By Pastor Pam Seebach Harmony, Mabel, and Newburg United Methodist Churches Students and teachers (for the most part) have been released from school for the summer.  Ahead of us stretches a long expanse of summer days, an expanse of time which, as a child, seemed endless.  Long days of doing nothing, interspersed with trips to the library or the swimming pool.  Beautiful, … [Read more...]

By Pastor Kevin Barnhart Spring Grove Evangelical Free James 5:7–8: “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it re-ceives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient” John 12:24: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the … [Read more...]

By Rev. Anders Nelson Mabel-Henrytown Tri-Point Parish - Mabel First Lutheran Church, Scheie Lutheran Church and Henrytown Lutheran Church As we celebrated Memorial Day last week, I was reminded of the rich collection of hymns that celebrate our national identity, giving thanks for the grand experiment in demo-cracy that we get to be a part of here in the United States and … [Read more...]

By Rev. Debra Jene Collum Chatfield United Methodist On May 18 the texts that were read in many churches were from John chapter 13 and Revelation chapter 21. Both passages spoke to a new thing. In Revelation God says: “Look, I am making everything new.” In John, Jesus says, “I give you a new commandment, love each other as I have loved you.” As I read these verses in … [Read more...]

By Pastor Bridget Sheely Co-Pastor of Prairieland Parish Peace and Grace to you during this beautiful Eastertide season.  I love this time of year.  As we approach spring into summer and celebrate the holiest and most rejuvenating seasons of our spiritual lives.  Easter is a time for us to not only repent of our sins but a time to renew our commitment to our Lord and … [Read more...]

By Pastor Marke Geselle Valley Christian Center “As I walked into our church today, I walked into a maze of STUFF!  You name it and it was probably in our foyer and fellowship hall.  The ladies are preparing for a church garage sale to help provide ministry funds to use for our church’s women’s retreat at the end of the month and for other ministry endeavors.  Stuff here, … [Read more...]

By Pastor Jeff Jacobs Unity Lutheran Parish -  St. Paul, Saetersdal and  St. Matthew’s, Granger For churches using the Common Lectionary (the Bible readings chosen for all Sundays and Holy Days in the Christian year) the story of Doubting Thomas, John 20:24-31, is recounted the Sunday after Easter – every year … for decades ... maybe for centuries! Every year we … [Read more...]

By Pastor Paul Hauschild Chatfield and Root Prairie Lutheran Churches Pastor Phil Callaway tells of driving his 5-year-old son past a local cemetery.  Of course, 5-year-olds sometimes have an interesting perspective on things.  Noticing a large pile of dirt beside a newly excavated grave, the boy pointed and said, “Look, Dad, one got out!!!”  Calloway laughed at the … [Read more...]

By Pastor Mark Woodward Maple Leaf Parish of the UMC Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston, and Spring Valley: Faith Churches (and Lenora)  I believe many of my readers know that I appreciate the depth, integrity and theology of traditional Christian hymns.  I often use my hymnbook as a devotional resource in my life.  As we approach Easter and come down the homestretch of the … [Read more...]

Rev. Peter J. Haugen St. Paul Evangelical  Lutheran Church Genesis 27:6-40 tells us about Jacob, one of the Patriarchs of Israel, one of the great Fathers of the Old Testament Church. And he is despicable. And yet God blesses him, honoring the blessing pronounced upon him by his father Isaac, making him a part of the lineage of our Lord Jesus, part of the Promise … [Read more...]

By Pastor Kevin Barnhart Spring Grove Evangelical Free I sometimes get angry at God.  With the twists and turns of life, over the mountains and valleys that we all must transverse I have accumulated a myriad of tears and trials that can weigh like lead on my heart.  Questions that seem lost in a vast abyss of silence … why not just run away; rail on God’s big powerful … [Read more...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

By Pastor Mark Geselle Valley Christian Center “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “all people are like grass, and all their glory (like the K. C. Chiefs) is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.  And this is … [Read more...]