Meet Pastor Meta, Matt and Jasper Carlson!
Pastor Meta has lived in the Twin Cities most of her life, but spent several years in San Diego and Chicago as a child. She admits she would have drifted away from church during high school if it wasn’t for a mission trip her church was planning to Bangladesh. She went on the trip and fell in love with the global church and church partnerships. Meta loves to travel and has visited all seven continents. Even Antarctica! She spent pastoral internship in southern Arizona in a small city near the Mexican boarder and an Army base. She had a wonderful first call at St. John’s Lutheran Church (49th and Nicollet) before saying YES to God’s call to Zion.
Matt grew up in Lindstrom, MN and worked at Minnehaha Academy as a P.E. teacher and athletic trainer for seven years before going to graduate school at the U of M. He lived in Alaska for several summers during and after college and always jumps at the chance to go back and visit. He has a Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology and is a Certified Athletic Trainer. That means he works with athletic teams to prevent injury, assess injuries on scene, and support their rehabilitation during recovery from injury or surgery. He has worked with Men’s Baseball, Men’s Gymnastics and Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving. Now he works and travels with the Women’s Soccer team.
Jasper turns one on Sunday, February 12! He can be serious and observant one minute and chatty and silly the next. His hobbies include waving at ceiling fans, organ music, looking out the window, long stroller rides and eating “big people” food. He goes to daycare two days a week and grandparents come over to play two days a week. There are lots of aunts and uncles around, too. Lucky guy.
Matt and Meta love to camp and hike in their spare time, but are now figuring out what that looks like with a baby. The three took a roadtrip from Seattle to San Fransisco this summer that was wonderfully fun, but was far too exhausting to call a vacation. The three live in the Longfellow neighborhood and look forward to being part of the Zion community!
Karen Blanchard
Lyndale Community Dinner Dietitian and Chef
Karen Blanchard is a registered and licensed dietitian representing over twenty years of nutrition and food experiences. Karen has a strong passion for delivering community nutrition education and cooking preparation helpful hints. She is a native of Arkansas and a graduate of University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Karen is a member of the American Dietetics Association. She has previous experience as food writer for The Spokesman Recorder with a focus on ethnic and cultural food flavors. Karen’s history spotlights her as a spokesperson on radio and television for various organizations to include the American Heart Association. Karen has been a nutrition and cooking demonstrator for the American Diabetes Association—Minneapolis Diabetes Expo. She brings a wealth of knowledge from her southern roots, food industry recipe development and personal life experiences.