Glen Aaberg
Interim Pastor
My name is Glen Aaberg, and I am enjoying working with you all during this time of transition.
2000 (first day was 1/1/2000- easy to remember) and my most recent call was at Cross and Crown Lutheran Church in Renton where I served for nearly seventeen years until February of this year. In addition to serving as Care Pastor during your transition time, I will soon begin my first job as a very-part-time chaplain at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup. I prepared for that work by doing additional chaplaincy training at the VA Medical Center in Seattle in 2019.
I grew up in Tucson, Arizona and in Othello and Yakima, Washington. Prior to becoming a pastor I taught Spanish and had started a career as a university professor of languages. I was baptized as an infant but had no contact with the church growing up. The sudden death of my best friend and the birth of our son were crucial pieces of my finding my way to church, and I was confirmed at age 28 in a congregation in Madison, Wisconsin. I then taught for one year at Eastern Washington University in Cheney and went to seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota the following year. There were a lot of things I loved about studying and teaching years ago, but one thing I remember well is going to seminars and doing everything I could do to come out on top in discussions and to never be in a spot where I didn’t know something. Coming to church back then meant being part of world in which everyone had something to teach me and it was not just ok, but encouraged, to sit at people’s feet and learn and to be curious and to ask God for help in living according the word: God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, God’s weakness stronger than human strength.
I believe that every connection that happens between us- whether between congregation members or between congregation members and the people who aren’t members whom God puts in front of us and every other connection God puts together in the world (every bit of kindness, every time anyone is seen and heard and treated well) is a precious, even priceless thing. Every one of them matters. Every single one of us has stories to tell and things to learn from others, every day of our lives. There are so many ways that these things that God intends can be frustrated- we’re often encouraged to avoid our neighbors and dismiss each other and to be divided but God never stops bringing us together for new and good things in God’s name. I had a very difficult and traumatic time growing up and I know that being seen and heard and loved and accepted are all life-and-death level things. I look forward to learning and seeing how God is bringing people together and working love and health and peace through you all as the people of Northlake Lutheran and among God’s people in your area.
My spouse, Vicki and I have been married for nearly 34 years and we have adult children, the older of whom is getting married this weekend and the younger of whom will graduate from Seattle Pacific University (where Vicki teaches Nursing) next month. We have lived in Kent since 2005 and we have two dogs- one about 11 and another maybe 18 years old.
I look forward to meeting you and to having chances to get to know each of you very soon. I am very thankful for the opportunity to work you all. Peace!
Tom Frodsham
Director of Worship & Community Engagement
Tom was born in Seattle and baptized as a Catholic. His family joined a Lutheran church in Renton when he was 5 years old. The second youngest of five kids (being 9 minutes older than his twin brother), his family was very involved in the church. Eventually he began to help lead worship, both traditional and contemporary.
As a college student majoring in Music and Theater, Tom helped with worship as time allowed. After college he worked as a professional musician, still staying connected to the church. In the 1990’s Tom went to work for the Boeing Company in the Theater Services organization, providing audio visual support. It was during that time that Tom opened a small recording studio, producing a variety of talent on a limited budget and also began working with the “new” pastor finding ways to revitalize the church. After serving as a volunteer for about 10 years, the pastor asked him to consider coming on staff. Tom resisted the call for some time but eventually had a moment of clarity, hearing the call and committing himself to serving Christ through the church.
Tom served that church in Renton for another 6 years, then was led to serve a variety of churches from San Antonio, TX, to Fargo, ND. Churches ranging in size from 30 people in worship to over 10,000 members. About 6 years ago, back in the Northwest he was asked to take on the role of Executive Director at Luther’s Table, a Coffee House and Arts Venue in downtown Renton. It was there that he really got an education in diversity and helped build a beautiful community with folks from all walks of life. Luther’s Table was a place for adults and kids, eventually becoming an after school hang out for students from the local high school, especially kids on the fringes. They discovered at Luther’s Table they were welcome and celebrated for who they were. The six years Tom spent at Luther’s Table ignited a passion for pursuing what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called “Beloved Community” -- people of all different backgrounds, engaging in life together, hearing each other’s stories, discovering those different from us, aren’t so different after all.
It is Tom’s hope that Northlake Lutheran, in working with other people and organizations in the Kenmore/Bothell area, can build a “Beloved Community” where all are embraced and loved for who they are.
Office Manager
Wendy DeLong
Organist & Pianist
Wendy helps selects music and beautifully plays the organ or piano during our worship services.
