St. Barnabas Lutheran Church has been part of northwest Plymouth, Minnesota since 1985, when the first worship service gathered at a local elementary school. Today the congregation is known for its warm hospitality, an unusually rich music program, and a deep commitment to serving neighbors both near and far. The building sits on Old Rockford Road among the neighborhoods of one of the Twin Cities' larger suburbs, and the congregation gathers each Sunday for a 9:30 AM liturgy that fills the sanctuary with voices from choir, handbells, brass, and a 19-rank pipe organ.
Sunday Mornings on Old Rockford Road
Worship begins at 9:30 AM each Sunday and is built around a variety of liturgies, great music, and preaching that the congregation itself describes as "above average." The service is livestreamed on YouTube for those unable to attend in person. After worship, the entire church moves into a coffee hour with real plates and cups, where talented bakers and chefs share their culinary gifts and conversation stretches around tables. There is always coffee and treats available after worship.
Visitors wondering what to wear need not worry. Most members arrive in business casual with a bit of extra color. During church holidays, members sometimes weave in the holiday's palette: red for Christmas and Reformation Sunday, brighter greens and pastels for Easter. Bibles are given out each year to second graders, and the welcome extends to children and adults of every age.
A Sanctuary Built for Music
Music is one of the things St. Barnabas is best known for. The Senior Choir, directed by Emma Silvestri, rehearses in the sanctuary every Wednesday evening from 7:00 to 8:30 PM, August through May. Singers from high school age and up join without audition, and the choir sings on most Sunday mornings with music spanning hundreds of years and many genres. Membership at St. Barnabas is not required to sing with the choir.
The Handbell Choir, led by director Cheryl Oie, presents music on three octaves of handbells and handchimes. The group rehearses in Classroom 6 every Thursday evening from 6:15 to 7:15 PM, August through May, and plays monthly from October through May. Players need to be able to read at least a little music and be ready for a great deal of fun.
The St. Barnabas Brass draws together brass and percussion players from the congregation and beyond. They typically meet for a one-hour rehearsal about once a month on a Saturday, then play at services the following Sunday. The pipe organ itself, a 19-rank Nordlie installed in 2001 as a gift from Brad and Jane Miller, anchors the ensemble, with organist Noah Carlson providing accompaniment alongside the choir and instrumentalists.
The St. Barnabas Story
The congregation's history is recent but full. In the spring of 1985, the Minneapolis Synod of the Lutheran Church in America called Pastor Wayne Peterson to develop a new mission congregation in northwest Plymouth. He began work on September 1, 1985, and the first worship service was held on November 24 at Greenwood Elementary School. Groundbreaking for a building followed on January 11, 1987, and the building was occupied in August. St. Barnabas officially organized as a congregation of the LCA on October 18, 1987, with 202 charter members. Ten weeks later, on January 1, 1988, it became a congregation of the newly formed Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Under the leadership of member Jim Cook, a kitchen was finished with volunteer labor within a year of the dedication and quickly became central to the church's ministry of hospitality. The new sanctuary was dedicated in September 1997. In 2001, the front of the sanctuary was transformed by the addition of the Nordlie pipe organ. An ambitious 2004 Building Committee plan led to construction of a lower level beneath the entire addition, which tripled the size of the building; the expanded space was dedicated in January 2006.
Hospitality That Feels Like Home
Coffee hour is built into the rhythm of Sunday morning at St. Barnabas, and the kitchen the congregation finished in its earliest years remains a hub for that hospitality. Real plates and cups are the rule, and tables are set for conversation rather than quick departures. The welcome extends to anyone who walks in the door, whether they are lifelong Lutherans, just exploring, or simply looking for a place to belong.
Welcome, Just as You Are
St. Barnabas describes itself as a place where the goal is for everyone to feel they belong. The congregation extends a special welcome regardless of age, marital status, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ability, or past experience of feeling left out. Visitors who do not yet know what a "Lutheran" is are warmly received; those still exploring their spirituality are also welcome. The church calls itself a "permission-giving" congregation that supports small interest groups and adapts its programs to the needs of the surrounding community.
Children are honored here. They are encouraged to participate in worship and to be curious about church, with Bibles presented to second graders each year and a Milestone Ministry program that celebrates learning across the lifespan, with milestone classes on Getting to Know Your Bible, Do Justice, Generosity, and First Communion.
Growing in Faith Together
Children and Youth
Faith Formation for children meets at 10:40 AM during the school year as a multi-generational learning community that welcomes adults and children in the same hour. The program carries a nautical theme. Sailors (ages 3 through kindergarten) and Mariners (grades 1 through 4) study the Bible using the Lego-based curriculum "Building Faith, Brick by Brick." Navigators (grades 5 through 6) and Seafarers (grades 7 through 8) take up the three big questions identified by the Fuller Youth Institute as central to teenagers' lives: Who am I? Where do I fit in? And what difference can I make? Ninth graders synthesize their years of Confirmation learning and make their Affirmation of Faith on Reformation Sunday.
Adult Learning and Small Groups
The Pastor's Bible Study meets Tuesday mornings from 9:30 to 10:45 AM, sometimes working through the upcoming Gospel reading, sometimes following a book or DVD series. Word for Women gathers Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:00 AM. Sounding Board is a men's discussion group that exchanges spiritual topics through email and meets to support one another in their daily lives. A Book Discussion Group meets on the third Thursday of each month at 1:00 PM. Solo Sisters, a fellowship group for women of all ages, meets the first Monday of each month at 10:00 AM. The Men's Breakfast Group meets at Perkins on Highway 55 and 494 on the first Friday of each month at 9:00 AM.
Other small groups knit the congregation together across the year. Coffee, Conversation, and Cards is a men's gathering that meets Thursday mornings at 10:00 AM in the fellowship hall. Seniors and Friends meets the second Tuesday of every other month starting in January at 11:00 AM with worship and a shared meal in the Ministry Center. OWLs (Older and Wiser Lutherans) gathers every other month beginning in February. Barney's Birdies Women's Golf Group plays Wednesday evenings June through September at Baker Evergreen Executive Course in Medina. Quilters for Lutheran World Relief meet every Friday morning at 9:30 AM to tie and hem quilts for North Memorial Hospital and Lutheran World Relief, with prep work often happening on Thursdays at 9:30 AM. Nordic Walking meets Monday evenings at 4:00 PM at French Park, with loaner poles available on a first come basis.
Serving Beyond the Walls
St. Barnabas takes the calling to serve neighbors seriously, with two complementary emphases. "Serving the Gathered" focuses on the life of the congregation, including shepherding and sanctuary care, worship volunteering, property care, and the many behind-the-scenes teams that keep a busy church running. Service opportunities include Assisting Minister, Lector, Communion Assistant, Greeter, Usher, Cantor, Livestream Operator, Sound Technician, Acolyte, Coffee Host, and Treat Provider.
"Serving the Scattered" focuses on the wider community. Members volunteer with the Interfaith Outreach Center of Plymouth, participate in monthly Gifts of Love collections, and help plan the annual JustGifts Market, an alternative Christmas market celebrating its 22nd year in which 100 percent of donated item sales go to featured charities. Past items have included sewn, crocheted, and knitted goods, jewelry, kitchen items, home decor, paper goods, cards, visual art, glass, woodworking, and flower arrangements.
The church supports housing initiatives through Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, including past participation in the Families Moving Forward program and more recent lobbying and community gathering work. Two partner congregations, Redeemer Lutheran Church in North Minneapolis and San Pablo/St. Paul in the Phillips Neighborhood, receive ongoing accompaniment. The church has also hosted community events that bring Muslim, Christian, and other neighbors together, including an Iftar meal with the Iraqi American Reconciliation Project, and regularly has a presence at the Golden Valley Pride Festival.
The Family Resource Center
Since 2013, the building has also housed the Family Resource Center, a community-based counseling and therapy resource. Melissa Weinhandl, LAMFT, serves individuals, families, and couples from the FRC offices as an independent practitioner rather than as an employee of the congregation. By renting space from the church rather than paying market office rates, the FRC is able to offer services on a sliding fee scale based on income and ability to pay. Services include marriage and family therapy, individual therapy for all ages, play therapy for children, personal and professional life coaching, career counseling, relationship enrichment, parent and child programs, and support and therapy groups. The FRC does not share any information with the pastors or staff unless specifically requested by the client.
A Memorial Garden and a Columbarium
Behind the church, on a granite plaza set in a memorial garden, two columbaria provide for the inurnment of cremated remains. The original columbarium, built in 2003, is single-sided with 54 niches. A second double-sided columbarium, built in 2012, added 108 more niches. Together they have capacity for over 300 individuals, and the plaza is designed to expand to four columbaria and more than 750 resting places. St. Barnabas members, past members, and immediate family or close relatives are eligible for inurnment. Full niches are $2,500 and half niches $1,250, both including bronze urns, engraving, and care in perpetuity. The idea grew out of Pastor Wayne's visit to European churches during his 2000 sabbatical, when he realized that St. Barnabas should plan to be around for generations.
Staff and Leadership
Pastor Mark Andrew Tiede serves as Senior Pastor. A rostered ELCA minister with nearly 30 years of ordained experience, he holds a degree in religious studies from St. Olaf College and a Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary. He came to St. Barnabas from St. John's Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, where he served as Senior Pastor for twelve years. Emma Silvestri directs the music ministry after beginning at St. Barnabas as Cantor. Noah Carlson is the church's organist, and Cheryl Oie directs the handbell choir. Karl Smith serves as Director of Operations, having been a Lay Minister for Property since 2019 before taking on expanded responsibilities in July 2025.
What Lutherans at St. Barnabas Believe
St. Barnabas is a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The congregation confesses the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and proclaims Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Members gather weekly around God's word from Scripture, prayer, and the Lord's Table, and carry their faith into daily life through service to others. Lutherans hold that forgiveness does not need to be earned; it is given freely by God's grace through Jesus.
The congregation's stated vision is to seek a thriving world created by unconditional love and grace, and its mission is that the love of Jesus inspires praise, growth, and service to neighbor. Four core values shape that work: Living Faith, Belonging, Creativity, and Generosity.