Parish Staff

Fr. Mark Underdahl Pastor		Fr. Mark was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 1996. He has a profound love for the liturgies of the Church and very much enjoys presiding and preaching at Mass. For relaxation he enjoys the beauty of creation, especially on the North Shore of Lake Superior, going for early morning walks, music, reading, the theater and caring for his five year-old Cairn Terrier, Charlee. He is a Third Degree member of the Knights of Columbus and the Twin Cities Cursillo Community. He loves his life as a priest and cannot imagine doing anything else. The support of his family and friends has been very moving for him. He has felt honored to be invited in as a member of another family and to share with them the joys and sorrows of life. He is very happy and excited about his appointment to Saint Joseph’s and is looking forward to sharing the journey with us. Click here to see photos from Fr. Mark's Installation 1/20/08 photos by Joe Twohy
Fr. Ken Pierre Weekend Assistant		Fr. Ken is a retired priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Before his retirement in 2003, he was pastor of the Church of the Annunciation in south Minneapoils for 12 years. He was ordained in 1963. He lives in the 1949 Pierre family home in Como Park in St. Paul. His interests are reading, writing, sports, history, church issues, cooking, friends, family, travel, gardening, and home maintenance. Fr. Ken has been a weekend assistant at St. Joe's since 2003.
Deacon Tom Konkel		Deacon Tom Konkel has been deacon at St. Joe’s for the past 12 years. He was ordained a permanent deacon in the archdiocese of Mpls./St. Paul in 1996. His first assignment, after ordination, was deacon at St. Andrews parish in St. Paul. Deacon Tom is employed at Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Ins. Co., as a Regional Director, and has been employed with this company for the past 18 years. Deacon Tom is married, and he and his wife, Mary, have 4 children and 7 grandchildren. They find the spirit of hospitality alive and well at St. Joe’s.
Amy Moore Parish Administrator		Amy and her family (husband Paul and daughter Hannah) moved to Blaine from Rochester in the spring of 2009. She was the parish administrator at Pax Christi Catholic Church for 4 years prior to joining our staff. Her son Andrew is stationed in Japan, serving as an Army medic. Amy attended Viterbo University in LaCrosse for both her undergraduate and graduate studies in Servant Leadership. Being new to the parish, Amy anticipates many wonderful conversations, learning moments, listening to stories and needs, and journeying with St. Joe's as we grow in our faith together. Aside from her passion for learning and serving the church, she loves to golf, read, entertain, play the flute, piano and sing. .
Tim Lawrence Pastoral Care Director		Tim is very excited to be serving in Pastoral Care at St. Joseph’s Parish. Tim has lived in Mounds View, Blaine and Coon Rapids for most of his life. He attended and graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh in 2001, with a B.A. in Journalism Advertising/PR. For four years (2007-2011), he studied formally for the priesthood at St. Paul Seminary, but discerned in 2011 to step away from the seminary at that time. He is excited for the new plans God has in store for him. Tim is close to his family and enjoys spending time with them. In addition to his love for God and the Church, Tim enjoys helping others, loves listening to music, reading, watching classic movies, good conversations with family and friends and a game of golf. He also loves to travel if he can, and has enjoyed trips to various countries in Europe, Israel and other wonderful places. Tim looks forward to his continued interaction with the community of St. Josephs Parish
Andrea Grasse Director of Music		Andrea Grasse has worked at St. Joseph's parish since 1981 as an accompanist at weekend masses. She is currently the Director of Music, planning music for the weekend liturgies, and directing the choir. Music Ministry at St. Joe's is represented by the following areas: The Liturgical Choir, Spirit Alive Singers, Resurrection Choir, Children's Choir, and the Instrumental Ensemble. Music Ministry also puts on the Variety Show, Christmas Concert and Halloween Dance. Andrea is also responsible for the liturgical ministry schedules. Andrea has been a part of the St. Joe's community her whole life. She is married with two children. She enjoys spending time with her family, reading, working out, and baking.
Steve Robach Director Faith Formation and Charity andJustice		Steve is married, has two grown adult children, and has worked in parish ministry for over 30 years as a youth minister and Director of Religious Education. He has master degrees in Religious Education and in Psychology. He sees the forming of spiritually alive adults as one of the most critical needs in our church today. The gradual shift, at St. Joseph’s from a k-12, one hour a week religious instruction model, to a cradle to grave formation model that emphasizes a lively partnership between the home church and the parish center gives him great hope for the future. He is also excited about the growing number of people at St. Joseph’s who are responding to the challenges of living the Social Gospel. His avocations are reading, writing, gardening, motorcycle trips through the back roads of North and South Dakota, and trying to outsmart the squirrels that regularly raid his bird feeders. Currently the squirrels are winning!
Denise Walsh Confirmation Coordinator and Youth Minister (Grades 9-12)		Denise Walsh has been serving at St Joseph since 1999. Her enthusiasm for the Senior High Youth Ministry and Confirmation programs is evident by the many creative elements she brings to the table. Be it Mission trips, Boundary Water excursions, deepening our youth’s faith as they prepare for Confirmation, or working closely with Peer Ministers (post – Confirmation youth), Denise is present to lead and serve. We are blessed to have Denise on staff – she brings clever ideas, always has fresh new ideas, and of course, prizes, prizes, prizes!
Jean Longendyke Elementary Coordinator (Grades 1-6) and 2nd Grade Sacraments		Jean has been at St. Joe’s since August of 2009; previously she was at St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake coordinating the Sunday Pre-school program. She lives in Hugo with her husband Scott, their 4 children, and dog, Cody. In her spare time she loves to read, garden, go boating, camp and travel. But her most favorite thing to do is spend time with her husband and kids.
Darlene Newman Parish Office Staff		Darlene M Newman has worked for St. Joseph's Parish since April 1, 1976. She was the first lay secretary hired by Sister Elizabeth. Fr. John Wirth was then pastor. She and her husband had two little girls at the time and she wanted part time, not full time, work. Darlene has seen many priests come and go from our parish, changes in the programs we offer, the new building that we built, and hundreds of new parishioners. When she started at St. Joe's we had 850 families. We now have 2000 families! She loves working here and all of the terrific people that she comes in contact with. Since she was the first hired lay person here at St. Joe's she has done a little bit of everything and knows things like where the well is and where the old lift station is for the septic system. She now works with the funerals, does all of the books for parish, and any other jobs that need to be done. Darlene has 2 grown daughters and 7 grandchildren who keep her busy. She also enjoys reading, gardening, and traveling.
John Johnson Head Custodian		John Johnson started at St. Joe's March 1st of 2004. John was born in St. Paul and grew up in Vadnais heights. He has been a resident of Lino Lakes since early 1997. In fact, he brags about his short commute to work as he lives 2 blocks away on Elm Street. John is married, has 4 children, and 5 fabulous grandchildren. Prior to working at St. Joseph's John worked as a city maintenance worker for 25 years. his hobbies include gardening, collecting old movies, reading, and raising pigeons. His experience with showing and judging pigeons has made him nationally well known amoung pigeon fanciers. John enjoys his work at St. Joseph, noting that parisioners and co-workers make the work fly by.
Terry Meyer Groundskeeper
Chris Sauter Early Childhood, Communications, Middle School Ministry Coordinator		Chris Sauter coordinates the Preschool-aged programs, Middle School Ministry, manages the parish website, edits the weekly bulletin, and helps coordinate the parish quarterly newsletter. Feel free to send newsletter, bulletin and website submissions, comments, suggestions, or updates to her! Email your bulletin submissions to Chris before Tuesday afternoon. (Please note that over holidays, bulletin deadlines sometimes shift.) Chris and her husband, Brian, have three daughters. In her spare time she enjoys German folk dancing, running, biking, reading and skiing.

Staff at St. Joseph Parish