Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

St. John’s in HL welcomes new pastor



HOWARD LAKE, MN – The Reverend Paul Koch was installed as the new pastor at St. John’s Lutheran in Howard Lake June 14.

Koch was born in northeast Minneapolis. He went to high school in Princeton and, after graduation, he went to Valparaiso University in Indiana. However, he returned to Minnesota to attend Luther Seminary in St. Paul.

Koch has been a pastor for 11 years, all of which have been at Riverside Lutheran Church in Wannaska, which is near Roseau.

Koch has been married to his wife, Katie, for almost 9 years. They have four children together; Martin, 6; Maria, 4; Beatrice, 2; and Friedrich, 4 months.

Koch said he is very excited to start getting to know the people at St. John’s.

“The people here that I’ve met so far are very nice. My family arrived at 9:30 at night, and there were women waiting for us to arrive,” Reverend Koch said. He added that the people at the church are happy to help watch their children, or make meals for the family.

He noted that his and Katie’s families are happy that they moved closer, especially the children’s grandparents. Most of his family lives in the Twin Cities, and Katie is from Rochester, so Howard Lake is much closer for them than Wannaska.

While Koch likes to read and sing, raising his kids has taken up most of his free time. However, he said that he doesn’t mind that at all.

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