By Rev. Anders Nelson Mabel-Henrytown Tri-Point Parish - Mabel First Lutheran Church, Scheie Lutheran Church and Henrytown Lutheran Church For many Christians around the world, these weeks are the beginning of the Lenten season, a season that might be most recognized by the cross of ash many people wear on Ash Wednesday to start the season and, for many people, a Lenten fast … [Read more...]
A Goodly Heritage – Jack’s Story (continued)
Howdy, folks! It is good to be with you one more time. To review, my name is Jack. I am a German Shepherd. I was invited to live in southern Wisconsin, and I adopted a boy. He comes with a mom and a dad, so they are mine, too. I grew up there, and I am the king. I am three years old. Folks remark at how handsome I am. I have silver-sable coloring. But that is not my … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – Naming Oneself Christian is No Small Thing
By Rev. Debra Jene Collum Chatfield United Methodist Teaching and leading a group of young people towards the day when they confirm their commit-ment to Christianity is a challenge and a privilege for clergy. I take this role very seriously. In this world of ours, naming oneself Christian is no longer a given. And it never should be. Naming oneself Christian comes with a … [Read more...]
Fresh off the Farm – AI – and it’s Not What You Think
Long before the current AI craze, farmers were knee-deep in “AI” every single day – but this was a whole different kind of artificial intelligence. It wasn’t the kind of thing that could run algorithms to predict the stock market, or write you a Shakespearean sonnet on demand. Nope, this was the real deal: Artificial Insemination. And I’ll tell you what, if they’re giving out … [Read more...]
The Table of Infinite Knowledge at the Eat Around It Cafe
I’d walked by one of those little free libraries on my way to the cafe. It shushed me. We needed one of those libraries when The Table of Infinite Knowledge gathered at the Eat Around It Cafe. It’s a playground during recess. It’s a place where the world sometimes makes sense. That’s all we ask. It was right smart weather we were having. “Right smart” means … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past – Arriving in a Hupmobile, They Never Lost a Mother or a Baby
Most Houston County babies were born at home during the first half of the 1900s. And many homes were rural. If the mother was fortunate, there would be assistance from a midwife or nurse. Doctors made house calls, but getting to the farmhouse could be arduous, especially in winter and during spring rains, especially at night. In the in the southeastern part of the county, … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – Peace and Grace to you in the Name of Jesus Christ our Redeemer
By Pastor Bridget Sheely Co-Pastor of Prairieland Parish As we walk through each day and navigate our way through ups and downs, joys and concerns, happy moments and heartache, it becomes very clear that this earthly life is anything but redundant, mundane or one dimensional. Yes, we can feel at times that we are stuck in a rut. But the truth is we all have our peak and … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past – Coulee Region’s Poet Laureate from Looney Valley
When she stopped at the homes of friends and found no one home, she would spontaneously pen a short poem and leave it at the door so they would know that Edith Thompson had stopped to call. Far beyond her friends’ doors, the Houston County native influenced countless lives, coast to coast, directly as a teacher and social worker. Indirectly, even more knew her as a soil … [Read more...]
Thyme & Again – A Good Go-Around
By Angela Denstad Stigeler Time and again as winter trudges along, my tastebuds begin to grow a little weary of slow-braised roasts and hearty stews, as if there’s only so much culinary comfort one can stand. A first-world problem, to be sure, about which I’m fortunate to be able to complain. But nevertheless, somewhere along midwinter, I find it’s time for a break from the … [Read more...]
Money Can’t Buy Happiness Unless you Buy a Backscratcher
We are spoiled. I once sat around a dimming campfire, holding a flashlight under my chin and telling my grandchildren that I’d once left home without my phone. That scary story provided nightmares for years. I watched a dairy cow. She wasn’t holding a flashlight under her chin and telling frightening stories to calves about eating hay with a thistle in it. She was … [Read more...]