About

Phil Holtan combines his calling as pastor at CalvaryLutheran Church in Perham with a passion for woodturning.  Phil’s turned wooden bowls are known for their unusual wood, beautiful shapes, natural edges, and translucent thinness.  He has turned wood seriously for the past 30 years and has shown his work, demonstrated and won prizes at shows all over the Upper Midwest.  He is an active and sought-out teacher with over 1100 graduates of his weekend woodturning workshops.

PERSONAL MISSION: To assist others to develop their God-given gifts and discover their vocations

 EDUCATION

• AA, WaldorfCollege,Forest City,IA 1970 Social Sciences  GPA 4.0
• BA, LutherCollege,Decorah,IA 1972 Psychology  GPA 4.0
• Master of Divinity, Luther Theological Seminary, St. Paul,MN 1976
• Master of Theology, New Testament, GPA 4.07 Graduated first in class, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton,NJ1990
• Doctor of Ministry, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN, 2002 “Thesis Project: “Dynamic Balance in Lutheran Worship: Traditional and Contemporary”

 EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION

• Pastor, CalvaryLutheran Church,Perham, MN since 2006
• Senior Campus Pastor at Concordia College,Moorhead,MN 1995-2006        
• Associate Campus Pastor at Concordia 1984-1995
• Associate Pastor at FirstLutheranChurch,Minot ND 1979-1984
• Pastor, Makoti Lutheran Parish, Makoti,ND 1976-1979
• Intern Pastor, Guadalajara, Mexico, 1974-1975

 HIGHLIGHTS OF MINISTRY IN PERHAM

• Founding chair of Feed My Starving Children in Perham 2008-2009
• Member of Rotary International Perham since 2007, President in 2011-2012
• Calvarywon the Servant of Christ Award in 2010 from Lutheran Social Service for outstanding social ministry
• Chairperson- Lutheran Coalition of Public Policy inMinnesota
• Partner in Evangelical Worship trainer- Northwestern Minnesota Synod, ELCA

    GLOBAL EXPERIENCE AND ADVOCACY

• American Field Service Exchange student,Peru, 1967
• Intern Pastor, St. Mark’sLutheranChurch,Guadalajara,Mexico,
• Organizer and leader of 25Missionand Justice trips toMexico
• Fluent speaker of Spanish
• Founding Chairman, CROP Walk for the Hungry,MinotND, President of the CROP Walk for the Hungry, Fargo-Moorhead 1985-1988
• Founding President:LakeAgassizHabitat for Humanity in Fargo-Moorhead

 FUNDRAISING

• Supervised raising $73,000 for the Feed My Starving Children project in Perham in 2009 and $120,000 in 2011.
• Raised money for Habitat for Humanity chapter start up and for 3 houses
• Helped raise nearly $50,000 each year to support campus ministry activities, especially Spring Break mission trips
• Coordinator and fund raiser for Church World Service Hunger Walks Over $30,000 each year Minot, ND 1982-84 and Fargo-Moorhead 1987-1989

ARTIST AND CRAFTSMAN

• Founding President of Two Woodturning Clubs- MinnDak in Fargo-Moorhead and  Minnesota Lakes in the Detroit Lakes-Perham-Park Rapids area
• Best of Show award at Fargo Downtown Street Fair, July 2003
• Featured Exhibitor in Waldorf Alumni Gallery Show  “Trees Clapping” 1998
• Exhibitor Award for Demonstration of Craft, Norsk Hostfest, Minot, ND1993, 2009  Merit Awards 1997, 1998,  
• Developer and instructor of Phil Holtan’s Weekend Woodturning Workshops, 1986-2010, nearly 1100 students at 3 per weekend