services of worship

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As Rhonda was reminding me it was time again to write this newsletter article, she handed me a book delivered by Ginger Anthony, to give to my mother. The book was “One Step Forward and Two Steps Back – Grant County and the 1930’s”. Mom is receiving a copy of the book because she contributed one of the photos that is in the book; a picture of her Dad’s, my Granddad’s farm place in the 1930’s.

The book is comprised of news articles from the Grant County Register during the decade of the ‘30’s and is an amazing reading experience. I suppose that reading news articles from any time period other than your own elicits a sense of wonder at the language, word usage, and general writing style. I found the articles in the book to be a little odd but certainly endearing as they conveyed small town life in a rural area during the days of the depression and dust bowl.

It was obvious that times were certainly tough. For example, from April 28, 1932:

• Wind Still Blows; We can see now why in other years this county was called the Great American Desert. After the blow Sunday, it looked like a brown snowstorm had just passed over, with the roads almost impassable from the drifted sand and soil.

Some things it seems don’t change. While we don’t have the dramatic and devastating dust storms of the past, the wind and dust still blow with depressing frequency. Another thing that hasn’t changed is the small-town atmosphere that keeps many of us living here. The range of activities has changed, but the “looking out for each other” attitude remains.  

That attitude is also what makes church life so great; we care for each other and make sure we are there to lend a hand when needed. The term “church family” is sometimes overused, but I believe it holds true for our congregation. We are like family and that is a comfort. I hope you think so too.

If you know of others in our community who need a church family, why not invite them to ours?

See you Sunday!

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Kelly