842 Alameda Drive, Ontario, OR 97914 | (541) 889-9349
Pastor: James Aalgaard | Intern: Netsie Griffith
Parish Nurse: Jennifer King | Secretary: Althea Henry-Moore

—†— Ecclesia Semper Reformanda — The Church ever reforming. —†— Simul iustis et pecattor — At the same time saint and sinner. —†— Christus Lux Mundi — Christ is the Light of the World. —†— Creatio Ex Nihilo — Creation out of nothing. —†— Soli Deo Gloria — To God alone be the glory. —†— Sola Fide — By faith alone. —†— Sola Gratia — By grace alone. —†— Sola Scriptura — By scripture alone. —†—

Welcome to St. Paul Lutheran Ontario Online

Mission Statement

"In our Triune God we commit to teach, learn, witness and honor. In faith we will grow."

Meet the Pastor

Dear Reader;

Thank you for visiting the website of our congregation! If you are new to the area and want to check out a Lutheran worshiping community, then please come on by. We’d be happy to let you know what we’re about, and in the process come to know you as a brother or sister in Christ. If you are currently involved with St. Paul, then I hope you find this website as a source of pride as well as a source of information, because being part of a congregation involves being “connected.” Thanks again for visiting.

I’m glad to be part of the ministry of St. Paul Lutheran Church. This congregation has a wonderful mix of generations. St. Paul has a history of service in the community and a strong sense of family. Many people who are part of St. Paul see their daily work as a call to ministry. As we gather our energy after a recent building program, we hope that by the help of the Holy Spirit we will be able to participate in God’s mission in our area with joy and gererosity.

I was born and raised in Northwest Minnesota on a family farm. Through the companionship of friends and teachers I discerned the call to ordained ministry when I was attending Trinity Lutheran College-LBIS in Issaquah, Washington. While attending, I also met my beautiful wife Dawn. We were married the spring before I began studies at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. My year of internship was with Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Renton, Washington, and I graduated in 2000 having accepted a call to St. Paul LutheranChurch. My ordination was on July 9^th, 2000 at my home parish in Shelly Minnesota. I look forward to many years of ministry. The ministry of Word and Sacrament is full of opportunity, blessing and challenge. I thank God every day for a congregation willing to walk along with me, always being supported by the abundant forgiveness given to us in Christ Jesus.

Pastor James Aalgaard

Meet Our Intern, Netsie Griffith

The first Sunday I was at St. Paul, one of the 6th grade confirmation students came up with a clever nickname for me — InternNet. I appreciated this creative thinking on her part. It reminds me that part of my role is to connect who I am and what I'm doing to the gospel Word which calls us all into ministry in our every day lives. For many of us, the Internet has become part of our daily lives' for communication, for reference, and for information. God's Word continually finds new forms and expressions to challenge us in new ways even via the Internet. If you are reading this, you are connected to the Internet.

As an intern, it is my privilege to be connected to St. Paul through December of 2007. This came about because I am currently a full time student at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago where I am working on the completion of my Master of Divinity degree. I am also a candidate through the E. Washington-Idaho Synod for ordained ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

This is actually the second time in my life that I have attended seminary. My first experience of seminary was at Christ Seminary-Seminex in St. Louis, Missouri. I graduated from there in 1982 and have been working in the church ever since. My calling in the church as an Associate in Ministry has led me to many interesting places and privileged places of ministry, the last of which was serving Grace Lutheran Church in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho. The Synod authorized me to be a minister of Word and Sacrament in that place, because an ordained pastor was not available for this role. Through this call, I gradually discerned that God was calling me to Word and Sacrament ministry on a full time basis. For me this meant some additional schooling, my eventual departure from Grace Lutheran, and a year serving as an intern.

Since my home is in Nampa, Idaho where I live with my husband, Wendell Hendershott, and our two cats, Gregrr and Patina, the seminary was willing to allow me to serve my internship within commuting distance of Nampa if a site could be found. This is where St. Paul enters the picture. Pastor James became aware of my need for an internship site and presented the idea of St. Paul as that site. I would say the rest is history, except that it is really history, present and future all in one at this point.

To return to Internet imagery, we have each clicked on that hot link which has connected us and brought us together. I attribute this to our attentiveness to the Holy Spirit as that living, divine electricity that empowers us all to do what we do. After just three months at St. Paul I have already been greatly blessed in my ministry and education in this place. I am looking forward to the time ahead of us.

I am grateful to my husband, Wendell Hendershott, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Nampa, for his support of my new calling. We will celebrate 22 years of marriage in June! When not engaged in activities at church, I enjoy traveling, reading, music, calligraphy, hiking and exploring (by car or foot) previously unseen (to me) parts of Idaho, Oregon and beyond. I love being connected to God's creation, God's people, and God's mission, so InternNet seems an appropriate and fitting name. Thank you, God, for the creativity and gifts of our children and youth!

Last updated on

Website design and development service donated by Digital Outreach Web Design.