Pastor Brian Jensen enjoys family time, woodworking, and the country life He is informal and authentic--and makes a heavenly grilled salmon By Ginny Raue West Milford - “There are three words that we use to describe who we would like to be and what our values are: informal, authentic, and caring,” said Pastor Brian Jensen of Echo Lake Baptist Church in West Milford. Expanding somewhat on his beliefs and that of his congregation, Brian, as he prefers to be called, stressed the importance of being authentic, “To be ourselves with each other and with God,” he said. Within a simple setting his flock is called upon to be a caring people, he added. Brian was born in Ridgewood and raised in Midland Park. He and Anne, his wife of 28 years, now reside in the Macopin Road church parsonage. They have three children, Sarah, a freshman at Marist College, Josh, a junior at West Milford High School, and Rachel, a sixth grader at Maple Road School. Brian attended Midland Park High School and went on to William Paterson University, graduating with a degree in theater arts. “I don’t know what I’m talking about, I just act like I know what I’m talking about,” is one of his often-used lines, he said with a laugh. He undertook accredited classes from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Fuller Theological Seminary while working for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, an evangelical campus mission. He functioned as a staff member of Intervarsity, working with students at the University of Vermont, Norwich University in Vermont, and Williams College in Massachusetts. He served as the Western New England area director for more than ten years. Before becoming a senior pastor, Brian was a youth pastor and a pastor of worship at several other churches. He has been leading the approximately 150 congregants at the Echo Lake church for the last six years. Brian explained that worship on Sunday morning begins with a service for the whole family, after which the children are directed to age-specific programs. During the week there are group meetings in parishioners’ homes. “They get together to get to know each other, to study, and pray. It’s one way we try to live together,” he said. One of the highlights of the year is the Vacation Bible School program run by the church in the summertime. They enroll about 60 children. “We have a great time with the community kids,” Brian said. Echo Lake Baptist Church was erected in 1874 but is not designated as a historic landmark. It is a post and beam structure, built of all local lumber. The land and construction costs were donated by Conrad Vreeland. The building has been renovated a number of times and Brian said that while the interior is not original, they have tried to reclaim the country look. When not attending to church duties, Brian enjoys family camping, playing the guitar, and wood working. He particularly likes the creativity of working with wood and being able to see the end product. “So much of what I do - you don’t see tangible results,” he said. Brian and Anne both like West Milford living, enjoying the access to the city but living a country life. “We feel this is the best of both worlds. We love the West Milford community,” he said. Brian recalled that his mother taught him to fend for himself when he was a youngster and cooking was one of the skills he learned, but mostly of the short-order variety. Perhaps because of his Nordic ancestry he is a fish lover and he shares his favorite grilled salmon recipe here. Grilled Salmon For the marinade: 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup Dijon mustard 3 tbsp. horseradish 2 tbsp. brown sugar 1 tsp. rice vinegar 2-3 pounds of salmon Combine all ingredients well and marinate salmon fillets for at least a couple of hours. Place aluminum foil on grill and place fillets on foil. Be sure to close cover on grill. If fillets have skin, start grilling skin side up (as the fish heats, the oils from under skin sink in and keep fish moist and flavorful. Turn fillets over and pour leftover marinade on top. Fish is cooked when flaky and opaque in color. Optional: remove foil and grill a few minutes on each side. Serve with grilled vegetable medley - onions, mushrooms, peppers, red potatoes - wrapped in foil, drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.