Bishop Jen Nagel was elected to a six-year term as Bishop by the voting members at the Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly on May 4, 2024. At the time of her election, she was serving as Lead Pastor at University Lutheran Church of Hope (ULCH) in the Dinkytown area of Minneapolis near the University of Minnesota, a role she held since 2015.
Prior to ULCH, Rev. Nagel served from 2003-2015 at Salem English Lutheran in Uptown in Minneapolis during a time of transformation as that congregation co-created SpringHouse Ministry Center. She’s also served as Minister for Community Resources at Central Lutheran (Minneapolis), in chaplaincy at Hennepin County Medical Center (Minneapolis), and in ELCA global ministry (Zimbabwe and Zambia). Jen spent nearly a decade working at ELCA outdoor ministries including Wilderness Canoe Base at the end of the Gunflint Trail in northern Minnesota and Camp Amnicon on the south shore of Lake Superior in Wisconsin. Over these years she held varied roles including canoe guide, trails director, program director and pastor in residence. Jen has served as teaching staff coordinator at Holden Village outside of Chelan, Washington.
Rev. Nagel holds an MDiv from University of Chicago Divinity School (MDiv 1998), completed her Lutheran courses at Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago (Certificate of Studies 1999), received a BA from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota with majors in Religion and Classics (BA 1994), and studied for a year at the University of St. Andrews-St. Mary’s School of Divinity in Scotland. She served an internship at Lord of Light Lutheran Church and Lutheran Campus Ministry-University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Having completed her preparation, Rev. Nagel was ordained by Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries on January 19, 2008. She was received on the ELCA’s Roster of Ministers of Word and Sacrament on September 26, 2010. She grew up in New Ulm, Minnesota where she and her family were active at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.
Rev. Nagel is married to the Rev. Jane McBride, a pastor in the United Church of Christ, serving at First Congregational Church of Minnesota in Minneapolis. They have a teen and a tween and live in North Minneapolis. Jen loves to walk, read, camp, canoe, cook and eat good food, travel, and explore, especially with family and friends.