By Pastor Paul Hauschild Chatfield Lutheran Church Chatfield, MN “The next day (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him and declared: ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29) The Gospel of John makes it very clear that Jesus, God’s Son, is the life and light of all people (John 1:4). John the Baptist told everyone he was not the … [Read more...]
Journal Writing Project: The school system
By Emily Stevens You know what bothers me the most? How school systems will point out problems but not do anything about them. Or maybe when they do something that doesn’t help the situation at all and they call it good. Not only do they not help situations. But they also ignore half the problems in schools and pretend they know nothing about it. Let’s start off with … [Read more...]
Be nice to everyone — you never know who’ll serve on your jury
She had been the sickly one of a large herd. My Aunt Edith had been delicate, but she came out of that swamp onto higher ground. She died at the age of 105 years, 8 months, 13 days, a few hours and a smidgen of minutes. Edith loved to garden, crochet, read newspapers and work crossword puzzles. She taught me how to crochet crossword puzzles. No, wait, that wasn’t her. I … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Homeless boy escaped servitude prior to prominence in Minnesota
Part two of a series. Before saving the homes of fellow southeast Minnesota settlers and attaining his adult acclaim (as described in part one of this series) – O. W Streeter had been a homeless boy. About two centuries before this writing, Oscar Willard Streeter was born about 1821 in Syracuse, N.Y. Prospects were promising as the youngest son of Dr. Barton Streeter. But the … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion – Time for spring cleaning!
By Pastor Bridget Sheely Racine/Sumner Center UMC, Stewartville UMC Children’s Ministry Coordinator Pull back the curtains, lift the blinds, and open those windows for it is time to let the fresh air of spring back into your space! The quiet solitude days of winter are moving on out and the breath of God is blowing across this land bringing new life to His creation again. … [Read more...]
Journal Writing Project Characters
By Katie Hershberger Recently, I’ve been creating characters in my mind more often. It’s something I’ve done forever, or at least since the third grade (haha). Either way, creating characters is like an escape for me. For example, I created this sweet old lady who just so happens to fight monsters with her blood. Or, I created this go-lucky cat girl with a lazy eye. I try to … [Read more...]
The Plant Lady – Tis the “seed” son!
‘Tis the “seed”son! Seed packets have arrived in masses at the local hardware stores, garden centers and flower shops. 2022 is the year to treat yourself! Grab what you need, then go ahead and buy a few packets that you’ve never grown before. Most seed packets will have specific planting instructions, so I’ll go over a few tips to guide you in this fun adventure. Our last … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion – Encouraging and building one another up!
By Pastor Mark Woodward Maple Leaf Parish Spring Valley: Faith, Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston (and Lenora) United Methodist Churches In my own personal devotions I have been taking much comfort and joy from the writings of Paul in his Letter to the Philippians. I believe Paul’s writings in the Bible are timely for the days in which we live. Many people express to me how … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Houston County pioneer thwarted land sharks, debt collectors
Thousands of Minnesota “wives and children owe their homes to the foresight and wisdom” of a man from Houston County, stated the Duluth Daily Short Line. In the first Minnesota legislature of 1858, a young senator from Caledonia authored a bill, which decades later was still praised by a Washington, D.C. publication as one of the state’s best laws. Houston County pioneer, poet, … [Read more...]
Journal Writing Project Why internet has become essential
By Nicholas Weist The internet has become an important part of everyday life in our world. The internet controls banking, e-commerce, security systems, and much more. We have become immensely dependent upon the internet and it used to be a nice want in our world, but because the internet has grown so much in our world today it considered essential. It is hard to imagine what … [Read more...]