joined our ministry staff in the fall of 2010

BIOGRAPHY FOR REV. DR. NANCY HOLDEN

I graduated from seminary and was ordained in the United Methodist Church in 1985. For the next twenty years I served the UMC in North Dakota as a local church pastor. In 2002 I retired and moved with my husband Doug to River Falls, and we began attending the UU Society of River Falls. Soon after that I started preparing to become a UU minister, and that journey proved truly transformational. At the General Assembly of 2010 in Minneapolis I received Final Fellowship from the UUA Ministerial Fellowship Committee as a Community Minister.

Addiction ministry had been a secondary calling for me since 1978, and that led to the founding in River Falls of the Recovery Network (RN), a nonprofit agency dedicated to support for families affected by the chemical dependency of a loved one. RN qualifies as a community ministry, since it provides spiritual guidance and counseling, so I became what the UUA calls a community minister. Now Recovery Network is affiliated with the UUSRF and the church supports my work in the greater community.

For the past three years I have served as Program Chair for UUSRF, and was also a member of their Welcoming Congregation Task Force. Doug and I officially joined the church in 2008. I now conduct a 12-step group called Adult Children of Alcoholic and Dysfunctional Families that meets in the UUSRF kitchen. We are grateful UUs, happy to be part of UUSRF.