A Sunday in the Country

My favorite thing about going on vacation? Deciding where I am going to church!

Weeks before any trip you can find me googling the destination for Lutheran Churches, particularly churches that are part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). But since I was going home to Wisconsin for this trip, it was obvious that I would visit my parents' church - Southwest Prairie Lutheran Church in rural Viroqua, Wisconsin.

The southwest corner of Wisconsin has no shortage of quaint pioneer-founded churches, but I was unprepared for the jewel that is Southwest Prairie. At least in Vernon County, I would be surprised to find a more beautifully appointed worship space. (Some may equal, but none surpass!)

a warm place in winter - from their Facebook page

a cloudy spring day

The church, complete with its own cemetery, began its witness to the gospel more than 160 years ago. (More than one parishioner told me that Southwest Prairie was the mother church for several neighboring congregations.) Its white siding is not unusual for the area, but its striking blue roof sets it apart from other churches in any season. Upon entering the nave, visitors find a gospel-serving space that is reverent and more ornate than expected. A carved wooden altar holds a painting of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, at the center. The altar is flanked by two windows depicting the sacraments celebrated universally by Lutherans - holy baptism on the left and holy communion on the right. Their prominent placement alerts visitors that the church's founders wanted a church where the gospel is preached and the sacraments are rightly administered.

But the most surprising element is the church's ceiling and walls. In 1938 they were covered with stretched burlap, painted, then stenciled. Eighty-five years later, the effect of detailed mosaics is still evident. 

The church is so rustic, you can only get there by driving along a gravel road. Don't forget to turn at the cottonwood tree or you'll end up somewhere else.

The structure of the service was classic "Service of the Word." Although the communion ware was on the altar, there was no communion that day.

Pastor Timothy Dunham, a graduate of Duke University Seminary, leads in a manner that is worshipful and welcoming.

On the Sunday I visited, the gospel reading was about Jesus' encounter with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Regarding the passage Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures (NRSV), Pastor Dunham observed that we do the same thing every Sunday.  He's right! During the "Word" portion of worship, we do hear readings from the Hebrew Scriptures to which we've added readings from the epistles and  gospels. (I may have missed part of the sermon, because at this point I was thinking about how we do something similar for the Easter vigil.)

The Prayer of the Day and the Confession of Sin both seemed tailored specifically to the day. This made me suspect that Pastor Dunham may have written them himself - and I was right! It turns out this is his usual practice, but he's not sure how common it is for Pastors in his denomination (Lutheran Churches in Mission for Christ, or "LCMC") to do the same thing. Not only is this approach refreshing, but it requires attention to detail while preparing.

The congregation sings well! (Of course they do. Midwestern Lutherans are the best singers of all!) Patty F. leads them well from the organ - an older Allen model that fills the space nicely. Assembly song, a hallmark of the Reformation, is a tradition proudly carried on by this assembly.

On this day we sang hymns from Lutheran Book of Worship and With One Voice:
Holy God, We Praise Your Name LBW 535
Precious Lord, Take My Hand WOV 731
I Know That My Redeemer Lives LBW 352
Rise Up, O Saints of God LBW 383

At one time, Southwest Prairie was part of a three-point parish that included Northwest Prairie Lutheran Church and Bad Axe Lutheran Church. The latter is my home parish. You can read how that church aided my formation in an older article on this blog:
http://smljax.blogspot.com/2019/06/what-kind-of-lutheran-am-i.html

If you are in the area, I recommend a visit to Southwest Prairie Lutheran Church, or to its sister parish, Northwest Prairie Lutheran Church. They are one parish that worships in each location on alternate Sundays - so plan ahead!

It's still Easter in the liturgical churches!

This window, best viewed from the balcony, was donated by the Ladies Aid, year not given.

Christmas at St. Mark's - 1962!

You can see it's still Christmas at St. Mark's (and in all liturgical churches) because of the Christmas tree. I love this time after Christmas Eve when I get to practice by the light of our tree. (Some people prefer to call it a Chrismon tree - but that's a topic for another article.)

Christmas 2022

There was a time when St. Mark's was home to a different kind of tree - a living Christmas tree!

Now, before anyone get curious and runs up to the tree to pluck its needles to see if they are real or not, I'm talking about a tree made formed by living people!

Svend Simonson with Luci

Apparently, this was the brain child of Hugh Alderman, one of our earliest music directors. Red Brown once told Viki Grzelinski that St. Mark's had the very first living Christmas tree in Jacksonville. He also said that Svend Simonson built the frame of the tree. Children stood on risers that gradually decreased in length so they formed a triangle. Each year Mr. Alderman (who was St. Mark's Music Director for more than 20 years) picked one lucky child to be the angel at the top.

A show this good had to go on the road! And what a great way to share the good news of Jesus at Christmas time!

A 1962 article in the Florida Times-Union reports that the Christmas tree performed two concerts at the Cummer Gallery of Art in Riverside on Sunday, December 23, 1962.

This picture, possibly from 1962 or at least about that time, was clearly taken in the old nave of our current building on Hendricks Avenue.

Two handbell choirs joined in the festivities - and the Cummer event was their premier performance! They played the Petit & Fritsen handbells from Holland. According to the program, a young Steve H. played in the junior choir! (Red Brown was not in the handbell choir that year, but he told me of playing the bells as well.)

Since published handbell arrangements were scarce at the time, Hugh Alderman arranged several of their songs.

Do you have a memory of the living Christmas tree, or perhaps a memory of Hugh Alderman? I hope you'll share it in the comments below.

Hugh Alderman, left, with Pastor Nordsiek

I wonder what people will say of St. Mark's Christmas music 60 years from now?

Merry Christmas and happy new year!