Editor’s note: This story was originally published by the Saint Paul Area Synod on Jan. 12.
The sport of roller derby has been around since the 1930s. The game (or “bout”) includes two 30-minute periods composed of two-minute “jams.” Teams play four skaters on defense (blockers) and one on offense (the jammer). It’s a fast-paced, full-contact sport that Andrew Tengwall calls “poetry in motion.”
Using the moniker “Reverend Killjoy” (a nod to The Simpsons), Tengwall serves as one of five announcers for the Minnesota Roller Derby (MNRD), hosted at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, Minn. As a rostered minister in the Saint Paul Area Synod, however, he’s more commonly known in church circles as “Pastor Tengwall.” He currently serves as interim pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Lindstrom, Minn. The synod’s Mary Smith asked him about his side job; his responses have been edited for length.
Smith: What does being an announcer for the Minnesota Roller Derby involve?
Tengwall: Minnesota Roller Derby is lucky to have five announcers this season, so we split up duties before and during bouts. In the weeks before a bout we receive and organize rosters, announcements, boutline (order of events), sponsor reads and other information, and choose our announcer walkout music to help set the tone for the evening’s theme. On bout day we attend the pre-bout production meeting with the entire production crew, assign announcer roles and duties, and make last-minute changes. Each team has an announcer assigned to them, so we announce that game along with halftime activities, announcements, celebrity countdowns to start bouts and more, and taking turns working as a producer to provide statistical information to the active announcers.
How long is the season?
Minnesota Roller Derby’s league season runs November to March, with the MNRD champion winning the Golden Skate as league champions in March. Then the MNRD All Stars host a bout in late April or May, and then the All Star season runs through the summer until the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association World Championship tournament season begins in the late summer and continues into the fall. All of the announcers plan to attend each bout, but often someone is unavailable. Because of my Sunday morning job, I don’t often travel with the team when the All Stars play away bouts. We also host a small tournament every August, and so I do some announcing for that as well.
Another of the announcers is Barb Lind (aka “Loose Change”), who is an active member of House of Prayer Lutheran in Oakdale and currently serves on the synod’s Bega Kwa Bega Committee.
How did you first get involved?
I discovered roller derby when I moved to Chicago to attend the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in fall 2006. I started hanging out with some guys involved in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, and one of their first outings was the roller derby [with] the Windy City Rollers. I fell in love with derby that first time I saw it and immediately wanted to become an announcer. The next year, when I moved to Bradenton, Fla., for my pastoral internship, I volunteered for the local roller derby team, the Bradentucky Bombers. When they attended the state roller derby tournament at the Florida State Fair in February 2008, they brought me along as an announcer, and I’ve been doing that ever since.
Announcing roller derby is a lot like leading worship, in that I’m willing to stand in front and run my mouth while pointing toward something more important than myself or my words.
That year I became the home announcer for leagues in Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale, as well as Bradenton, so my internship year was a lot of fun. Through an out-of-state tournament, I met derby announcers from across the Midwest, which got me connected to Minnesota Roller Derby as well as the derby leagues I announced for when I lived in Kalamazoo, Mich., during my first call.
What do you like about being an announcer?
I wanted to be a derby announcer because their job was to tell people that these fabulous, powerful athletes were not only fabulous, powerful athletes but also rock stars with exciting personas and compelling personal stories. I still love helping people see that derby is a real sport played by real people and that the athleticism, speed and power of the skaters can come from any kind of person.
You’ve said that you’re no longer surprised that being a pastor and derby announcer have so much in common. How so?
Announcing roller derby is a lot like leading worship, in that I’m willing to stand in front of everybody and run my mouth while ultimately pointing everyone toward something much more important than myself or my words. I love being part of the show, but the ringmaster is never the star at the circus. If I do my job well, kids will look up to these skaters as normal people who can accomplish extraordinary things. If I do my job well as a pastor, people will forget about me and instead remember powerful experiences of worship and being close to God and to one another. Also, both church and roller derby have ample opportunities to manage interpersonal conflict, engage in creative problem-solving and event planning. I will admit that derby after-parties are better than church coffee hour, however!
Do you have both a derby personality and a pastor personality?
I started announcing roller derby [during] my pastoral internship so I learned how to do both jobs at the same time. At first, I thought I should keep the two separate, as the people seemed pretty different, but over time I figured out that it’s the same job and I’m the same person in both. At some point I started wearing the same clothes to both events, and my pink jackets that used to be for derby became special occasion Sunday morning wear. Now one of the jackets I bought for derby just lives in my church in case I need it.
What is your background in ministry?
I was ordained in December 2009. My first call was at Lutheran Church of the Savior in Kalamazoo, Mich., from 2009 to 2018, and then I came to St. Paul and served Hope Lutheran Church as pastor and mission developer until 2022. While at Hope I discerned a passion for transitional ministry, and interim ministry is the form I have pursued since. I have served as interim senior pastor of Trinity since December 2022.
What do you like about being a pastor?
I enjoy so many things about being a pastor. I enjoy leading worship—chanting, preaching, planning, sharing the eucharist, laughing when things don’t go the way I expected, getting texts from my mom about the audio quality of the livestream, etc. I love stewardship, organizational development, fostering healthy communication and addressing conflict. I love leading Bible study and talking about the history of Lutheran hymnals.
The greatest privilege of being a pastor is how people allow me into their lives, and having the holy experience of sharing some of the most important moments in their lives. I didn’t grow up with pastors as role models, so I am not concerned with what a pastor is “supposed to” be, and instead I can just be myself and be honest about how gratitude for the grace of God has shaped my life and invite people to the same.
