Feeling at home

Awhile back (June 2010), I wrote about joining a new church, chosen for its warm and welcoming nature and friendly people.

This past Sunday, my son, Steven, daughter-in-law, Julie, and 4-year-old granddaughter, Ava, joined the same church. They, too, felt welcomed and were eager to be part of a church family. It was a special day for me, sitting proudly beside them.

Church was a big part of my childhood, and our family of eight rarely missed a Sunday.

It must have required quite an orchestration on my mother’s part to get us all dressed up and ready to go. There were dresses, petticoats, and shiny black patent shoes that were reserved for Sundays.

There were five heads of girls’ hair to curl and comb. And on Easter Sunday, we had special Sunday coats and always an Easter bonnet and white gloves. Maybe even a new white straw purse.

We had a drawer in the dining room buffet called the “Sunday School drawer.” All six of our weekly offering envelope boxes were lined up in this drawer.
The same drawer doubled as the “hair drawer” as barrettes and pony tail binders, clips, combs and curlers were kept there as well.

But before the church service began, we attended Sunday School.

Miss Selle taught the second grade class and was my very favorite teacher. Always happy to see our little faces, she made each child feel special. No child was ever shamed in her class for not knowing their memory work, or for being a little too active. She just laughed along with us and enjoyed us, as though we were her own little treasures.

If we actually managed to learn something, or successfully pulled off our Christmas pageant...well, to her, I think that was just a bonus. In her eyes, we were there to be cherished. Sunday schools should be full of teachers like her.

Our church was an old brick structure with exquisite stained glass windows and royal red carpeting. A dark wood altar and pews provided a beautiful and majestic contrast.

The old church basement held many Lutheran pot-lucks with tater-tot hot dishes, brown-n-serve rolls, and jello with marshmallows.

Confirmation Day
May 17, 1959


As church membership expanded, additional space was needed.

So a building next door to the church was purchased to accommodate such activities as Sunday School and confirmation classes. It was known simply as the annex. I attended classes in the annex and was confirmed in the original church.

But eventually, in the 1960s, both the church and the annex were demolished, and a new contemporary structure with concrete slabs was built. But the new edifice looked, to me, more like a modern insurance company building than a church. Thankfully, brick was used on the inside walls and aqua carpeting helped to give it a warm feeling.

No matter the outside appearance of a church. It is the feel of a church that is important, and the missions it undertakes. A warm and welcoming church draws you to it, and you're glad to be there.

When you find such a place, it is a wonderful thing.

Elva Kaffe

If you drive down a quiet country road, not far from where I live, you'll come to a small area known as Kost. Many around here know Kost for its dam, great for fishing and a pictur-
esque hike. A road sign indicates there is a pottery shop nearby.

Drive just a bit further and you'll come to a quaint, white country church. You have now arrived at Kost Evangelical Free Church.


When Kost was settled in the 1880s by a large migration of Scandinavians to America, they formed clusters which met in homes for the purpose of worship. From there, the Kost church was established in 1886.

The church continues to honor its heritage and share it with the community. Once every three years, they host a festive Scandinavian event called, Elva Kaffe, inviting the people of the area to come for coffee and cookies as they begin their preparations for the holidays.

My friend, Mary Kay, and I attended last Saturday. What an elegant, charming and absolutely enjoyable event this is. What a delightful way to spend a crisp, sunny Saturday morning.

We were greeted at the door by a man in Swedish costume. Then we noticed all the hosts and hostesses were also dressed in clothing representative of the various provinces of their homelands.

Scandinavian decorations were everywhere. Hearts are traditionally used, as the symbol of love, reminding us all to be generous to one another during the Christmas season, as well as all year long. Pines, the symbol of eternal life, and pine trees are also commonly used.

All four Scandinavian countries were represented in various craft displays in a large room: Hardanger, wood carving, Julgranskorg (woven hearts), Huvudia (woven head wreaths), rug braiding, birch and vine crafts, rosemaling, spinning, basket weaving, and more.

Flags from all four countries: Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Around the craft display room, there were demonstrations of Scandinavian foods, with samples being offered. All demonstrators were in costume, and you could hear Swedish being spoken. We tasted most all of the wonderful foods: abelskiver, krumkake, smørrebrød, krem, pepparkaka, köttbollar, fruit soppa, plättar and lefse.

I grew up with Scandinavian food and customs. But if you don't know what any or all of those are, let me just say that all are delicious. We were given a recipe book with directions for making these wonderful treats ourselves. Instructions were also provided for making some of the holiday crafts at home.

The Swedes say: Var sa god. Be so kind as to come to the table for a cup of coffee.

Across the hall from the demonstration room was their Kaffe Stuga. Tables were set for us to enjoy coffee. An elegant serving table, complete with silver service and crystal cake plates, was prepared with Scandinavian cookies, Jul kage (Christmas bread) and Kranse Kaka.


A tower of individual, graduated pastry rings is used to make Kranse Kaka, traditionally served at weddings.



Decorated with the country's flag, it is served from the top ring down and is broken into pieces and eaten as a cookie. It has a wonderful almond flavor, and uses only three ingredients: almond paste, granulated sugar, and egg whites.

It will be another three years before we can enjoy such a festive celebration again. You can believe that Mary Kay and I already have our calendars marked for 2013.

Tusen tak (thank you) to the Kost Church for hosting this wonderful event.

We are in the holiday spirit already. God Jul!

A new favorite

We sang a hymn in church last Sunday that I had not heard before. Its delightful lyrics and melody have been etched in my mind, and my heart. I've been humming or singing it all week.

It is my new favorite hymn.

So I did a little research, ala Wikipedia, and learned it was written by Jan Struther in 1931.

Jan Struther was the pen name of Joyce Anstruther, (1901–1953), an English writer from Buckinghamshire, England. She died of breast cancer at the early age of 52. Ms. Struther was remembered for her character, Mrs. Miniver, and wrote a number of hymns, such as "Lord of All Hopefulness."

It goes like this:


It is set to the melody of an Irish folksong, from the village of Slane. It is also the melody of another well-known hymn, Be Thou My Vision.

It is a wonderful prayer to begin the day. Or anytime during the day. I just had to share it with you.

Peace and blessings as you go about your day.