Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Beyond football, Soup Per Bowl Sunday at a Minnesota church February 8, 2026

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:46 PM
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
An eye-catching goalpost sign marks a food collection point just outside the sanctuary of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Lakeville. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

AS I WRITE, the Super Bowl is playing out on the television screen in the next room. I could care less.

But I do care about the Soup Per Bowl Sunday that played out this morning in a south metro church. I was there attending a pancake breakfast fundraiser for kids going to summer camp. That includes my young granddaughter.

Donations collected at St. John’s for a food shelf. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

After a hearty breakfast of pancakes with blueberry sauce, cheesy hash browns and sausages, I headed to the narthex on my way to the 10:30 a.m. worship service at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Lakeville. Just outside the sanctuary, I spotted a large collection of filled grocery bags. Turns out this was this faith community’s version of the Super Bowl.

Looking down into bags filled with food and personal care products. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

At St. John’s, it was a Soup Per Bowl of Kindness, according to associate pastor Nathan Lyke. And that kindness came in grocery bags filled with cans of soup, spaghetti, peanut butter, cereal, granola bars, flour, hot chocolate mix, toothpaste, personal hygiene products and much more. A generous outpouring of donations for a designated food shelf.

All across Minnesota, faith communities, individuals and nonprofits are stepping up to feed others, as noted in the day’s Old Testament reading from Isaiah 58, specifically verse seven, “to share your bread with the hungry.”

Gratitude expressed for generosity. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)

I personally know of people who are donating money and food, collecting monetary donations from family and friends, buying groceries and/or delivering food to food shelves for bagging and distribution to people sheltering in their homes because of ICE. I know of people proxy-shopping at local food shelves and then taking groceries to people sheltering in their homes because of ICE. I know of local churches collecting food and delivering to people sheltering in their homes because of ICE.

This story is repeating through community after community in my state. I’ve never been more proud to be a Minnesotan, to live in a place where we take care of each other, where Super Bowl Sunday means much more than a football game.

© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

“Life is good” moments at a piano recital May 20, 2025

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
A piano at the Arts Center of Saint Peter. Photo used for illustration only. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo October 2024)

MOMENTS IN LIFE EXIST that imprint upon the spirit a deep sense of contentment, peace and joy. That happened Sunday afternoon as I sat inside St. John’s Lutheran Church, Lakeville, for a piano recital. As the 11 pianists, including my 9-year-old granddaughter, Izzy, played selections on the grand piano rolled to the front of the sanctuary, I thought, life is good.

And it was good in the 45 minutes when family and friends gathered to hear these young musicians, and one mom, also a piano student, play. Love filled the space. I could feel it. I could hear it in the music, in resounding applause, in congratulatory words. I could see it in broad smiles, practiced bows, photos snapped, hugs shared, and flowers and other gifts given.

Life at its basic is about loving and supporting and encouraging and celebrating.

A SANCTUARY

The recital inside the sanctuary felt, too, like a sanctuary from all the hard stuff happening in the world today. We all need a break from that. These pianists provided that escape as they played tunes like Whispering Wind, Lemonade Stand, Spanish Dancer and the more familiar Linus & Lucy and Star Wars. I swayed to the music, smiling the entire time.

JOY IN CREATIVITY

When young Scarlett and her teacher, Roxanne, played Ode to Joy together, I was whisked away to a wedding. More joy.

The students’ playing was flawless, practiced, disciplined and filled with a creative spirit. I admired the players’ skills, from novice to more advanced, as their fingers landed upon piano keys.

When a young mom stepped up to play two selections, I spotted her husband across the pews. He was beaming, so proud of this woman who studied piano as a child and decided to resume lessons as an adult. She wants a grand piano, she shared in a brief conversation with me after the recital. But that meant convincing her husband. I’d say she’s convinced him.

LIFE IS GOOD

Likewise, Audra, Brysen, Ellie, Evan, Evie, Grayson, Izzy, Jessica, Oscar, Scarlett and Viva convinced me that a piano recital is about much more than just playing and listening to music. It is about family and friends and love. It’s about creativity and celebrating and delighting in one of life’s basic joys—music. Life is good, oh, so good when listening to Trampoline Tumble, Banana Split, Twilight Reverie and 18 other songs played on a grand piano on a Sunday afternoon in May in southern Minnesota.

© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling