Jonathan Swenson

Husband, Father, Friend * Actor, Director, Producer * Pastor, Teacher, Shepherd * Graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in St Peter, MN (B.A. Psychology, Theatre & Music '88) and Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN (Masters of Divinity '94). Jonathan and his wife, Jana have served congregations in MN and IA the past 18 years. He is now the Director of Paraphrase Theatre - a faith-based theater ministry located in Cedar Rapids, IA. Jana and Jonathan are the proud parents of Christina and Caitlyn.. and the long-suffering owners of the beloved but rascally Daisy.. the Beagle.

TO THE HEALERS

TO THE HEALERS To the Healers.. the Nurses and Doctors and First Responders… and the chaplains and pastors .. and social workers and the people who clean the room when the patients have gone home… or gone HOME. To those who put their lives on the line every day… and have for the past two …

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WHAT DO I ? (Four Questions and the Life Wisdom of an Acting Exercise)

WHAT DO I ? (THE WISDOM OF AN ACTING EXERCISE) As actors, we use certain tools to flesh out a character and, hopefully, to make the character and the scene authentic. One of those tools is to ask four questions of the character:   1. What do they need? 2. What do they want? 3. …

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A Moment of Crisis

A 7 year old boy is the first to greet me yesterday morning, shortly after I finish performing the Witnesses drama at the host church. He looks a little worked up.   I am thinking maybe one of the more intense scenes in the drama scared him a little. Or maybe he has a new …

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Stories from Dad – “When Dean Met Elaine” (A Love Story)

So the other day I opened up my laptop, set it in front of my Dad, and started asking him questions.  Questions that would invite him to tell the stories of his life.  Here is the first one I will share with you. I realized a few seconds into filming it that this was going …

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A Thank-You to Pastors and Church Staffs at the End of Holy Week

A THANK-YOU TO PASTORS AND ALL CHURCH STAFF… AT THE END OF HOLY WEEK, EASTER SUNDAY AFTERNOON! For every pastor who survived Holy Week, and to every church staff these words I now speak You DID it! You DID it! You’ve now crossed the line.   You told the Great Story and I’ll bet you …

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