Progress 2023: Health & Spirituality

By ALEX GUERRERO alex.guerrero@albertleatribune.com

Mark Boorsma has stepped into a new but familiar role as lead pastor at Salem Lutheran Church.

It’s new because this is his first time leading the congregation, but it’s familiar because he has been a pastor at Ascension Lutheran Church for 16 years.

He even had a phrase for what’s happening: a holy experiment.

“It’s experimental in the sense that we’re doing something that is new to all of us,” he said. “We’re stepping out into a new adventure and we’re willing to try things and we’re willing to — maybe in some instances — fail or stumble and then pick ourselves up and figure it out.”

The holy part of it: Boorsma argued it was Spirit-led.

This will not be the first time Salem Lutheran and Ascension have collaborated either.

“Over the years there have been things around which these two congregations have cooperated,” he said. One result of their collaboration: doing their confirmation program together. That included holding classes at both Ascension and Salem and holding special services together.

“This was sort of an organic opportunity to talk about how we could do more together,” he said.

“It was probably a couple

Mark Boorsma with Ellen Kohl of Ascension Lutheran Church and Beth Spande of Salem Lutheran Church. Boorsma, previously only at Ascension Lutheran will now also lead Salem

“I have a great deal of hope for the future of both congregations.”

— Beth Spande

Salem Lutheran Church is at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Water Street.

beacon of hope’

WORK NEARING COMPLETION ON HOPE CHURCH BUILDINGS IN DOWNTOWN A.L.

By Alex Guerrero alex.guerrero@albertleatribune.com

Work is almost complete to transform two downtown Albert Lea buildings into Hope Church.

As of the end of December, about 80% of the project was finished, and Kaleb Hurley, lead pastor, hoped it would be complete by spring, though timelines are hard to predict sometimes with construction projects, he said.

According to Hurley, the footings have been renovated at both buildings on South Broadway.

“We had to re-dig out all of the footings to be a different grade of concrete and a different depth so that we could support what we were doing on the other levels,” he said. “I think it was since 2021 when we started this we have done basically a complete gut of every level of every form of anything that was in the building in a complete reinstall.”

And re-digging out the basement footings and to have beams supporting the wall removal upstairs was the biggest surprise for him.

When completed, the new building will provide more room — the church has held its services at the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center for over eight years.

“We can’t use the theater whenever we want,” he said.

Hurley is excited to have a space for youth, have an office in the building (the church’s offices are currently at 130 N. Broadway on the side of the shared Convention and Visitors Bureau, Chamber and Albert Lea Economic Development building) and to have an area for coffee.

Hurley said the children’s space will be triple what it currently is at the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center.

In their current space, children ages 4 to 12 share the same room.

“Honestly, two of the spaces are bigger than that single space by itself,” he said. “But to be all together, it’s at least three times the size.”

Hurley did not know the exact footage of the new space, but estimated it around 5,000 square feet.

He said people were excited to be downtown and check out the building, though he admitted there would be others who don’t know what the church is doing or why they wanted a space downtown.

“I’m sure that if somebody was going to say something negative, they would avoid saying it to me,” he joked.

“Basically we built a new building around the brick.”

Hurley said the new building would be vibrant and unique, and said it would provide a multi-level, multi-generational facility for people.

“Hoping to use this facility … to further the kingdom of God and our community and to be a beacon of hope to those that are hurting,” he said.

And that’s why the building will be located where it is — 244 S. Broadway.

“We hope to bring life to downtown,” he said.

And by having it there, he hopes to help revitalize downtown.

He noted there were also already people walking around that could be

hurting, broken or lost.

“I think that anybody that cares about Albert Lea being a place, especially when they care about broken people … I think they want to see there be opportunities for those people to be helped.”

It’s his hope to bring traffic to downtown that hasn’t been there.

“We believe in Albert Lea,” he said. “We want to see Albert Lea become a better place for people to live and we want to see it advance in every way.”

Demolition began in March 2021, though at the time there wasn’t a construction permit. Hurley declined to say how much the project cost, but admitted the price was more than the church planned for. The new church will be where the Community Cornerstone was on the corner of Broadway and Main Street, where AZ-One and the historic St. Paul Clothing House were located.

“We are thrilled to be on the corner of Main and Broadway, and this is most certainly something that we believe will be a real benefit to our downtown on so many levels,” Hurley said. “We’re excited to continue to stay downtown like we have been and to have a permanent home downtown.”

He hopes the new building will be ready by April 9 for Easter services.

Kaleb Hurley, lead pastor at Hope Church, stands in front of what will soon be the new location at 244 S. Broadway. ALEX GUERRERO/ALBERT LEA TRIBUNE

Hurley estimates the new church will have around 5,000 square feet of space.

The new church will be where the Community Cornerstone was on the corner of Broadway and Main Street, at the location of the historic St. Paul Clothing House.

Bringing nutrition, hydration IV therapy to A.L.

By Sarah Stultz sarah.stultz@albertleatribune.com

Intravenous nutrition and hydration therapies, popular in bigger cities, are now available in Albert Lea with a company started by a nurse practitioner last year.

Lori Aasen opened Vitalize IV Drip at 2209 E. Main St. in April in the building shared with Over the Moon Massage.

Hydration therapy is a method to hydrate and detoxify the body at the cellular level by infusing fluids, vitamins and nutrients directly into the blood stream where they can have the greatest benefit.

Aasen said the treatments can provide relief from illness and hangovers, detoxify the body, boost the immune system and metabolism, improve mental clarity, combat jet lag and help pre- or post-workout.

Infusions can also promote healthy skin and improve energy levels.

Aasen, who has been a nurse since 1995 and a nurse practitioner since 2011, said she loves nursing but has found over the years that she tends to be more holistic in her philosophies compared to the philosophies found in Western medicine.

She started the business as an entry point in that direction and hopes to eventually expand into other things, including functional medicine, energy medicine and possibly even hormone replacement.

For the IV therapy, she works with Olympia

Pharmaceuticals for the various formulas that are available, and all of the supplies she uses are medical grade.

Aasen said when a client comes for a therapy session, she will go over the person’s medical history and take his or her vital signs both before and after the therapy.

The therapy itself generally lasts an hour and consists of specific vitamins and minerals that are combined with saline fluid and given via IV to the client.

“Lori is a very skilled nurse practitioner,” said Linda Ferguson of Over the Moon Massage, who previously worked with Aasen in the emergency room, and who has gone through a few sessions of the therapy herself for an immune boost and recovery after being sick. “She’s very good at what she does, very thorough— painstakingly accurate.”

She said Aasen can customize a therapy for each client based on his or her needs.

Ferguson said after people are born they become dehydrated and don’t drink enough water — she noted most people should drink eight glasses of water a day.

“Most of us don’t get that,” Ferguson said. “And eight glasses of water a day is minimum of what we need. We’re constantly in a state of dehydration.”

She said people can tell that they are dehydrated when their skin or eyes are dry.

“I don’t think people realize how awful they feel

when they’re dehydrated,” Ferguson said.  She commented on how she felt better after receiving her IV therapy.

Ferguson said the therapies Aasen provides have become popular in other larger neighboring communities, and Albert Lea is slowly catching on to some of the complimentary things that exist.

“I want to see her succeed because I see so much value in this,” Ferguson said.

While appointments are mostly done at the office, Aasen can provide the treatment at a home or office setting if she is available. Appointments

are scheduled around her full-time job.

In addition to the IV therapy, Aasen said the business also provides Vitamin B12 and Vitamin

D3 injections.  More about Vitalize IV Drip can be found at www. vitalizeivdrip.com. To schedule an appointment, call 507-402-4958.

Lori Aasen opened Vitalize IV Drip in April 2022 in Albert Lea. SARAH STULTZ/ALBERT LEA TRIBUNE

‘Almost an unexplainable experience’

FLOATATION TANK AIDS IN STRESS REDUCTION, MUSCLE RECOVERY, IMPROVED SLEEP

By Kelly Wassenberg news@albertleatribune.com

Your morning alarm awakens you from your slumber. Extending your arm from under your warm bed covers to turn it off, your eyes squint from light filtering in from a nearby window.

You’ve just started your day and your body’s five senses are already hard at work.

Lindsay Kramer, owner of It’s Worth It Massage & Wellness Studio, knows just how overwhelming it can all be.

She works with many clients who display the physical signs of dealing with a demanding lifestyle and has added a float tank at her establishment to help her clients try to escape it all.

Using a solution of 70% water and 30% epsom salt, the enclosed tank allows clients to effortlessly float on the surface and seals out external sights and sounds.  Kramer traveled to Mankato a couple years ago to try the experience for herself after a friend suggested it.

“I was in, I guess I’ll call it a dark place,” she said. “I’ve never been diagnosed with depression or anxiety, but I was struggling.”

She felt like she was in a weird funk and it was affecting the way she interacted with others — and she didn’t like it.

The effects of using a float tank were immediate for Kramer. Her mood was elevated and it was easier for her to let things roll off her back. She was convinced she needed to make floating part of her regular self-care routine.

“It’s almost an unexplainable experience,” she said.

Kramer is quick to admit everyone’s experience can be different, just like their reasoning for using the tank. Her husband, Brad Kramer, uses the tank as a place to focus without outside distractions. She also recommends everyone try to float at least three times as sometimes it takes clients a few times to get the full benefit from the experience.

Athletes, she said, typically use it for muscle recovery and visualization, which aids in

performance and injury reduction.

“I really want to help those who are searching for that disconnect from the busy, overworked life and need a break, and that’s hard to find,” she said, noting many use the tank for other purposes, including stress reduction and aiding their natural sleep patterns.

“I have several people who sleep really well the first day they float,” Kramer said. These clients typically come again when their sleep cycles once again become restless. The tank itself is even a good place for clients to rest as Kramer notes one hour of resting in a float tank is the equivalent to four hours of resting the body outside of the tank. Cell regeneration and muscle recovery are only a couple of the important processes a body does at rest, she said.

The experience could be especially beneficial to those who are familiar with meditation, may have tried the practice or recognize its benefits and might want to make it a habit yet struggle to because life gets in the way, as well.

By the numbers

1,000

2012

Year Kramer established It’s Worth It Massage & Wellness Studio

1954

Year float tanks were first developed

“We’re just pulled in so many directions and our human bodies are not designed to take on as much stimulation as the world is giving it,” Kramer said. “And I like to call my float tank a tool in the toolbox — and it’s just that. It’s not a cure all.”

Lindsay Kramer, owner of It’s Worth It Massage & Wellness Studio, commissioned Rachel Lawson of Lake Mills to paint the mural on the wall behind the floatation tank at her business, which is in the lower level of her home. The scene is from Pagosa Springs, Colorado, home of the deepest hot springs. KELLY WASSENBERG/FOR THE TRIBUNE

The floatation tank at It’s Worth It Massage & Wellness Studio has a seven-point filtration system to ensure the water solution stays sanitary between each user.

Pounds of epsom salt in the float tank

PASTOR

Continued from Front Page years ago that Salem sent out a letter to congregations in the area inviting people, inviting other congregations to explore the idea of shared ministry,” said Beth Spande, president of the congregational council at Salem Lutheran Church. “We are a very small congregation, and we needed to look at different possibilities other than a full-time pastor.”

The previous pastor resigned in February 2022. The church didn’t received much of a response initially, but Ascension seemed interested.

He wasn’t quite sure how he planned to split his time between the two churches, though he noted there would be an 8:30 a.m. Sunday service at Ascension and a 10 a.m. service at Salem. Prior to Boorsma leading Salem, both churches held a service at 9 a.m.

He also planned to have a physical presence at both churches.

“There was a concern by a leader of [Salem’s] congregation early in our conversations because I think he was imagining that I would only have an office, a physical space and a physical presence at Ascension where I already am,” he said.

He also didn’t plan to have identical sermons at each church, and argued each one brought their own personalities.

“It’s a little like asking if you had two Christmas dinners — would they be the same?” he said. “Of course no. They’d have a lot in common. They’d have a festive table, they’d have family, loved ones gathered around a table. They’d have a spirit of joy and celebration.”

He said when congregations got new pastors, the new leader would feel excitement and have new energy. At the same time, those feelings came with a cost: severing relationships with the current congregation.

But he felt this arrangement provided the best of both worlds.

“I get all the excitement, enthusiasm, fresh energy of serving a congregation that is new to me, but I don’t have to say goodbye to a congregation that I already know and love,” he said.

Boorsma’s familiarity with church was part of how he grew up.

“I grew up in a family that was active in the church and Sunday church service attendance was just a given,” he said.

At his church there was an older couple who treated the congregation as extended family, and noted they embraced all the children.

“I remember that they would sometimes end up sitting behind us in the church service, and we

By the numbers

Years since Boorsma was first ordained as a pastor

were a bunch of wiggly young people, fidgeting and so on and so forth,” he said. “Our mother — probably to help keep us quiet — encouraged us to draw little pictures.”

And that older couple started receiving some of those pictures, and eventually a relationship was formed. And when Boorsma was a senior in high school, they asked him what he planned to do with his life.

At that time, he considered a career in medicine.

16 Years Boorsma has served at Ascension Lutheran

Their response was that he would “pack it in with his preaching.” He admitted that was a call for service, but he ignored it.

“What happens is you just say ‘No’ for a long time, and then it’s like the Spirit just sort of wears you down,” he said.

And so, after some time, he decided to look into the career.

“I ended up at seminary and loved it,” he said. “I loved the subject matter, I loved working with people.

Year Boorsma moved to Albert Lea

I loved that ministry is a service profession, and I’ve never regretted it.”

While Boorsma admitted there were some instances, including Bible studies, confirmation classes and worship services, that could be planned, defining what a typical day looked like was difficult for him. Instead, he believed the bulk of ministry was responding to need in the moment.

“Much of ministry is responding to what is

presented to you in a given day,” he said. “If somebody is dying, often they didn’t plan that. If somebody dies suddenly, they certainly didn’t plan that.”

And though he did observe some of his colleagues in the ministry being involved in different things, he argued that impaired their ability to respond to things that pop up unannounced. But he also said ministry itself was intrusion, though he argued people had a valid expectation for a pastor to be there for them in a moment of need.

Spande has some experience working with a pastor for two churches, as her husband worked at a two-point parish. She also had familiarity with Ascension church, where her husband was pastor. “I think it will work fine,” she said. “I have a great deal of hope for the future for both congregations. And Pastor Boorsma is very open and willing to share his time and to be a pastor for both congregations.”

Her sentiment was shared with Ellen Kohl, president of the congregational council for Ascension Lutheran Church.

Her biggest hope for the two churches sharing a pastor was that the two churches would grow closer together. “One of the things that has impressed me through the process of meeting together as two councils and as two congregations has been the love and connection that the members have for their churches,” she said.

Boorsma was ordained in 1993, and his first call was in Peoria, Illinois, where he served for four years. He and his wife then decided to move closer to grandparents. His parents lived in Chaska, while his wife Mary had parents in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Prior to moving to Albert Lea, he served for 10 years in Cleveland, Minnesota, before moving to Albert Lea in 2007.

Ascension Lutheran Church is off of U.S. Highway 69. ALEX GUERRERO/ALBERT LEA TRIBUNE