Edited photo shot while driving by Trinity Lutheran Church sign, Arkdale, Wisconsin.
Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
What I’ve learned about prayer April 27, 2014
I WONDER IF GOD ever tires of hearing my prayers.
He doesn’t. Not even when I repeat myself.
A billboard along U.S. Highway 14 between Janesville and Waseca, MN.
Scripture advises continuous and constant prayer. Pray without ceasing.
I didn’t always pray the way I should, praying in a more me-centered manner than asking for God’s will to be done. But I figured out awhile ago that this is not about me getting what I want, but about God figuring out what is best for me. He is in control, not me.
This doesn’t mean I can’t pray for specifics. I can. I do. Often. But in the end, I realize that whatever the answer, it is as God intends.
Do I always like the answer? No. At least not until I determine why God responded as He did. And sometimes I never can quite decipher what He’s thinking. I’m pretty certain, though, that God is way smarter than me. Way smarter.
Patience and trust, I’ve learned, are keys to a healthy prayer life. I’m still learning. God is patient and a good listener. For that I am grateful.
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Believe April 20, 2014
“The Risen Lord,” painted in 1951 by my artist friend, Rhody Yule of Faribault, who died in June 2011 at the age of 92.
When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene… She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.— Mark 16: 9-11
In mourning on Good Friday April 18, 2014
St. Michael’s Catholic Church Cemetery, Buckman, MN. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo, August 2012.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.–Isaiah 53:5
Photo copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Rural revelations in country cemeteries April 17, 2014
To the left lies the Vesta City Cemetery, where my father, grandparents and other family members are buried. In the distance you can see the grain elevator complex in my hometown.
AS A YOUNG GIRL, I remember fearing cemeteries, that place where my paternal grandpa was laid to rest atop a rare prairie hill when I was just nine.
A historical marker in the Holden Lutheran Church Cemetery, rural Kenyon.
But my view of cemeteries has evolved over the years so that today I see these earthly resting spots as places of faith, art, history and personal stories.
A fence surrounds the Urland Lutheran Church Cemetery in the Sogn Valley area.
I no longer focus on the bones buried beneath my feet or the newly-departed lying under a heaped mound of dirt. Rather, I find myself reading tombstones, marveling at carved stone, wondering about the lives of those who lie within the often fenced boundaries of graveyards.
The picturesque Valley Grove Church Cemetery near Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.
In particular, I am drawn to country cemeteries that my husband and I happen upon during leisurely Sunday afternoon drives in rural Minnesota.
Northwest of Faribault in Shieldsville Township sits the historic Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church and the adjoining Trebon Cemetery.
Spot a spire spearing the sky and we typically find a cemetery tucked behind or aside the church. Convenient and comforting.
Folk art in the Trebon Cemetery honors Christ and the deceased.
During this Holy Week, when Christians worldwide focus on reflection and repentance and the suffering and crucifixion of Christ, it seems fitting to revisit some of the Minnesota cemeteries I’ve explored.
Just west of New Ulm, at a memorial honoring Milford settlers who died in the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, roses were placed on the marker on Memorial Day weekend 2006.
There is much to learn here about those who went before us—those we loved and those we never knew.
Fields and a cemetery embrace many country churches like Vista Evangelical Lutheran Church in southern Minnesota.
Words to ponder at a cemetery in Theilman in southeastern Minnesota.
Handcrafted signs like this one in Cannon City (near Faribault) grace some rural cemeteries.
An art appropriate cannon marks a Civil War Veteran’s tombstone in the Cannon City Cemetery.
A simple grave marker in the Urland Lutheran Church Cemetery.
A well-tended family plot in the Trebon Cemetery.
A compelling statue of the Virgin Mary in Trebon Cemetery.
A beautiful nature-themed tombstone rests in a cemetery on the west side of New Ulm.
Stone against stone at Hauge Lutheran Church (the Old Stone Church) in Monkey Valley, rural Kenyon.
My dad’s military marker in the Vesta City Cemetery.
This post was previously published at streets.mn.
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
For 52 years: A rural Minnesota church prepares for Holy Week with Last Supper Drama April 11, 2014
FOR CHRISTIANS LIKE MYSELF, Holy Week marks a period of reflection and repentance as we remember the final days in the life of Christ before his crucifixion and resurrection.
St. John’s members portray the disciples in this undated vintage photo, the first record of a photograph from “The Last Supper Drama.” Actors, from left to right, are Luverne Hafemeyere, Earl Meese, Vicgtor Luedke, Howard Meese, Virgil Bosshart, Arnold Keller, P.L. Golden, Alvin bosshart, Paul Bauer, Elmer Covert Sr. and Arnold Bauer. Photo courtesy of St. John’s.
For St. John’s United Church of Christ, Wheeling Township, rural Faribault, a presentation of “The Last Supper Drama” has been a long-standing Holy Week tradition. For 51 years, 52 this April 13, this congregation has presented the drama written by long ago pastor, the Rev. W. Rasche, and based on Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting. It’s truly remarkable that a tradition like this would continue for more than five decades.
Twice, if not thrice, I’ve lost count, I’ve attended this Palm Sunday evening drama at this country church northeast of Faribault.
St. John’s 50th presentation of “The Last Supper Drama” in the sanctuary. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2012.
As darkness falls, voices hush, mood-setting music plays and a spotlight shines upon 12 performers role-playing the disciples.
It is a profound performance which presents a personal perspective on the relationships between Jesus and his followers.
I’d encourage you to attend. It’s worth the drive, worth your time.
There’s something about sitting straight-backed in a pew in the darkness of a Palm Sunday evening within the walls of an aged limestone church in the company of believers that comforts me and puts me in the proper meditative mindset for Holy Week. And that reaction is, I expect, exactly as St. John’s intends.
The parking lot at St. John’s United Church of Christ, Wheeling Township, is nearly full 20 minutes before the congregation’s annual performance of “The Last Supper Drama”. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2012.
FYI: St. John’s is located 10 miles northeast of Faribault. Take Minnesota State Highway 60 east for eight miles and then turn north onto Rice County 24. Drive two miles to 19086 Jacobs Avenue.
The drama begins at 8 p.m. on Sunday, April 13, and is followed by lunch afterward in the fellowship hall.
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Fish Fry Fridays March 28, 2014
GROWING UP LUTHERAN, I knew Catholics couldn’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent. They ate fish. I never understood that because I consider fish to be meat.
But, still Lutheran today, I respect the Catholic Friday Fish Fry tradition.
Photographed in Omro, Wisconsin, eight miles west of Oshkosh along the Fox River.
This time of year, you’ll see advertisements and signs galore calling the faithful to feast on fish on Fridays.
These weekly Lenten fish fries should also remind believers of their calling to be, like Jesus’ disciples, fishers of men (and women and children). If I remember my bible facts correctly, Andrew, Peter, James and John were fishermen by profession and fishermen by discipleship.
Throughout scripture, you will find numerous references to fish, beginning with the beginning. In Genesis 1:26, God says:
“Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
What a great responsibility.
Then there’s the story of Jonah being swallowed by a great fish. I remember as a child reading Sunday School bible lessons and how impressed I was by this. To think that the prophet Jonah would be swallowed by a whale, remain in the whale’s belly for three days and then be spit out alive seemed pretty miraculous to me.
And that’s exactly as it should have seemed. The apostle Matthew writes in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 12:40:
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Jonah’s experience connects to Christ’s resurrection from the dead after the third day, as explained by Matthew.
At VFW Post 2778 in Appleton, WI., they apparently attempt to feed the masses as the Friday Fish Fry runs from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Finally, the other significant mention of fish imprinted upon my memory comes in the feeding of the 4,000 and the 5,000 plus. On both occasions, Jesus multiplied miniscule portions of bread and fish to feed the masses:
Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. (Matthew 14: 19-21)
I think Jesus would have appreciated a Friday Fish Fry.
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Soup, salad & sandwiches at St. John’s March 12, 2014
SUNLIGHT FILTERS through the fellowship hall windows on an early Sunday afternoon in March. Outside the 40-degree temps feel balmy after a brutally cold and snowy Minnesota winter.
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Wheeling Township, rural Faribault, Minnesota.
I’ve left my coat in the van, drawing my sweater tight around me as I pause to photograph St. John’s United Church of Christ, Wheeling Township, before hurrying inside. The strong wind has a bite to it.
Salad options.
Inside, I grab a shiny silver tray, select a salad from choices on ice, pinch lettuce into a bowl and add toppings before placing the tray on a table to photograph the salad selections. While I do so, a teen ladles a generous scoop of Ranch dressing atop my lettuce salad.
Lynn, right, tends the potato soup in this duo scene, divided by a wall, of kitchen and fellowship hall.
Next, I move toward the kitchen serving window to consider the soup offerings—chicken noodle, potato bacon and bean. All homemade. I start with potato. Lynn fills my bowl.
Kim and Keith serve diners.
Juggling camera and tray, I move down the line to the sandwiches. Kim and Keith are ladling soup, too, and refilling the sandwich tray.
Sandwich choices from ham to sausage to open face.
I choose an open face sandwich topped with a mix of meat and chopped pickles.
My husband and I settle onto folding chairs at a table nearest the kitchen. I want easy access to photograph the scene, the moments that define this first of three Sunday Lenten soup luncheons at St. John’s.
I’ve been here before, often enough that parishioners welcome me into this country church east of Faribault just off Minnesota State Highway 60 along Jacobs Avenue.
My first tray of food.
I know the routine, too. Gather my food and then transfer bowls and sandwich onto a paper placemat so the trays are ready for the next diners.
Key food preparer, organizer, church organist and co-youth leader, Craig, carrying a coffee pot, right, says 60 -70 diners were served at Sunday’s luncheon.
There’s something about familiarity and dining in the company of the faithful, the din of conversation and the clack of kitchen noises, that comforts as much as a hearty homemade soup.
Mandarin orange dessert plated for delivery to diners.
For two evenings and a day prior, Craig and his mother, 88-year-old Elsie, and their neighbor, Lynn, have labored, preparing the three soups, the nine salads and the mandarin orange dessert. Parents of Youth Fellowship members brought the sandwiches.
This is a labor of love and of service—the chopping of onions, the soaking of beans, the dicing of ham, the mixing of homemade dumplings (by the octogenarian)…
Brandon dries dishes. The Youth Fellowship sponsors the soup and salad luncheons.
In the kitchen, 13-year-old Brandon dries dishes beside his mother and Elsie. Others tend the soup, sandwiches, salad and dessert. Youth hustle to bring and refill beverages, to clear tables, to deliver dessert. Craig rushes to refill coffee pots and cups.
Bibles, florals and candles decorate tables.
I observe it all, from tabletop bible centerpieces opened to Psalms to the dainty floral pattern on church china to the stool I’ve seen Elsie use in the kitchen every time I’ve been here. She’s always in the kitchen.
The hardworking team.
This congregation works together, feeding diners like me who appreciate their efforts and the taste of great homemade food as much as this rural setting and fellowship.
Inside the church kitchen, 88-year-old Elsie works next to her stool.
Once I’ve finished my first bowl of potato soup, I get a new bowl and a scoop of bean soup, followed by a second helping of potato. I pass on the third soup; I’m not a fan of either chicken soup or of dumplings.
As I finish my dessert, Kim and Keith join my husband and me to rest for a bit and eat lunch. We talk about kids and the horrible long winter and vehicles in ditches and the couple’s continually snow blown driveway and such. It’s a comfortable conversation.
Elsie, 88, sits in the kitchen and enjoys a bowl of bean soup at the end of the luncheon.
Before we leave, I pop into the kitchen again and catch Elsie finally sitting down with a bowl of bean soup.
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FYI: If you’re interested in attending St. John’s next two soup luncheons, here are details:
The church is located at 19086 Jacobs Avenue, rural Faribault.
These will be your salad options.
On the way out the door, study the Germanfest photos on the bulletin board:
St. John’s UCC Germanfest is another must-attend annual event in September. Great food, entertainment, bingo, quilt show and more define this ethnic gathering.
And then purchase a jar of St. John’s famous homemade apple jelly or butter:
Beautiful and savory St. John’s apple jelly.
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Hello, God, it’s me March 1, 2014
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE the power of prayer. Never.
Prayer provides a powerful personal portal to God. Consider that connection as immediate as a text message or a phone call away.
The thing about God, you won’t get his voice mail. He’s always listening. Twenty-four seven. He is, after all, our heavenly Father. And what parent wouldn’t love to hear from his/her child on a daily basis? Love works that way.
Yet, just like an earthly father, God doesn’t always give us what we want. Prayer doesn’t work that way. God responds in ways that he deems best. He really is a lot smarter than us.
Oftentimes that’s hard for someone like me, who desires to be in control and possesses minimal patience, to accept. I want the issue resolved yesterday, the direction given immediately, the prayer answered right now exactly as I prayed it.
I imagine God wonders sometimes if I will ever learn. I’m trying, God.
Recently I began carrying a medallion in my pocket to remind me of the need to always be prayerful. It’s really a necklace, minus the chain, a piece of jewelry I received during my childhood. I don’t recall who gifted this to me, but I’ve had it for nearly 50 years.
On the front side is an image of praying hands, on the back this inspirational prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.
You likely know this as the Serenity Prayer adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous. I am not an alcoholic. But I am in need of serenity in my life. I tend to worry and stress about issues. Ask my husband.
I recognize that flaw. So this silver dollar sized medallion slipped inside my jean pocket reminds me daily that God is in control. This doesn’t mean I should sit idly and do nothing about certain situations. God doesn’t expect that. But rather, he needs me to understand that he is the one walking beside me through my days.
Oftentimes these days, I find myself sliding my right hand into my pocket, my fingertips brushing the outline of those prayerful hands, the imprint of the raised letters. A sense of peace fills me as my lips whisper a silent prayer.
Even Jesus prayed, here in the Garden of Gethsemane. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.
DEAR READERS, please join me today in praying for the families and friends of three Carleton College students who died in a car crash Friday afternoon at Minnesota Highway 3 and Dakota County Road 47 just outside of Northfield, three miles from campus.
The trio were killed and two other students seriously injured when their car apparently went out of control on an icy and snowy roadway and was broadsided by a semi, according to news reports.
Dead are James Adams of St. Paul, Minnesota; Michael Goodgame of Westport, Connecticut; and Paxton Harvieux of Stillwater, Minnesota. Hospitalized in stable condition in the Twin Cities are Conor Eckert of Seattle, Washington, and Will Sparks of Evanston, Illinois.
I cannot imagine the depth of grief felt by the families, friends, the Carleton College community and the community of Northfield.
A vigil is being held at 11 a.m. today at Skinner Memorial Chapel on the college campus with counseling staff and chaplains available. (Click here to read a message from the president and dean of students at Carleton.)
Please pray for peace, comfort and healing. Prayer provides a powerful personal portal to God. At all times, in all circumstances.
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
In celebration of a daughter’s birthday February 10, 2014
Amber and Marc on their wedding day in September 2013. Photo by Minneapolis based Rochelle Louise Photography.
SHE TURNS TWENTY-EIGHT today. My sweet girl.
She’s a child of God, a gift to me and her dad, and now to her husband.
Yes, this sweet woman, this new wife, this daughter of mine, who today celebrates her birthday, has blessed my life from the moment of her birth.
As my first-born, Amber showed me a depth of love I never could have fathomed. I love all three of my now adult children with a fierceness unequaled. You know, the Mama Bear and her cubs…
In this June 2011 photo, my daughter sways on a tire swing on my childhood farm.
No matter how many children you have, the door to your heart swings open wider at the birth of each. And when Amber married the love of her life this past September, my heart, and that of my husband, opened even wider to embrace our new son-in-law.
To see our girl so happy, so incredibly in love as she enters another year of her life makes this mama happy.
I thank God every day for blessing me with my precious first-born daughter.
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
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