Staff
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
If you are new to Bethlehem, or if you are looking for a church home, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I was born and raised in Montana – “the last, best place.” I was baptized at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Havre, and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church in Great Falls. I attended Concordia College in Portland, Oregon, for two years and then graduated from Valparaiso University in 1978. In August of that year I married Cynthia Mein, of Twin Falls, Idaho. I then attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO, and graduated with a Master of Divinity in 1983, and then spent a year at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN, and earned a Master of Theology. Finally, in 2001, I earned a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching degree from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.
I was ordained at the Lutheran Church of the Master, Edina, MN (a suburb of Minneapolis) in 1984. I served as the associate pastor until 1988, and then we moved to Granite Falls, Minnesota, a small, “Lake Wobegonish” community about two hours west of Minneapolis. I served eight years as an associate pastor at Granite Falls Lutheran Church, and then was called to be the senior pastor. Then in 2004 I was called to Bethlehem in Los Alamos. Coming to Bethlehem and to Los Alamos has been a great blessing, and it is a great fit for Cynthia and me.
Cynthia is a elementary school teacher. She’s worn many “teacher hats” over the years, and for the last several years she’s taught kindergarteners at Barranca Elementary. We have three grown children: Rachel, her husband, Jim, and their daughter, Eve, live in St. Paul, MN; Becca lives in Seattle, WA: and Josh lives in Fort Worth, TX. In my free time I like to run trails, do a little mountain biking and golfing, sing in our church choir, read, and follow the fortunes of the Minnesota Twins baseball team.
Bethlehem has pulled me out of retirement for the second time! Both came as happy surprises. My wife Diane and I came to retire in Santa Fe in 2001. Our bishop asked me to help as interim here in 2003-4, a nine month period culminating in the calling of Pr. Bruce. Now I am here again helping during the transition period as Bethlehem prepares to call a youth/family and education person. We came from the Bay Area of California. For almost 25 years, I served churches in Silicon Valley and San Francisco. Prior to that I served in Park Slope, Brooklyn and began my ministry in Midtown New York City. Raised in Minnesota, I attended Gustavus Adolphus College and was graduated from Augustana Seminary in Rock Island, New York. My duties here will be visiting folks in our church, coordinating parish ministries, sharing some of the preaching responsibilities and supporting Pastor Bruce. This is my bliss: to be about the work of the Kingdom at a place like Bethlehem. I come up the hill from Santa Fe to Los Alamos most days every week. When I see the mountain in the backdrop and find my car nearing this church, I rejoice. Another day. Another opportunity for God’s grace to find its marvelous way into our lives.
Donna was born and raised in Los Alamos. She is the proud mother of Haylee and loving wife of Joe. She has been a member of Bethlehem since 1997. Donna received her education and degree in Electrical engineering from New Mexico State University and spent much of her career at Los Alamos National Laboratory working in the field of facility management. In 2008 she felt called to change careers and join the staff at Bethlehem as the office administrator.
Donna currently serves in the position as Office and Business Manager of Bethlehem. Donna’s favorite pastimes are being a mom, spending time with her family and friends, mountain biking, and running.
The Frains arrived in Los Alamos from Michigan in 2004 when Mike was hired at Northern New Mexico College. He is an Associate Professor and the program director for radiography. They have three daughters and Mike has a son named Phil who lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana with his wife Rebecca. Also part of the family are their two dogs, Daisy, a six year old female, golden retriever mix and Aksel, a one year old male, Norwegian elkhound mix.
In addition to working at Bethlehem Kris is a full time student, in her third year at Northern, pursuing a bachelor degree in business administration. School doesn’t leave a lot of free time but she enjoys walking the dogs, knitting, reading, and of course any time she can spend with her husband or daughters is precious. She loves the blue skies, sunshine, and bird song of New Mexico; “they make my heart sing with joy and when driving through the mountains I find we do indeed have an awesome God!” Kris explained, “ I have worked in various positions in the medical field and although many aspects have been wonderful and very fulfilling; I felt called to apply for the administrative assistant job at Bethlehem. I look forward to simple pleasures like preparing the sanctuary for the Sunday worship service and prayer at staff meetings. Lastly, I want to thank you for the opportunity to come to know and serve the Bethlehem family.”
Tonie (yes the spelling is correct) was born in Butte, Montana, and raised in Missoula Montana. She majored in English and Geology at the University of Arizona. She and her husband Mark chose to move to Los Alamos in 1984 because they didn’t want to raise their two boys in “the city”. In order to remain a stay at home mom Tonie became a mostly self-taught potter and a fabric artist. She loves sewing, gardening, and pottery and is a voracious reader, rarely going anywhere without a book. In addition to producing professional pottery creations, Tonie taught pottery at the Art Center and she taught people all over Northern New Mexico how to make broomstick skirts and quilts. Her passions are art, color and her family; husband Mark, grown sons Christian and Jordan, two dogs and three cats. Together, they have built three houses and are looking at starting a fourth.
Tonie creates all the publications from Bethlehem: the newsletters, bulletins, brochures, advertising and press releases. Recently she has studied web design and has agreed to keep us up to date and online.
Anne was born in Washington D.C. but her family moved to Texas when she was in second grade. She went to Tulane University and holds a BFA in Piano Performance; she later earned a Masters in Public Administration and a teaching certificate. She taught elementary music for many years and private piano lessons. She has been a church choir director for twenty-seven years and worked at three Lutheran Churches but most recently at an Episcopal Church.
She and her husband, Brian, have a daughter, Elly, who is married and lives in Austin and a son, Peter, who lives outside of Houston. They also have a maltese/poodle that of course moved to New Mexico with them.
Anne and Brian like hiking, any outdoor activities and playing keyboards for musical theaters. They are so happy to be here in this beautiful part of the country and hope to get to know all of you soon!
Frances Knudson
Frances has been a church organist for many years starting at her family's church of Penelope Baptist in Hickory, N.C. She received a BM in church music and organ performance from Mars Hill College, an MLS from Kent State, and a BS in computer science from UNM. She and her husband, Jim, have lived and worked in Los Alamos since the early 80s. She is a librarian/programmer at the LANL Research Library. Jim is currently a staff member at LANSCE and a very busy cellist. Her hobbies include reading, stitching, and gardening.
Greg works closely with our Treasurer and Donna to keep us running smoothly. Greg has lived in New Mexico most of his life and after visiting friends in Los Alamos a few times, chose to move here last year. He graduated from NMSU with an Accounting degree and had several years experience in that area before semi-retiring. He loves living here and is excited to get more involved in his new community.
