Trinity Church Council
Bob Olson
President
Bob grew up as a member of Trinity and was confirmed here. Then, after spending his entire working career in Iowa, he returned to Trinity and has served as an elder and usher. On the Council, Bob looks to contribute to Trinity’s mission as needed and assist with discussions and implementation of needs identified in the recent discernment activities.
Joe Jones
Vice President
At Trinity, Joe has been involved in the men’s Tuesday-morning Bible study, Strategic Planning Team, and Trinity Choir. He was previously a council member for Our Savior’s in Iola in the 1980s and for Peace in Amherst in the 2000s. He also frequently preached at Hitterdahl, Peace, and Our Savior’s, just as he has now offered sermons and several temple talks at Trinity.
Heidi Fischer
Secretary
Trinity Lutheran has been Heidi’s church for almost 15 years. She is proud to say it has been a true foundation for her and her two children. Heidi is glad to serve on the Church Council for another three years. Her years as president in 2023-24 taught her just how much Trinity means to its members and that we have plenty of work to do to keep it that way for all. She has been a chaperone on numerous youth events, including as a trip leader for Faith Ventures to Montana, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. Heidi has sat on the Family & Youth Team, relished being a group leader for Confirmation classes for many years, and volunteered at many of Trinity’s longtime events like the Pancake Supper. She has also been enriched by making phone calls to the older, wiser Lutherans in our congregation.
Pam Gusmer
Treasurer
Pam joined Trinity with her husband, Chris, and their three boys back in 2013. She has enjoyed being active in Christian music ministry since 2005, with much of that right here at Trinity. She took on the treasurer role in 2023 after a year on the Finance Committee. A lot of this is new to her, but she grew up in a Lutheran church witnessing both her parents joyfully serving their congregation, and she is happy to have the opportunity to serve here herself at Trinity.
Rev. Andy Behrendt
Lead Pastor
Pastor Andy was first called to Trinity as associate pastor of family life and youth. Installed in the church basement during a 2010 tornado warning, he became lead pastor at the end of 2019, just in time for a pandemic. Pastor Andy is a former newspaper reporter and occasionally still moonlights as an improvisational comedian. He’s married to Tracy, the Waupaca Historical Society’s director. Raised in the Green Bay area by an ELCA pastor and a piano teacher, “PA” is now a dad to two boys of his own, Ben and Christian. The four Behrendts feel enormously blessed to be part of the Trinity community.
Betsy Sachs
Betsy and her husband, the Rev. Jon Sachs, joined Trinity in July 1989. Jon served at Bethany Home until he retired in 2005. Betsy is a registered nurse. She was a home-care/hospice nurse for Waupaca County before becoming a parish nurse for five years at Trinity until she retired in 2006. She has offered blood-pressure checks as part of Trinity’s Health Team. She has been active in congregations since her confirmation in Ohio. She met a young man at Capital University at the end of her first year of college and returned to Toledo for nursing education. She graduated after three years and married Jon a week later—the rest is history. She continued as a pastor’s wife for congregations in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Her hobbies are sewing, quilting, knitting, crocheting, gardening, traveling, time with family, and singing with the Waupaca Community Choir.
Nate Ziemer
Nate has been a member of Trinity for nine years. He has taught Sunday School and has been a Confirmation small-group leader. He currently sings in the choir and helps with the live stream at Sunday services. As Trinity has focused on our new mission statement, Nate feels called to listen and serve.
Ron Wight
Ron is a new member at Trinity, having joined with his wife after transferring from another ELCA congregation in November 2024. He has previously served two terms on the Church Council and has acted as Chair of a Call Committee, successfully overseeing the process of calling a pastor to a congregation. Ron possesses substantial experience in leading Stewardship Committees and has a strong understanding of various giving processes, including capital campaigns. Additionally, he has extensive experience in long-range planning for ELCA congregations and has represented his congregation as a voting delegate at a Synod Assembly. Ron is confident that he can apply his skills and knowledge effectively to Trinity’s Church Council.
Dean Sondrol
Dean has been actively involved at Trinity for many years. In the past, he served on the nominating committee, the call committee, and the church council. He has also taught Sunday School and confirmation classes, and assisted with youth lock-ins, Easter egg hunts, and hayrides. Currently, he is a member of the potluck committee. Dean has sung in both the men’s choir and the Trinity choir. Additionally, he has helped with ushering, served communion, acted as a reader, and held the position of elder.
Alan Kjelland
Alan has been a member of Trinity since 2010 and has previously served on the Council twice. He enjoys participating in the church choirs and the OWLs (Older Wiser Lutherans) group. Alan values the fellowship within our church community and looks forward to representing the interests of the congregation.
Dennise Ross
Dennise moved to Waupaca in 2006 and enjoys getting to know members of our church and also the community. Recently, Dennise and her family helped serve food at Strawberry Fest.
Aubrey Barbeau
Aubrey joins the council as our youth representative.