New Member Profile: The Hensien Family

New Members: Brian and Libby Hensien

BASICS: What are your names and any nicknames?

Brian, Libby, Coco (4) and Esme (1) Hensien

YOU: Tell us about you and your family.

Presently we reside in Mound, MN, but our story began nestled in the foothills of the Wind River Mountains in Lander, Wyoming. After eight years of adventures amidst the sagebrush and sand, we settled back in Minnesota with the intention of building our family close to Libby's family. Brian works as a videographer and editor at a marketing agency called StoryTeller Media + Communications based in St. Louis Park, MN. Brian's love for the camera and capturing compelling visuals has led him on dozens of wilderness expeditions across the globe. If you want to hear entertaining stories, ask him about bears, crossing rivers or getting lost in the woods. When he's not shooting or editing video,  playing with his kids or cleaning, he's playing music. Brian is passionate about making music, guitars and teaching Coco and Esme how to rock! Libby is a writer and currently rocking the stay-at-home/full-time parenting gig. Libby is passionate about the ocean and all things water, so we often find ourselves near the shores of the many lakes we have here in Minnesota. We love cooking, taking the whole family for walks with our dog, Watson and visiting any park we can find.

BELONG: What does belonging to a synagogue mean to you?

Belonging to a synagogue means strengthening a community, building connections with more people and using those experiences to enrich peoples' lives as we learn and celebrate our religion, culture and heritage, together. We've already seen the benefits as Coco loves attending religious school and the friendly faces at Bet Shalom are becoming more familiar!

HERE: Why did you choose Bet Shalom?

Brian was raised in Reform Judaism and is looking forward to raising his daughters in a similar tradition. Libby was raised Catholic but enjoys Jewish traditions like Shabbat. We recently found out through 23&me that Libby is actually 30% Jewish! The whole family is enjoying getting more involved in the wonderful and welcoming community here at Bet Shalom!