“I am the resurrection and the life.” A stained glass window in the Trinity Lutheran Church sanctuary, Faribault, Minnesota. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.
You are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here.– Mark 16: 6
Wishing you, my dear readers, a most joyous and blessed Easter!
Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Christ crucified sculpture, St. Michael’s Cemetery, Buckman, MN. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo, August 2012.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.– Hebrews 12:2
Photo copyright 2012 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Palm branches.
PALM BRANCHES AND HOSANNAS. For the Christian church, both mark Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week.
Small groups participated in 45-minute tours on “Journey to the Cross.”
This morning at the church I attend, Trinity Lutheran in Faribault, Holy Week also began with a “Journey to the Cross” event. I was blessed to be a volunteer in this journey which led attendees through Christ’s final days to his glorious resurrection on Easter.
Participating kids (and some adults) carried passports. At nearly every station, stickers were distributed to place in the passports.
With passports in hand, kids and adults traveled from station to station, listening to performers role-play the parts of towns’ people, a temple worker, soldiers, an angel and others.
Participants had their hands washed by volunteers, following the example of Christ washing his disciples’ feet.
But this was about much more than sharing biblical history. This was about hands-on activities that reinforced the spoken word. This was about engaging the senses and experiencing Holy Week.
Matzo, unleavened bread from Jerusalem, was served as representative of food from Jesus’ time period.
And therein lies the strength of “Journey to the Cross.” Participants received palm branches, felt the weight of the 30 silver coins Judas received for betraying Jesus, heard the crack of the whip against Jesus’ back, pounded nails into wood, tasted vinegar like that offered to Christ suffering on the cross, raised their voices in “He is risen!” at the vacant tomb and more.
A volunteer crafted this crown of thorns similar to the one Christ wore on the cross. Tour participants saw it close up and could touch the crown.
I left with a deeper connection and understanding of what Christ endured. I could hear, see, feel, taste and smell the events of that final week. It was a memorable morning and the perfect contemplative beginning to Holy Week.
THE JOURNEY IN MORE PHOTOS:
Stop #1, Jerusalem on Palm Sunday:
Volunteer Theresa speaks to participants about Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Stop #2, Judas betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver:
Randy, role-playing a temple worker, tells how Judas betrayed Jesus.
Making coin rubbings in passports to remember how Judas betrayed Jesus with 30 pieces of silver.
Stop #3, Before the Passover meal on the Thursday of Holy Week, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet:
Actress Diane talks about Jesus gathering with his disciples and washing their feet.
Rather than washing feet, hands were washed.
Stickers were distributed for placement in the passport after the hand washing.
Stop #4, Remembering the Passover meal, Jesus’ last meal with his disciples:
Signs marked each station.
Participants could sample various foods such as horseradish, matzo, grape juice and more.
Grape juice ready to be served.
Stop #5, Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane:
A sign marks the station focusing on prayer.
Stop #6, Jesus was whipped, beaten and teased:
Volunteer Leann talks about the torture Jesus suffered even prior to his crucifixion.
Wayne played perhaps the most memorable role, that of a soldier whipping Jesus.
The whip cracks across the mannequin representing Jesus.
Stop #7, Christ is crucified on the cross:
The stage was set with a cross, hammer and nails. Participants pounded nails into wood to remember how Christ was nailed to the cross.
This artwork and nails were placed at the base of the cross.
Stop #8: As Jesus died on the cross, he said he was thirsty. He was given vinegar to drink. (I don’t have any photos from this station.) Participants could taste vinegar.
A photo of Christ’s face from a stained glass window in Trinity Lutheran, Faribault. This depicts Him after His resurrection.
Stop #9: Jesus’ tomb is found empty on Easter. (I don’t have any photos from this station.) Those on the tour joined the angel and the woman at the gravesite in celebrating Jesus resurrection with these words: He is risen!
Stop #10, The final check-in station allowed participants to talk and write about their experiences:
What a young girl, Jennifer, wrote.
FYI: “Journey to the Cross” is available for purchase through Concordia Publishing House. Click here for more information.
It’s described as “an outreach and educational event for your congregation and community. Through activities based on Scripture, participants experience the joy of Palm Sunday, the disappointment of Judas’ betrayal, the devastation of the crucifixion, the jubilation of the resurrection, and so much more. This family program invites children and adults to walk the path that Jesus walked.”
© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
IF YOU ARE PART OF A FAITH community, what is your church doing to raise awareness and help victims, survivors and families/friends of those involved in domestic violence/abuse?
Nothing? Something?
I hadn’t considered this in depth until reading an article, Aiming for AWARENESS, CARING RESPONSE—Domestic violence task force to hold spring training sessions, in the March issue of Reporter, the official newspaper of The Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod.
A snippet of the domestic violence poster published by the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod.
Additionally, the paper includes an insert, Domestic Violence and Abuse is Everyone’s Concern—There Are No Gender Or Socioeconomic Barriers, for posting in churches.
I am pleased to see the LCMS working on this issue which has been so much in the public eye in recent months. It’s important that clergy, parish nurses and other church workers understand domestic abuse and learn how to assist by listening, by offering help, hope and referrals, and by educating parishioners.
I’ve read conflicting data on the number of women who experience domestic violence. Some sources say one in three. Others one in six. Whatever the correct number, one is one too many. (Note here that I am well aware that men are also victims. But, since the majority are women, that is the reference I am using in this post.)
Among people I am connected to, either directly or indirectly, 10 women have been/are being abused. Two of them were murdered by the men who supposedly loved them.
Last year in Minnesota, at least 23 individuals were killed due to violence from a current or former intimate partner, according to a report issued by the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women. You can read that full report by clicking here.
As LCMS Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Task Force Chair Kim Schave says, “Domestic violence and abuse can happen to anyone.”
Don’t think it can’t.
And let’s remember the secondary victims—children, parents, siblings, friends… They, too, need support, encouragement and healing.
The faith-based Salvation Army South Africa’s recent campaign, WHY IS IT SO HARD TO SEE BLACK AND BLUE, utilizing a photo of that infamous black and blue striped (or gold and white striped depending on what you see) dress is brilliant. A subtext published in the Cape Times newspaper stated, “The only illusion is if you think it was her choice.”
While I still cannot see a black and blue dress, the message is absolutely clear to me. We all need to start seeing domestic abuse in all its forms. Sometimes the abuse is visible. Often it is not. Emotional abuse (lies, manipulation, controlling behavior, etc.) is even more common than physical abuse. Domestic abuse can also take the form of spiritual abuse.
We need to understand that these women are not to blame for the abuse inflicted upon them. We need to understand that they are being manipulated/controlled/brainwashed. We need to understand that “love” and mind control are powerful. We need to understand that we cannot simply swoop in and “rescue” them.
Knowledge is power.
What have you learned about domestic abuse in recent months with the spotlight shining on the issue? What are you doing with that knowledge? If you are part of a faith community, what is your church doing, if anything? Do you know a survivor of domestic abuse or someone currently in an abusive situation (no names or identifying details, please)? Let’s hear your voice and insights.
FYI: If you are in an abusive situation, contact the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
I’d encourage you to learn more about domestic violence from a personal perspective by checking out (click here) “My Inner Chick,” a blog written by a Minnesota woman whose sister was abused and murdered by her husband. Be sure to read the comments section. This blog and the comments posted therein are powerful.
© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
The Chapel of the Good Shepherd.
IT STANDS STATELY and tall on the campus of Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault. The Chapel of the Good Shepherd, or, to be exact, the Eunice Shumway Memorial Chapel of the Good Shepherd.
Inside the historic sanctuary, the pews face the aisle rather than the altar.
Eunice’s mother, Augusta Shumway, pledged $20,000 to build the chapel. After construction began in June 1871, Augusta lost nearly everything in the Great Chicago Fire of October 1871. Despite her loss, Augusta fulfilled her promise, sending $15,000 in insurance payments to Bishop Henry Whipple. She later donated more monies to the school.
Looking up at the altar and the stunning stained glass windows above it.
“Bishop, I promised God to build the chapel in memory of my daughter. I owe but one debt, and that is to God. I have collected enough of insurance money to complete the building, and here it is.”
Two behind-the-altar windows up close.
Wrote the bishop: It was a noble instance of woman’s faith.
Whipple summarizes well the intentions of Augusta, who only a dozen years earlier lost her 13-month-old daughter.
The bell tower spire is a Shattuck landmark.
What faith. What hope. What generosity.
BONUS PHOTOS:
The arched wooden front doors present an impressive entry.
The exterior is tastefully and simply decorated for the holidays.
Outside the front door. The church is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Just inside the doors, a creche.
A close-up of the Holy Family shows Joseph viewing the Christ Child.
On a wall inside the entry.
Beautiful stained glass above the exterior entry doors.
© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
DEAR READERS:
I hope today, in between food and football and family, you will pause to focus on all for which you are thankful.
And I’m not just talking the obvious like a roof over your head and food on your table and good health.
Artwork photographed last Thanksgiving in a hallway at Faribault Lutheran School shows those things for which one student was thankful. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2013.
Think deep. Think emotional. Think specific.
I am grateful to God for giving me strength to endure the many challenges I’ve faced this year. Often I’ve wondered if/how/when I will make it to the other side. I’m sure you’ve all been there in some way at some time in your life.
What carries you through those tough times? Those are the things for which I am especially grateful this year: The love and support of my husband; the love of my children and son-in-law; the care and encouragement of friends; my heavenly Father; the comfort and hope of Scripture; prayer…
No matter what happens in life, the sun still rises each morning. Here dancers celebrate the Summer Solstice during a Midsommar fest in Northfield, MN., in June 2012.
Twin Cities Christian radio station KTIS also makes my “I am truly thankful for” list. Songs like “You’re Not Alone” by Marie Miller and “10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) by Matt Redman, on the station’s playlist, have uplifted me many a day:
The sun comes up
It’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing your song again
Whatever may pass
And whatever lies before me
Let me be singing
When the evening comes
–Lyrics from “10,000 Reasons”
Candles at the Saint Paul Cathedral, St. Paul, MN. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.
My faith in God sustains me. Those are not simply trite words written without a belief that runs deep and wide through my soul.
I am also thankful this year for the recovery of my 82-year-old mom who suffered severe injuries in a fall that landed her in a trauma unit several months ago.
What are you giving heartfelt thanks for this Thanksgiving?
Have a blessed and wonderful day contemplating that for which you are grateful, in the company of those you love.
Audrey
© Copyright 2014
IF BUT FOR A FEW MOMENTS, I feel like I’ve walked onto the Main Street of Mayberry, North Carolina, circa 1960s.
You know, fictional home of Andy Griffith, local level-headed sheriff who dispensed justice and wisdom once a week alongside his inept sidekick, Deputy Barney Fife.
I’d like to believe Mayberry existed, still exists, in places outside my black-and-white television sitcom memories of some 50 years ago.
That could be Andy’s son, Opie, and friend ambling across the highway with fishing poles and bucket in hand. The scene seems more flashback than reality.
But all of these images are reality—in Necedah, a community of some 930 residents located about half way between LaCrosse and Oshkosh on Wisconsin State Highway 21. The town rests near two lakes and the Wisconsin and Yellow rivers. Fishing opportunities abound.
And so does the opportunity to explore the Queen of the Holy Rosary Mediatrix of Peace Shrine. It is here that the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared to Mary Ann Van Hoof, farm wife and mother of eight, on November 12, 1949. Over 34 years, the Mother of God supposedly told Mary Ann to “bring the truth to all people” with a focus on youth.
You can choose to believe this or not. The intention of this shrine seems wholesome enough and I expect many have been blessed simply by visiting this reverent site.
But when I read a sign requesting that women wearing shorts or slacks stop at the office for a wrap-around skirt, I thought surely I must be in Mayberry, North Carolina, circa 1960s.
Shortly thereafter, I left.
(These photos were shot in May 2014 and August 2011.)
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
MY FRIEND JOY is one of those creative types whose talent and energy seem endless.
She carves and builds and creates, always working on some project that enhances the rural Faribault home she shares with her husband, Steve.
Indoors and out, Joy’s house and yard reflect her individuality, her appreciation for family and history and that which is old or useful or meaningful. Her faith is often interwoven into her projects.
An overview of Joy’s backyard labyrinth.
A few years ago, Joy constructed a labyrinth outside her walk-out basement. It presents for impressive and practical backyard art.
A close-up, without the overall impact of the meditative walk way.
Until this past summer, I’d only seen the labyrinth in the dark, walking it during an evening campfire. I wasn’t prepared for the stunning beauty of this twisting path in the fading hours of daylight.
A mosaic created by Joy.
Wow.
Sample tiles were used in the labyrinth.
No wonder this took my friend some three years to construct. She began the labyrinth in 2010, laying selected tile into sections of concrete. Some of those tiles were sample tiles acquired from a friend.
The horse tile celebrates a granddaughter’s love of horses.
Joy proves always resourceful in reusing and repurposing. There’s not much she will throw.
Precious imprints of loved ones’ hands and feet.
Grandchildren imprinted hands and footprints.
The focal point and end of the labyrinth, perfect for a prayerful walk.
Memories. Faith. Time. All are intertwined here.
Walking portions of the labyrinth during a photo shoot.
At least once a week, if not more, Joy walks this labyrinth. It is her quiet place, her place of prayer. Right here, created by her gifted hands, in her backyard.
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
A view of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Courtland, from the balcony. The pews, the chancel furnishings and the stained glass windows from the old church were incorporated into the new sanctuary. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.
I love to tell the story,
’twill be my theme in glory,
to tell the old, old story
of Jesus and his love.
Katherine Hankey
IT SEEMED A FITTING HYMN sung by the Men’s Choir during a recent Sunday morning worship service at Immanuel Lutheran Church, rural Courtland, Minnesota.
Male voices blended in perfect harmony, a soothing symphony of the aged song that transcends time, a hymn as powerful today as it was for past generations.
Karl Jr. and Anna Bode, their nine children and a daughter-in-law. That’s my grandpa, Lawrence (originally spelled Lorenz), in the second row in the glasses.
And the past prevailed on this Sunday, a day set aside for a reunion of the descendants of Karl Johann Bode, Jr. and his wife, Anna (Dallman).
An old photo of the Karl Jr. and Anna Bode siblings, including my grandfather, Lawrence, right front.
My husband and I were there, representing my mom and our siblings—the daughter and grandchildren of Lawrence and Josephine Bode.
A historical sign outside of Immanuel Lutheran Church, east of Courtland, Minnesota.
Fitting Scripture read:
Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.
Deuteronomy 32:7
Beautiful aged stained glass windows highlight the sanctuary.
My Bode forefathers left a strong legacy of faith, evident in this very church they helped found in 1859 after moving from Illinois to Minnesota. Stained glass windows from the old church have been incorporated into the new, a visual connecting today’s generation to those before them.
The symbolic bouquet.
Red roses in a stunning altar bouquet honored my great grandparents. Nine yellow roses represented each of their children, Herman, Alma, Otto, Paul, Emil, George, Lawrence, Carl and Ervel.
The Bode first cousins pose for a photo at the reunion.
I am proud to be a part of the Bode family, a family still firmly standing upon a foundation of faith.
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Me with my mom in late May.
AS THE DAUGHTER of an aging parent, it is the call you do not want to get—that your mother has fallen and is being transported 130 miles via ambulance to a metro area hospital.
That exact scenario played out earlier this week when my octogenarian mom fell in her assisted living room and suffered multiple severe injuries that landed her in a trauma unit.
It’s been a difficult week. Worrying. Waiting. More injuries added to the initial list. Questions. Tests. Rest, recovery, therapy.
So many emails, text messages and phone calls have been exchanged among siblings, other family members and friends that I’ve lost count. And prayers, lots of prayers, prayed this week.
In the end, Mom, who has faced many medical challenges throughout her years, rallied. Today she is back in the care facility where she moved earlier this spring. She is happy to be home. The staff in this rural small town facility welcomed her with open arms. I am grateful for their concern and care.
And I am thankful for answered prayers. I believe strongly in the power of prayer and the faithfulness of God. So many times this week, I found myself requesting prayers for my Mom and asking for God’s healing hand upon her. Those prayers continue now for her recovery.
I have not seen my mother; she did not want visitors. She realized her need to focus on rest and recovery. That was difficult, but for the best. However, I have seen photos of a woman who appears to have been on the losing end of a bar brawl. She claims to have been scrimmaging with the Minnesota Vikings. It’s good to laugh in the midst of challenges.
And my mom faces the challenges now of recovery, of ongoing physical therapy, of regaining her strength. Her goal is to attend her granddaughter’s wedding in a few weeks. I have no doubt she will achieve that goal. She is a strong woman.
FYI: The online news source, MinnPost, published an interesting story today in a late-in-life healthcare series. The piece focuses on options for those living in rural Minnesota. I’d suggest you read it by clicking here. With families today often living far apart, rural elderly face challenges unlike those of previous generations. I live about 125 miles from my mom.
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
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