Last Sunday the Lone Rock Presbyterian Church hosted a community service in the historic Blakjer Lutheran Church located in the city park. The service, a part of the events of the annual Lone Rock Days, centered on worshipping God and to honor and remember the faith of the communities’ Norwegian, Danish and German founders. It was their faith that led them to build their respective churches in the area as a witness for God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
No doubt those early pioneers relied on their faith a lot as they traveled across the expanse of America to settle in Kossuth County not knowing if they would be successful in their quest to create a better life for themselves and their families than they had experienced to date. It was their faith that helped them endure harsh cold winters, hot dry summers, crop failures, pestilence, and hard times.
These pioneers, these enduring Christians, have given us a rich heritage of faith to emulate and build upon. Through the years I am sure that the same could be said about the founders and members of the Algona and Irvington churches. That brings us to an important question. As a Christian are you adding to the Christian heritage of our church that will be remembered and emulated for those who remain after we have experienced the reunion that Jesus has promised? Will we be remembered for our faithfulness, for our dependence on God as we carried on our journey here on earth, for our love of those around us and beyond, for our willingness to get involved with programs and activities of the church, for our desire to remain focused on God even as we traveled through the dark valleys and up the steep and rugged hills of life?
I end with these words from the apostle Paul as written to the Christians in Colossae. “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Colossians 2: 6,7 NRSV
God’s Blessings to you all, Pastor Walt