16 questions with Holy Trinity’s new Graphic Designer

Gina Fadden joined the Holy Trinity staff this week as our new Graphic Designer. But her creativity has been all over HTLC for awhile. She sat down for a Zoom interview with me this week.

Beautiful work! I especially like the new logo. Honestly, it was Pastor Ben and Karen just as much as me. I just put all their ideas together. We wanted to keep the cross and Karen thought of [incorporating] the stained glass windows.

2. When did you join Holy Trinity? We moved to New Prague in 2014 and a friend told us to try each church for four weeks. We tried Holy Trinity and we loved it, but we wanted to try others. When we came back, Pastor Ben and Alicia were there. We joined officially in November 2017.

3. What drew you to Holy Trinity? You know… “All Are Welcome.” There was no judgement. There were so many different kinds of people. The music was more upbeat and fun, so it was a very welcoming place to be.

4. What did you like to do in school? I loved basketball! I’m very outspoken and basketball can get very aggressive, so that was really my niche. I was in cross country, track, and basketball growing up. I made the high school varsity team in the 7th grade for track and cross country. My dad was a big advocate for that with my older sister, so she paved the way for younger kids to get into the programs if you are able to. I played AAU for the Minnesota Jaguars with [current University of Minnesota women’s basketball coach] Lindsey Whalen and we played nationals the last 3 years of my high school career.

5. Do you have siblings? I have a sister who is 7 years older and a brother who is 3 years older.       6. As the baby of the family, do you think you fit that stereotype? Yes, I’m creative. I was the most rebellious of all the kids. I wasn’t a bad kid, but I pushed the boundaries. I was the kid who had the door taken off the bedroom, my mouth was washed out with soap. We couldn’t say naughty words. “Stupid” was a word we couldn’t say, which I bring home now.

7. Are you close to your family? We are both VERY close to our families. Both sides are very involved. It’s a good thing!

8. Where did you go to college and what did you study? I went to UND (University of North Dakota) and played basketball, full ride scholarship. My freshman year we were National Championship Runner-ups, Division 2. I have a major in Parks and Rec with minors in Exercise Science and Sign Language.

9. That’s an interesting combination. Did it lead to some memorable career choices? I was a personal trainer at Lifetime Fitness. I worked for the Shakopee school system as a para, helping kids with math and spelling. I coached basketball and adaptive soccer for special needs kids. Then I got recruited from the high school to work with special needs kids. I worked with one student who was blind. He was a fun character! He learned who people were by songs, (he gave everyone a song). So if I saw him now and sang the song, he would get all giddy and know who I was. That was really cool! And now I am the National Production Manager for MVP Fundraising Cards.

10. How did you meet your husband? I met Joel at his [deployment] going away party on September 11, 2009, before his first tour to Afghanistan. I was picking up [a friend at the party] and Joel asked to meet me. We got a picture of one of the first moments we met. And ever since that night, we were together always. We met and we both knew within a few weeks. We knew each other for 2 months and then he was deployed for 7 months. He was on a deployment where he didn’t have access to computers, we couldn’t FaceTime, so we wrote–I have a ton of letters we wrote to each other. He could call, but they were random, so if I missed him, I wouldn’t hear from him for a month. I had to be on high alert. If I missed that phone call, I missed it for the month.

11. And you have Kids? Animals? We have three kids. Taylor is 9, Mattis is 3, and Andi is 7 months. We also have 2 dogs and a cat.

       

12. What is one hobby that no one knows about you? I like to be creative, so I do stained glass.

13. You have a long history in sports. What sports do you follow now? I don’t like to watch sports. It’s not interesting to me unless I can play it. I like to be hands-on, so I like to be in the game or know someone who is in the game. But I would watch college over NBA.

14. What do you love? I love traditions. I love antiques. I love bringing in and decorating with memories instead of new stuff. I try to incorporate things my kids can take and know it was in Great-Grandma’s house, and then Grandma’s house, and now it’s yours. I love recipes. I collected my family’s favorite recipes and made a book for everyone in my family. I love tomatoes…old-fashioned peppermint bonbon ice cream. Foxes are my favorite animal. Shutterfly, bonfires, cool fall days. But God and family are the most important parts of my life.

15. What do you dislike? I hate snapping turtles and I don’t like water where you can’t see the bottom.

What made you volunteer? “I thought it was perfect for me because I enjoy playing soccer. It didn’t feel like a job to me.”

What was the highlight of the experience? “For me, the highlight was to just play soccer with the kids. I enjoy working with young players.”

We Are a Better Church Together

Woodworkers and Tutors Needed

 

Cristo Obrero is a Mission Development of the Minneapolis area synod. What does that mean exactly?

“When the schools closed in March, I was a wreck for two week trying to figure out how we were going to get it all done. This time, I cried for an hour….and then I made a plan.”

This “COVID thing” is changing us.

The World War II Generation, often called “The Greatest Generation,” (Brokaw, 1998), is heralded for their selflessness, strong work ethic, and humility. They were forced to grow up quickly and acquire an emotional intelligence more common in those older. Struggle has its benefits.

What if this is true of Right Now?

COVID-19 is described as (hopefully), one of the most difficult times in our lives. In the United States, we are more than six months into the pandemic.

I have a theory we are more resilient.

I think we might be more adaptable.

I wonder if this has changed our faith in God.

Chime in if you’d like and let us know in the comments below.