Pastor Emily Sauer
Greetings and welcome to St. Olaf!
I’m so glad you’re here and I look forward to meeting you! How did I get here? I was the shy and quiet kid who was afraid to speak. This is how you know God has a sense of humor. I felt the calling during a regular Sunday morning. I felt the peace that passes all human understanding and I knew this is what God was asking of me. After graduating Bradley University I headed to the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago where I received my Masters of Divinity degree. I served my internship at First Lutheran in Algona, Iowa and my first call for 5 years at Our Saviour’s in Mason City, Iowa. I went on to receive a call to the American Lutheran Church in Bourbonnais, Illinois where I served for 7 years. When I wasn’t looking God brought forth the opportunity to interview at St. Olaf. Sometimes the best gifts come to us when we least expect it & this call to St. Olaf is one of those times. I’ve loved getting to know our congregation. There’s a love and kindness that prevails over every aspect of our life together. There’s an enthusiasm to follow the Lord’s lead even when it’s scary and into the unknown. I am so hopeful for our future. I know God is blessing us in amazing ways!
One way that God has blessed me is my relocation to Fort Dodge was the opportunity to meet my husband Joseph Alvarez. Joseph owns Burrito Mexpress in Humboldt & Charles City as well as 2 food trucks. We were married at St. Olaf on November 4th and we are a combined household with our 4 children. My son “Drew” age 14, my stepson Joseph age 11, my daughter Rachel “Rae” age 11 and my stepdaughter Jianna age 8. Joseph also has an older daughter named Kiarra who is married to her wife Adrianna. The two live in Mason City. We have a black cat named Olive and a Manx cat named Pumpkin Pie. We LOVE Mexican food, the Dallas Cowboys & the Chicago Cubs. We attend a lot of events for our kids: soccer, wrestling, football, concert band, piano. Our favorite places to vacation are historical landmarks and anywhere near water. For fun we love movies, hikes, fishing, & ice cream.
I pray for anyone who stumbles upon our church website. Since the beginning of Covid-19 in March 2020 our world has turned upside down, but I am encouraged to see how we are able to reach out to one another in new and important ways. I remain hopeful that THE church can hear the still, small voice of Jesus who lives within each of us. After we hear His voice, will we be brave and obedient to follow? I know that God is doing this through St. Olaf as we continue our Investing in our Community campaign to raise funds for our Kingdom Kids of St. Olaf daycare center. We hope to open the center in the spring of 2024. Stay tuned!
Pastor Emily Sauer-Alvarez