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Faith Ministry Stories

(Re) Connecting with Faith-From Florida

Posted by Dennis Sanders on

Returning to Faith After 30 years

Micki Hartmann was an active member of Faith in the mid-1980s volunteering with the contemporary worship team with Jennifer and Brian Tolzmann playing guitar. “When I came across chords too difficult for me, I just pretended and left it up to Brian and his 12-string guitar!”

In 1993, she met her husband Steve and moved to Florida in 2005. As the decades came and went, Faith was a wonderful memory, but nothing more. Then Steve died from cancer in 2018. In her mourning, she turned more and more to God. “We really hadn’t gone to church, but after he passed, I started to look for a church home,” she said.

Micki and her mother, who recently moved to Florida, began looking for a church to call home.

And then the pandemic hit.

At the time, Micki worked as a nurse anesthetist. Hospitals stopped elective procedures and since most of Micki’s workload was elective, she spent time at home. During the time in quarantine, Candi Anderson, an old friend living in 

Florida who also hailed from Minnesota found Faith’s live stream. “I had missed being part of the Body of Christ,” Micki said. “It made me wonder about what I was doing with my life.”

Watching online helps Micki develop a deeper spiritual life. She owes some of this turn to Pastor John. “I must admit that Pastor John’s unique style helped a lot! Not stuffy like some of the pastors I had growing up. I felt very included in the worship service. I was even a part of the online congregational singing. That was fun!”

As the pandemic wanes, Micki thinks she and her mother will start looking for a church home again. That doesn’t mean she will stop watching Faith’s services online though. She’s recently retired from nursing which means she has more time to worship together with her friends in Minnesota.

Being able to reconnect with Faith has led her to experience Faith in person. Micki and Candi will drive from Florida to Minnesota in late June to visit family and friends. If you’re around on July 4th and you see two unfamiliar women at one of the worship services, be sure to say hello and welcome home.