Melinda Melhus will be ordained into the holy ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 3, at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 1111 Eighth Street South in Virginia, Minn. The Rev. Robert Simonson will preside over the service of Holy Communion and Brenda Tibbetts, Associate in Ministry, will serve as assisting minister. Both serve Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Virginia. The Rev. Nijhar Minz Ekka of St. Paul will preach the sermon. Additional pastors and lay persons will also assist in the worship service. All clergy are invited to vest in red. Special music will be provided by Kristen Weikum, organ; Virginia Ahrlin, piano; Deb Gunderson, violin; Robert Baldrica, trumpet; and the Our Savior’s Lutheran Church choir, all of Virginia. Melissa Melhus of Norway, Kan., will be soloist. Melhus will be installed as pastor of Ostmark Lutheran Church in Watkins at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, May 9, during the service of Holy Communion. The Rev. John V. Anderson, bishop of the Southwestern Minnesota Synod of the E.L.C.A., in Redwood Falls, will be the presiding pastor. Melhus began her ministry at Ostmark March 23. Prior to being called to serve at Ostmark, Melhus served as interim pastor at Faith Lutheran Church, inChisholm for two years. Melhus graduated from Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., in 1976 with a degree in journalism and mass communications. She held various positions in advertising, journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 20 years. She received her master of divinity degree from Luther Seminary in St. Paul in May 2000. While there, she worked as a writer and photographer for the seminary’s Office of Communication. As part of her seminary education, Melhus spent a summer as a chaplain at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth in the Clinical Pastoral Education program. She also served a one-year internship at Nordland Lutheran Church of rural Paynesville. A native of Norway, Kan., Melhus is the daughter of L.J. and Jan Melhus. A reception and dinner will follow both the ordination and installation services. The public is invited to attend. For more information, call Our Savior’s Lutheran Church at (218) 741-6207 or Ostmark Lutheran at (320) 693-8450.
