pastor cliff nelson
My vision for the church is to be a place where we grow deeper in relationship with Christ and one another realizing we are called to community; in community we experience God in a profound way as we move deelpy into God's grace and love. We must find ways to go beyond the walls of our church and offer Christ to those in our community. We are called to serve others.
Email Pastor Cliff
Meet The Cedar Team
Lisa Sainio -
Administrative Assistant
Lisa has faithfully served as the Administrative Assistant at Cedar Church for over 17 years.
Family is Lisa’s passion, and her six grandchildren are her greatest blessing. She grew up in Anoka, MN, raised three amazing children, and now spends most her time with her family. She’d rather be with family than anywhere else, and she thanks God every day for each and every one of them.
Jill Rykhus -
Pianist
Jill is originally from Walnut Grove, MN. She started taking piano lessons in first grade. In high school, she accompanied the choir and played for all the musical plays. She also provided the music for vacation bible school at her church. We’ve been fortunate to have Jill as our pianist for 22 years of the 26 years she’s been a member at Cedar.
Jill and her husband John have 2 grown daughters: Jenna and Jamie, who are both married and live locally. She also has two dogs, Lacey and Koda.
In her spare time, Jill enjoys running her miniature Australian Shepherd, Koda, in the agility ring. She also enjoys scrapbooking, traveling with her family, and watching NFL football. Her favorite thing about Cedar Church is the family feel. “People are always there for you when you need them!”
Mary Gutknecht- Custodian
Mary, the middle child of 7, was born in St. Paul, MN, on a farm where the day started at 4:00 a.m. She's the mom of 5 kids (two step-children).
Mary has had a wide variety of jobs over the years. This fall she is starting her 4th year keeping Cedar clean and inviting.
Mary loves to garden, cook, bake, sew, and play Farmville on her computer.
Mary says, "I thank God for all I've been blessed with and for all the people at Cedar who've shared my life."