100 Years of Community: Sue Brogger

Sue Brogger didn’t set out to lead, she was invited in. Today, she serves as Director of Hunger Ministries at Como Park Lutheran Church, helping lead much of the church’s outreach into the community. From food distribution programs to partnerships with local schools and organizations, much of what happens beyond Sunday mornings connects back to the work she helps guide. As she is quick to point out, that work didn’t begin with her. “There have always been people here doing this work,” Sue says. “I just stepped into it.”

Sue grew up at Como Park Lutheran as part of a multi-generational family rooted in the church. It was a place where community wasn’t something you joined later, but something you were raised in. “I felt at home growing up here,” she says. “My whole family was ingrained in the community.” That connection deepened as she returned as an adult, raised her own children in the church, and became part of the same kind of steady presence she had grown up around.

People like Roy Muscatello shaped that experience. A longtime member from her parents’ generation, Roy had a way of showing up when something needed to be done and bringing others along with him. “Roy was always there if something needed to happen,” Sue says. “And he was always inviting other people in to participate.” After the sudden loss of her father, that presence became deeply personal. Roy stayed close in small, steady ways, continuing to include her and making sure she had a place within the life of the church. “When you are invited in, you learn something new,” she says. “And you become part of another community.”

She carried that forward, not just the work itself, but how it happened, through invitation, relationships, and people showing up for one another without needing recognition. She recognizes that same spirit in people like Dick Young, another longtime member she describes, with a smile, as her “partner in crime.” If there’s an idea to try or something new to build, he’s the one who leans in without hesitation. “If I go to Dick with something,” Sue says, “he just says, ‘I’m in.’” It’s that kind of response that keeps things moving.

The work itself takes many forms, but it is always rooted in that same approach. The church partners with organizations like Keystone Community Services and Every Meal to address food insecurity, while also working directly with local schools to support families through food distribution. Volunteers pack meals each week, organize grocery deliveries, and respond to needs as they arise. When immediate needs surface, the response is just as direct. During Operation Metro Surge, when families in the community were sheltering in place, the church quickly organized a food drive to get groceries into homes. Other efforts like the Giving Garden and the Como Grow a Row initiative invite members and neighbors to grow food to share. “You don’t have to have a big garden,” Sue says. “You can plant one pot, one row, and decide it’s going to be shared.” It is a simple idea, but one that has grown into something collective, where small contributions build into something much larger.

In 2025, more than 2,500 pounds of fresh, locally grown produce were collected and distributed through these efforts, reaching organizations, families, and individuals across the community. For Sue, the number is not what stays with her. “It’s what happens when everyone does a little bit,” she says. “That’s what makes the difference.”

That belief reflects how Como Park Lutheran has long understood its role, not as something separate from the community, but as part of it. When asked why the church still matters, her answer is simple. “We are their neighbors,” she says.

It is a straightforward statement, but one that carries a clear responsibility: to pay attention, to listen, and to respond with whatever resources are available. “Como Park has a well of resources,” Sue says. “People who want to help. It’s about connecting that to where it’s needed.” That work continues because people step into it, often in small ways that build over time. The same kind of invitation that once shaped Sue’s experience is now something she extends to others, creating opportunities for people to take part, contribute, and find their place. “I think when you invite people in, they find their place,” she says.

For Sue, that invitation is not new, it is something she has lived her entire life. As part of a family that spans generations at Como Park Lutheran, and now with her own children connected as a fourth generation, she represents both continuity and growth, a legacy not only of belonging, but of participation. As Como Park Lutheran Church marks 100 years, that legacy continues to take shape through people like Sue, and through work that carries forward because people are still willing to show up, step in, and take part in something larger than themselves.