How we fulfill our mission
We at Walker Methodist are guided by principles given to us by our Methodist founders. Our common roots, beliefs, and practices hold that all persons are equally valuable in the light of God. Faith always includes a nurturing, social dimension.
Our chaplains provide support and services to all, regardless of their religious, non-religious, or spiritual path. We do this as a way of nurturing the whole person in body, mind, and spirit, with the understanding that the three are interwoven.
Rev. Jeremiah Lideen
Acting Director of Spiritual Life
Rev. Jeremiah Lideen
Reverend Jeremiah Lideen, M. Div.
Chaplain
Jeremiah joined the Spiritual Care Team in January 2017. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Luther Theological Seminary and a Bachelors of Family and Youth Ministry from Augsburg College.
He provides pastoral counseling and spiritual care to residents, staff, and families. His genuine love for people led him to choose Walker Methodist. By thoughtfully listening to personal stories, Jeremiah helps people work through their own conflicts by allowing them to create, find, and implement a solution themselves. He feels privileged to work in a profession that reminds people of their value and worth in the world.
Along with serving the residents and staff of Walker Methodist, Jeremiah currently serves as pastor of Uptown Church and volunteers with literacy nonprofit Ace in The City. He served as a Chaplain Candidate in the Minnesota Army National Guard for five years and is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.
He has been married to Megan for nine years, and they have a four-year-old daughter, Mae. Some of Jeremiah’s favorite activities include snowboarding and grilling. Jeremiah would like to be known as someone who creates space for rest, repentance, and reassurance.
Rev. Karl Kruse
Chaplain
Rev. Karl Kruse
Reverend Karl Kruse, M.Div.
Chaplain
Reverend Karl Kruse joined Walker Methodist in July of 2018. Reverend Kruse earned a Master of Divinity degree from Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa; a Bachelor of Science degree from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and an Associate of Arts degree from Golden Valley Lutheran College in Golden Valley, Minnesota. Reverend Kruse has also been involved in a Doctor of Ministry program at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, with a focus on Spiritual Formation in Congregational and Family Care.
Before coming to Walker Methodist, Reverend Kruse most recently served as a Hospice Chaplain. Additionally, he served as a Regional Director and Missionary for an international prayer ministry organization, teaching on prayer and spiritual growth in the U.S., Germany, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. Along with areas of specialized ministry, Reverend Kruse has also served for over 20 years in congregational settings in Iowa, Colorado, Utah, and Minnesota.
One of Karl’s joys is to spend time praying and singing with residents, family members, and staff. He believes that music is a special gift that God uses to touch people’s souls and a vehicle to carry God’s grace and compassion. Prayer is also that “special touch” from God that allows us to speak and to listen to God, to experience a unique partnership with God in our life, and to know the intimacy of our God who loves us infinitely. Karl loves praying with people in times of celebration, sorrow, and everything in between.
Although he was born in New Jersey, Karl proudly calls Minnesota home, having grown up in a military family and moving so often that he lived in 10 different homes and attended 10 different schools before graduating from high school. After being widowed in 2010, Karl remarried in 2016 to his wife, Heather. Karl and Heather are both actively involved as prayer ministers at Hosanna! Church in Lakeville, Minnesota. Karl wants to be known as someone who reflects God’s grace in such a way that everyone hears, receives, and knows this truth: “You are a special gift from God!”
Rev. David Cobb
Chaplain
Rev. Dee McIntosh
Chaplain
Rev. Erin Hurley Robinson
Chaplain
Rev. Kevin Coder
Director of Spiritual Life
Rev. Steve Dawson
Chaplain
Malcolm Anderson
Chapel Musician
We provide many opportunities for spiritual life and enrichment at each of our housing communities and in each Health Center care neighborhood, including:
- Worship services, which are broadly Christian and created for the unique needs of each group.
- The chapel in the Bryant Avenue campus in Minneapols is physically situated at the center of the community. In the presence of stained glass, a pipe organ and grand piano, and seasonal altar décor, the community gathers each Sunday morning for a service of music, preaching, monthly Holy Communion, and monthly Memorial Service. All Christian holidays are celebrated with additional worship services. Roman Catholic Communion is offered monthly, an anointing mass is held twice a year, and Catholic Eucharistic ministers visit weekly for individual communion. Area Catholic churches provide uniquely Catholic support at other housing sites.
- Chaplains on site are available to all for one-to-one or family support visits related to transition, loss, grief, illness, emotional distress, loneliness, search for meaning, purpose, and inner peace. Chaplaincy support is also offered to staff.
- Helping to contact an individual’s home church, synagogue, temple, or spiritual community upon request
- End-of-life care and support. Walker Methodist’s unique Passages and Dignity Quilt programs provide comfort to the dying, their family, and caregivers.
- Prayer Circles. Held to support staff members who are experiencing a personal or family crisis.
- Labyrinth at our Bryant Avenue campus. Our chapel has an inlaid labyrinth for anyone who wishes to walk their journey.
Walker Methodist
Is Blessed
with an Auxiliary group and team of dedicated volunteers who support other spiritual activities including parties, holiday gift giving, companionship, chapel escorts, fundraising, advocacy, and more.
OUR METHODIST HERITAGE
Our historic connection with the Methodist church began in 1945 when the Methodist Home, operated by the Norwegian-Danish Conference, and the Harriet Walker Maternity Hospital merged to become Walker Methodist. At all our communities, Walker Methodist is led by the power of the Christian spirit and in particular in accordance with the concepts of the general ministry of all believers. Walker Methodist is deemed by the United Methodist Conference as an “Advanced Special Giving Mission,” a place where the Methodist Church can fulfill its own mission for caring for seniors.
Prayer Circles
A person’s spirituality is a deep, inner resource from which to draw from, especially during times of challenge and transition. With our prayer circles, you dont have to go though it alone.
Prayer Wall
This living prayer wall is available for everyone to place their prayers within the cracks of the wall. Share joys and sorrows, ask for forgiveness and give thanks.
YOUR SAFE PLACE
Spiritual care assists residents in tapping into what gives them meaning, including religious beliefs and practices but is not limited to this. A person’s spirituality is a deep, inner resource from which to draw from, especially during times of challenge and transition. Spiritual care can offer a sense of calm, hope, and healing to older adults. Chaplaincy programs allow the expression of grief and loss and create a safe place for feelings to be released.
