Como Park Lutheran Church, ELCA, RIC: Serving St. Paul, Falcon Heights and Roseville MN

Pre-Fair Neighborhood Block Party

Como Park Lutheran Church — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:48:05 +0000

Join us on August 25 from 6:00–8:00 p.m. for our Pre-Fair Neighborhood Block Party!

Bring a lawn chair and enjoy free ice cream for kids, snacks, beverages, lawn games, and a State Fair ticket drawing.

Free entry, everyone is welcome!

2025 Block Party: Two Saint Paul Parks and Recreation staff members welcome visitors beneath a blue canopy, with a colorful ring toss game set up nearby.

2025 Block Party: Families and neighbors gather near a bright blue food truck and Saint Paul Parks and Recreation tent during an outdoor community event.

2025 Block Party: A volunteer smiles behind Como Park Lutheran Church’s community outreach table, featuring a colorful display about supporting, donating to, and volunteering with the Grow-a-Row program.

2025 Block Party: Three volunteers smile beneath a canopy behind a table filled with assorted bags of chips at an outdoor community event.

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Como Grow A Row

Como Park Lutheran Church — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:00:31 +0000

GROW ONE EXTRA ROW. FEED A NEIGHBOR.

Whether you have a backyard garden, a raised bed, or just room for one container, you can make a difference. Como Grow-a-Row is a community gardening initiative that invites neighbors to grow a little extra produce to share with others. Together with the Como Community Seed Library and gardeners throughout the neighborhood, we’re helping provide fresh, locally grown produce to Keystone Community Services and Peace House Community both accept fresh produce.

One tomato plant. A few bean seeds. A pepper plant. Small gifts, shared by many people, make a remarkable difference. Last year, gardeners throughout our congregation and neighborhood donated more than 2,500 pounds of fresh produce.

If you’re thinking, “I don’t have a garden. I don’t have room. I can’t do this,” you’re not alone. “I said that three years ago,” says Sue Brogger, Como Park Lutheran’s Director of Hunger Ministries. “I can plan and I can lead, but I don’t know if I can grow anything.” Now Sue encourages others not to let that stop them.

“You don’t have to be an avid gardener, and you don’t need an acre to plant. You can just make a decision to pick one spot, one pot, and grow something.”

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

Sign up at the Como Grow-a-Row table in the Narthex or complete the online sign-up form: Sign Up Here.
Choose what you’d like to grow. Free seeds are available at the table and at participating Little Free Seed Libraries.
Grow your garden. Whether it’s one container or an entire garden bed, every donation makes a difference.
Bring your harvest to church. We’ll collect and weigh every donation before delivering fresh produce to Keystone Community Services and Peace House Community.
Need help getting your produce to church? We’re happy to help. Contact Sue@comoparklutheran.org or 651-646-7127 Ext. 2203.

We’d also love to see your garden! Share your progress and photos throughout the season on social media using #ComoGrowARow.

Together we can grow abundance for our neighbors, one row at a time.

CPLC’s Grow A Row 2026 Photos

Click on the images to view their full size.

Week 1 – PLANT DONATIONS: 14 lbs delivered to Keystone Community Services

Week 2 – PLANT DONATIONS: 20.75 LBS delivered to Keystone Community Services

Week 3 – PLANT DONATIONS: 26 LBS delivered to Keystone Community Services

Week 4 – PLANT DONATIONS: 34 lbs of produce between Keystone and Peace House Community

Week 6 – PLANT DONATIONS: 104.75 lbs of produce between Keystone and Peace House Community

Week 7 – PLANT DONATIONS: 6 lbs of produce

Week 8 – PLANT DONATIONS: 80.25 lbs. Sixteen pounds from the church members’ gardens!

Week 9: 128 lbs total. 108 lbs of produce went to Keystone on July 31st. The remaining produce was sent to Peace House.

Week 10 Como Grow a Row: 98.5 lbs delivered to Keystone.

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Safe Summer Nights – August 6

Como Park Lutheran Church — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 15:55:05 +0000

Join us at the Northwest Como Recreation Center on Thursday, August 6, from 5:00–7:00 p.m. for Saint Paul’s Safe Summer Nights community event! Enjoy free food, family activities, giveaways, and the chance to connect with neighbors and local police officers.

Como Park Lutheran will have a community table sharing upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and ways to get involved – stop by and say hello!

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Giving Garden Sign-Up

Como Park Lutheran Church — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 21:43:13 +0000

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Pastor Marty Retires After 26 Years of Ministry

Como Park Lutheran Church — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 01:20:59 +0000

When Pastor Marty Ericson arrived at Como Park Lutheran Church in 2000, he stepped into a congregation with a more complicated history than had been apparent during the call process. Looking back, he says he wishes he had asked more questions before accepting the call.

Still, one of his strongest memories from those early days has nothing to do with conflict or the growing pains of a church in transition. A month after arriving, he watched as Anne and their children came to church for the first time. Two longtime members, Alan Alshouse and Edgar Williams, introduced themselves to the children and learned their names. What stood out was not that they welcomed Pastor Marty’s family, but that they knew the names of all the children in the congregation.

“I started to feel like this is going to be a good place for us,” he reflected.

What Kept Him Here

Years later, Pastor Marty is preparing to retire after serving as Como Park Lutheran’s Senior Pastor since 2000. During that time, he has watched the congregation evolve in many ways. Membership declined. Committees reorganized. New ministries began while others concluded. Staff members came and went. The way congregations operate shifted alongside broader changes in society.

Asked what he will remember most about his years at Como Park, Pastor Marty answered simply: “The relationships with people.”

“Everything in the church is relational,” he said. “The church is the people. It’s not the building, and it’s not a program.”

Pastor Marty credits the congregation’s willingness to adapt as one reason he stayed for more than a quarter century. “There was always another thing on the horizon,” he said. That “next thing” took many forms over the years: worship initiatives, Bible studies, building projects, community outreach efforts, anniversaries, fund appeals, and new ministry opportunities.

He also points to areas where he believes Como Park has had an impact beyond what many might expect from a congregation of its size. The church’s partnerships in Tanzania, support for student scholarships, hunger ministries, educational programs, and local partnerships were among the examples he highlighted. He described the congregation as one that consistently “punches above its weight.”

Looking Ahead

When asked what he hopes never changes, Pastor Marty mentioned the congregation’s commitment to hospitality, its concern for children, its support of education, and its desire to feed people in need.

As the conversation came to a close, he was asked whether there was anything else he wanted to add. Rather than highlighting a program, a building project, or a milestone from his twenty-six years as pastor, he talked about the women of the congregation.

He remembered Alice Christensen and Lillian Soderquist, whose work around meals, receptions, and hospitality helped shape congregational life for decades. He also reflected on Elida Storsley and the influence she had through Bible study and education.

“To lift up the role of the women in this place is something that needs to be done,” he said.

Three days before retirement, sitting in an office already beginning to look like someone else’s, Pastor Marty says he is leaving a congregation that is healthy, cohesive, and financially stable. He believes there are strong assets in place for the next pastor who walks through the doors.

The congregation he joined in 2000 is different from the one he leaves today. Membership has changed. Programs have changed. The way churches operate has changed. Yet many of the things that first drew him to Como Park remain familiar: a commitment to hospitality, a concern for others, and a community where people know one another by name.

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100 Years of Community: Sue Brogger

Como Park Lutheran Church — Sat, 02 May 2026 00:40:55 +0000

Director of Hunger Ministries, Sue Brogger reflects on service, community, and a legacy of showing up for others.

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.

This story is part of our “100 Years of Belonging” series as Como Park Lutheran celebrates its centennial in April 2026.

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Vacation Bible School 2026

Como Park Lutheran Church — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 21:20:52 +0000

Prefer text? Here are the details:

Kids from our neighborhood and from our congregation are invited to summer Vacation Bible School. We will be partnering with counselors from Camp Onomia to fill the week with Bible stories, songs, games, crafts, and more.

Dates: July 6–9
Time: 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Ages: PreK–5th grade (completed). PreK children must be potty trained and have experience participating in a class environment.
Location: Como Park Lutheran Church, 1376 Hoyt Ave W., Saint Paul, MN 55108
Cost: $40 per child (financial assistance available)

Please bring a bag lunch.

Registration:
Please register by June 22: https://forms.gle/jpMvXJzwQh4Jwpbk8

For questions or concerns, please contact David Osterhouse at osterhouse@comoparklutheran.org

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Como Park Farmers’ Market 2026

Como Park Lutheran Church — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 23:36:44 +0000

There’s nothing better than fresh food and community connection. The Como Park Farmers’ Market returns this season, bringing together local growers, makers, and neighbors in one vibrant space!

This year, the market will take place in the CPLC parking lot at 1545 Hamline Ave N in St. Paul and will be held every Thursday from 2:00–6:00 PM, running May 14 through October 29. Please note there will be no market on August 27 or September 3.

You’ll find a wide variety of locally grown and produced foods, along with handmade goods from area vendors. The market accepts SNAP/EBT and offers matching programs to help make fresh, local food more accessible to everyone.

We look forward to seeing you at the market and celebrating the best of the season together 🥕☀️🫜

Using SNAP/EBT at the Market: https://stpaulfarmersmarket.com/food-assistance-2/
Stop at the information tent or table at any market.

Show your EBT card or ask for an EBT transaction. (EBT cards from other states are accepted.)
Market staff will ask how much you’d like to charge to your card. This amount is deducted from your monthly SNAP balance.
For example, if you deduct $10, you will receive $10 in tokens to spend with participating vendors.
You will also receive $10 in Market Bucks and $10 in Produce Bucks—these are free matching dollars you can use to buy more fresh food.
The market can match up to $10 per visit.
- So if you charge $30, you’ll receive $30 in tokens, $10 in Market Bucks, and $10 in Produce Bucks.

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Growing For Good 2026

Como Park Lutheran Church — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 18:44:40 +0000

Join us as we kick off our 4th season of Como Grow a Row with an educational event designed to cultivate knowledge, connection, and community growth.

Who’s joining us?

Click on each name to learn more

MN Hobby Beekeepers – Connect with local beekeepers and discover the vital role pollinators play in our food system and gardens.
Como Grow a Row – Join a community effort to grow fresh food and share it with neighbors.
St. Paul Parks and Rec – Enjoy fun, hands-on outdoor games and activities for all ages.
21 Roots Farm
St. Paul Growers Association
MN Tool Library
Como Community Seed Library
District 10 Como Community Council

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Chelsea Heights Food Drive

Como Park Lutheran Church — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 19:05:42 +0000

The food pantry we launched with Chelsea Heights School and the PTO at the end of January came to a close on Wednesday, March 25.

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