On nights when insomnia steals his sleep, a nighttime walk around Como Lake with his King Charles spaniel, Wynston, soothes Mike Ireland.
What he calls “the stillness of the lake and stars,” would be reason enough for Ireland to devote time to protecting the popular St. Paul lake.
But Como Lake is a community for Ireland. It’s the people he greets regularly on the lake path. It’s his work with the city’s District 10 council, a citizen group that represents the area. It’s memories of visiting nearby Como Park Zoo as a child – and on “destination dates” when he was older.
“We need the lake,” Ireland says. “It’s so important to mental health, spiritual health and physical health.
“I give back to the park that has given so much to me.”
If that sounds a little preachy, there’s reason for that, too. Ireland is a pastor at Presbyterian Church of the Way in Shoreview.
Ireland, 64, grew up in Roseville, graduated from Kellogg High School in 1980 and earned his college degree in psychology and studio arts at the University of Minnesota. His first career was in management at Wells Fargo and US Bank.
A trip from the kitchen to the living room with a bowl of popcorn changed his life. Ireland sidestepped the cat on the steps (“There was no way I was going to hurt the cat,” he says.) and fell, his body jammed into an awkward position against the railing and the wall with his neck twisted.
He asked for a blanket and a pillow, but realized it was more serious than he thought. Blackness and total pain. He had injured his spinal cord.
With characteristic positive attitude, he says, “but I didn’t step on the cat or spill one kernel of popcorn.”
That attitude brought Ireland to United Theological Seminary in New Brighton in 2009, where he earned a Masters of Divinity degree. But he admits there were dark times in his recovery and a struggle with painkillers.
Lucy, the cat that he sidestepped, “saved my life in the darkness,” Ireland says. “Pets are just as important as any person in my life.” (In addition to Wynston, Ireland and his wife, Susan, have two cats – Beau and Thessalonyica.)
After the injury, he couldn’t sit at a desk, and his bank job was eliminated. His attitude? “What you’re going to have is what you’ve got.”
It wasn’t easy going back to school after 25 years, Ireland says, but he says he was fortunate. The injury could have been a lot worse.
Presbyterian Church of the Way is the church Ireland attended while he was growing up.
“I was looking for a church home, and that’s where I landed,” he says.
After graduating from seminary, Ireland had “a lot more free time” and started looking for volunteer opportunities. A neighbor encouraged him to run for the District 10 council, which includes the Como neighborhood.
“I had the free time and wanted to give back to the community, environment and lake that has given so much to us.”
The citizen councils were set up in the mid-1970s to “deal with people where they live,” Ireland says.
During his time with the District 10 board, Ireland served as the chair of the Environment Committee for four years and was the treasurer for two years. He’s particularly proud of his work with lake cleanup events, which have grown to four times a year and can draw about 65 people on a Saturday.
“It’s neat to see something so small grow into something larger.”
He’s also worked with efforts to reduce the phosphorus and other chemicals that leach into the lake. And through “Como Connect,” he’s helped bring businesses and organizations together.
Ireland says it has been “incredibly humbling” to be honored for his work, which includes:
2018 City of St. Paul Neighborhood Honor Roll recipient
2022 Capitol Region Watershed District’s Citizen Award
2024 St. Paul Parks Conservancy’s Como Park Volunteer of the Year recognition.
When he’s not volunteering, walking with Wynston and working with the church, Ireland bikes and runs. He also paints and draws, which he says is “almost like a religious calling – not that I’m good at it.”
Cleaning up the lake is “for me, the biggest thing.”
“I don’t have to save the world, but I have to participate in its healing.”
Inspired? Volunteer in Saint Paul parks! From Wildlife Monitors to Park and Garden Stewards, there are ways to make a difference that connect you to nature. Learn more
Article by Kathy Berdan. Photos Courtesy of Mike Ireland.