Our Staff

Reverend Hans J. Lillejord has served the New Sweden Lutheran congregation since July of 2003. He has a deep-rooted desire to serve others which is reflected in his tireless visitations and calls upon both members and non-members alike when needed. He was ordained into the Christian ministry in 1965 and has served several congregations in California, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Hawaii. He graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota with a B.A. in History, Literature, and Speech. He received a Master of Theology at St. Luther Theological Seminary, St. Paul Minnesota in 1961. He completed advance work in clinical training and finished a specialized degree in Health Care Administration from the University of Minnesota. Continuing education has always been a priority for him.

Reverend Lillejord has been bivocational almost all his life, balancing secular, and religious employment. The feeling is that the “worker priest” life gives one a more balanced understanding of the lives of parishioners. He has owned a nursing home, a cruise agency, a locksmith business as well as a vending business.

Another significant interest of Reverend Lillejord is acting and theater work. He has been involved in many community theaters as well as “extras” work in movies and commercial advertising. His last venture was the one man show “Give Em Hell, Henry”, a play on the life of Henry Truman. For a number of years, Reverend Lillejord was active in Toastmasters International and placed second in the 1994 Toastmaster International’s “World Championship of Public Speaking” in Lexington, Kentucky.
 

As Reverend Lillejord looks toward the future, his major concerns center on the decline of the major Christian denominations in America and the declining influences of the Christian message in the increasingly secular world.