I was born on Feb. 1st, 1958 (wow, I am over 50 years old, that is amazing) and grew up in the Chicago suburbs. (Des Plaines, Il.) I am still a loyal Chicago Bears and Cubs fan even after 100 years of never winning the World Series. Hey, there is always next year.

I was involved in a number of sports in High School, being 6 ft 3 inches tall I found the Footballteam, Swimming team, and Track Team, were good places to use my height. I even played on the Golf team for a while, but I was no Tiger Woods.  After graduating from Maine West High School in 1976, I enlisted in the United States Air Force, and was trained as a weatherman, (there is at least a 50/50 chance I was not a good weatherman).  I was stationed in Alaska, Germany, California, and Oklahoma among other places. It was while I was stationed in King Salmon Alaska, that I began my spiritual journey that led me into the pastorate. (I never thought I would ever become a pastor) After I was honorably discharged in 1980, I moved to Scottsbluff, Nebraska and enrolled in Bible College, receiving a Bachelor of Sacred Literature in 1984. (I honestly enjoyed the schooling.) During my college years and after, I  worked for United Parcel Service for a total of about 8 years. (I moved a lot of boxes.)

After graduation from Bible College,  I was a part of a new church plant in a small town called Oshkosh, Neb. (There were literally more cows than people there.)  I met my future wife, Cindy, there and we ended up ministering to that church for 3 years. There is now a church with it’s own building and a full time pastor. Next, I was called to pastor a church in Davenport, Iowa in 1988. Davenport turned out to be a very fertile place as 3 of our 4 boys were born there, (must have been something in the water). We served that church 4 years, and have a lot of fond memories. In 1992 we accepted a call to come to Tucson AZ to a small church needing a pastor. (Christ’s Church in the Desert).  So with our four young boys in tow, we drove 1800 miles to Tucson (talk about pushing the limits of sanity) and arrived in June with 110 degree weather. (We thought we had arrived in purgatory).

After becoming acclimated to our new environment we started to enjoy the beauty of the desert, and the nice mild winters. It is hard to believe that 20+ years have gone by so fast.  Over that time I have pastored churches in Tucson at several locations,  I have been involved in a lot of youth camps, (love the kids) spending a lot of my time being the Dean of camps and trying to get some sleep at the same time. I also continued my education at Hope University in Fullerton California working on my Masters Degree. (Talk about being stretched thin.) In 2004 we stepped out in faith to launch a new church called “Saguaro Buttes” a non-denominational Church on the far East Side.

Hallstrom Family

Just a little bit about my family. (You probably don’t care about this section so skip this part if your bored, but I can’t help it.) Cindy and I were married in Scottsbluff, Neb., on October 18, 1985, in a beautiful church wedding with a

reception that followed.   Receptions in Nebraska were different back then. It was usually light refreshments, and the bride opened all the gifts while the guests were watching. (I am glad certain traditions die.)   My wife Cindy grew up on a 7,000 acre cattle ranch in the sand hills of Western Nebraska. (They say the state tree there is a telephone pole!) I was from Chicago, so it was the city kid marry the country girl. We have had four wonderful children (4 boys, we kept trying for the girl but no luck, the last two are twins.) All four boys were home schooled and all have graduated from Pima Community College. They all decided to attend Central Christian College in Moberly, Missouri working on Ministry Degrees. Two have graduated (Eric and Brian) and two are still there working on Bachelors degrees (Timothy and Tyler).  Eric and Leanna were married at Saguaro Buttes on June 3rd, 2007. Brian is getting Married to Joey in May 2011. (I always say, enjoy your kids while they are young, they grow up fast.)

(I always say, enjoy your kids while they are young, they grow up fast.)

Cindy is very multi-talented, she is a great mother, home-schooler, Sunday school teacher, church secretary, and fantastic wife. She also has her Real-Estate license, was a wedding photographer, and is a certified Wedding Coordinator. (Wow, and she puts up with me.)

Experience with Weddings

Over the last 25+ years I have performed close to 1,000 wedding ceremonies in different states and in various locations such as backyards, golf courses, resorts, hotels, churches, by lakes, and in parks, both indoor and outdoor. I have learned a little about what makes for a nice ceremony, and how to overcome various problems along the way.

I enjoy getting to know the couples I marry, providing pre-marital counseling when desired, and I love trying to make each ceremony special and unique. If the couples allows, I like to add a little humor to each ceremony, make it a little more personal, and usually work to keep it under 20 minutes in length.