DeeDee Lindelien, Pastoral Care | By James Beamond, Communications Specialist
Since accepting the call to continue the District Pastoral Care ministry of her late husband, Carl, DeeDee Lindelien’s ministry has stretched across Minnesota as she serves pastors and their congregations.
As DeeDee tells pastors, “You are the shepherd. I simply have the privilege of helping care for the sheep.” Her role is not to take the place of the local pastor, but to come alongside pastors when distance, schedules, or circumstances keep them from being present themselves.
Pastors often reach out to DeeDee for hospital and assisted living visits, grief and funeral support, guest preaching, and other pastoral care needs. When a pastor cannot be present, DeeDee encourages families to know that she is there as an extension of their home church, and she listens for practical needs she can communicate back to the pastor. In that way, her visit can become part of the ongoing care a church provides long after she leaves.
During one hospital visit, DeeDee was given the wrong room number. Rather than simply leaving, she offered to pray with the family in the room. She soon learned they were walking through a serious health crisis and had been asking the Lord to send someone to them. The mother told DeeDee, “You were supposed to come in this room today.” Moments like these have allowed DeeDee to see how God uses even an unexpected visit to open a door for ministry.
DeeDee also builds relationships with chaplains in the hospitals and organizations she visits, allowing her to serve effectively. She also serves as a chaplain with the Apple Valley Police Department.
Whether responding to a hospital room, an assisted-living facility, a grieving family, or another pastoral need, DeeDee’s ministry allows her to go where pastors cannot always be.
As a U.S. missionary, DeeDee relies on the prayer and financial support of churches and pastors as she continues to help care for families across Minnesota. To partner with DeeDee or request Pastoral Care, visit mnaog.org/pastoralcare.
