Gustavus Adolphus College

Chaplain
Chaplains' Office

There's a bumper sticker found on cars in Texas that says, I wasn't born here, but I got here as soon as I could. This is an answer to another bumper sticker that displays the Texas state flag next to the words, Native Texan. Chaplain Rachel wasn't born into the Gustavus family nor did she receive a degree here, but she got here as soon as she could. She arrived August 15, 2001 to join the ministry team of Christ Chapel. And most days she feels like a "native Gustie". Her work here involves worship leadership and preaching; pastoral care with students, faculty, and staff; advising student religious groups; and collaborating with the Music Department to plan worship experiences for the Gustavus community. Rachel cooperates with many and various parts of the Student Affairs Division, such as the Community Service Center, the Center for Vocational Reflection, the Counseling Center, Student Activities, and Residential Life to enrich the community of Gustavus. Rachel also provides a public presence for college events that involve alumni, parents, and friends of the college.

Rachel is a Lutheran pastor in the ELCA. She graduated from Luther Northwestern Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1986 and Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1980. Before attending seminary Rachel was a Registered Nurse for two years at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. As a pastor, Rachel has served Hosanna Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas; Lutheran Campus Ministry at Penn State in State College, Pennsylvania; Hospice San Antonio in Kerrville, Texas; and St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Marble Falls, Texas. In all of those settings she cooperated with colleagues of other faith traditions on joint worship and social justice projects.

Rachel is interested in the tradition of spiritual guidance, the labyrinth as tool for prayer and meditation, feminist biblical study, choral performance, gardening, hiking, and knitting. Rachel's husband, Don Holmstrom (who is a native Texan) serves as pastor of First Lutheran Church in St. Peter and is also a fiction writer. Her daughter, Susanna, is an active child who enjoys the outdoors, gymnastics, piano, and writing stories.