After spending most of our married life in central Minnesota, my wife and I arrived in Northfield just in time to vote in the 2008 election. Election night was our initial visit to First United Church of Christ, the voting precinct for the Carleton side of town. We would later be blessed with numerous friends at this UCC congregation.
Within a few months, we had settled on Bethel Lutheran as our new church home, and we have continued to appreciate the way Bethel “does church” … a vibrant youth ministry, heady and stirring preaching, and a multi-faceted music ministry that draws on superior professional and amateur talent. Before long, I was invited to the men of Bethel weekly discussion group and then “volunteered” for the personnel committee. I taught a Sunday adult forum class and addressed Bethel gatherings on other occasions. Wednesday evening Bistro, a weekly congregational meal, helped us to meet new friends fast.
Northfield is a college town that boasts two of the finest liberal arts colleges in the Midwest.
Carleton’s founders were New England Yankees with roots in the Congregational Churches of the East, but Carleton is no longer affiliated with any church or denomination, and the gothic church building that sits sentinel at the entrance to the college green now hosts Islamic and Jewish gatherings, as well as Christian groups. Last Passover eve, the Bethel men’s group was hosted by the rabbi from the Twin Cities who serves the Carleton Jewish community.
St Olaf is one of the leading ELCA colleges in the country, and many Lutheran pastors, church leaders, and theologians have ties to St. Olaf, especially those of Norwegian heritage. The King and Queen of Norway will visit St. Olaf in mid-October. Although I have no personal ties to St. Olaf, I was privileged to speak at Boe Chapel, to sign books thru the bookstore on homecoming weekend, and to gain the friendship of many present and former professors and staff.
Downtown Northfield is an eclectic mix of shops, eateries, museums, libraries, and a village square overlooking the historic Cannon River. Summer concerts, art fairs, and a popcorn wagon grace the square, but the biggest annual downtown event is the “Defeat of Jesse James Days” held each September. Yes, it was here where the infamous Jesse James gang met its match, and the shootout outside the old bank building is reenacted multiple times on this September weekend. “Get your guns, boys, they’re robbin’ the bank” is the message printed on many T-shirts.
Tiny’s Hot Dogs recently closed, but you can still see the bumper stickers that read, “Eat at Tiny’s. Save the World.” Goodbye Blue Monday is one of several excellent coffeehouses downtown, and it is here that the local ELCA clergy from Northfield, Faribault, and environs gathers each Thursday morning for coffee and conversation. Though I’m laity, I appreciated the invitation to join this heady group and to participate in church gossip, text study, and a great deal of laughter that often drew wondering glances from the students and town’s folk: who are these Lutherans and why are they having so much fun?
But now it’s time for the next chapter in our lives. Next Thursday, the 29th of September, we will pull out from the driveway of our townhouse in a rented Penske truck loaded with our earthly belongings. Arlington Heights in the Northwest Chicago suburbs will be our destination.
It’s a family deal. Our middle daughter, Greta, has been offered her dream job as the Caribbean Product Manager for Apple Vacations, but that requires relocation to Chicago. The complication is that her husband, Guni, still has a year or more remaining on his PHD program at the University of Minnesota. Guni encouraged Greta to accept the job offer and to ask Mom and Dad if we would relocate with her to temporarily provide support for her and our two year old granddaughter until he could join them. So, we’ll all live together in a rented four-bedroom house in a three-generational family.
Our oldest daughter, Karin, a Yoga instructor and writer, has been establishing a Northfield following, but after a few days of indecision, she has also decided to join us in Chicago. She was a counselor at a battered women’s shelter in Chicago early this decade, so she still has close friends in the Windy City. Our youngest, Hal, will remain in the Brainerd, Minnesota area, but he has taken vacation next week to help us all move to Chicago.
So, Goodbye Blue Monday and the rest of Northfield. Though we leave Northfield with many tears, we also eagerly anticipate the opportunity to be part of rearing our granddaughter and to share the adventure that awaits us in Chicago.
Blessings and best wishes on your new journey…I was grateful to be a participant at the 2010 CTA convention and purchased your book about St. Paul…I have had issues with the man and was eager to get a new perspective …It took me a long year to finish it but I am better and more forgiving of my perception of Paul…thank you!
Now you are on your own new journey with your family…again wishing you and your dear ones the best…Margaret of North Dakota and Louisville…(My own dear man, Paul, who I lost last year would have loved to talk with you!)
Well, I for one will be sad to see you go! Goodbye Blue Monday will be a little bit less lively at Thursday’s Theology Table without you. However, that just means that now I have some more friends in the Chicago area! :-)) Who knows, when you are old and gray you might wander back to little old Northfield? Keep on writing as you settle into your new digs. I look forward to your next book(s)! Blessings!
You go, my Brother. Change is magnificent and healthy for the soul. You have a great tribe and I know you will do well in the windy city. Your saga inspires me. I am going to send you a link to my son, Jeff’s, blog for his own sojourn from discovering he has a cancerous mass in his chest to the current experience of going through chemo therapy. Your comments are appreciated. I know you are busy right now but take some time to read his account. I was totally amazed at his ability to express his feelings in this way. Not something that men do easily. You are the model I tell him about for him to follow. Check it out and happy moving.
God’s blessings on your move to Ill. At least I 90/94 connects your two cities and if the construction isn’t too bad, it isn’t too bad a drive. I will be watching the blog for updates on your adventures and on your new home area. Having lived in SE WI for a number of years, Northern Ill isn’t all that different. My husband’s ancestors lived in that area and we did a bit of exploring there. I believe you will be closer to the ELCA headquarters. Maybe you can drink coffee with the Bishop. Good luck !!!!
Welcome to Illinois, Obie!
Back in my high school youth group days I was a member of a church in Arlington Heights. That congregation left the ALC years ago and never made it into the ELCA.
I hope you enjoy life in the northwest suburbs and the Metro Chicago Synod.
Blessings to you and yours on this new adventure. I am sure it will not take long for the folks in Chicago to know that we have sent them one of our best . . . we look forward to staying connected with you through blog, books, and blessings . . . I will do what I can to keep you up to date on the resurrection of Holy Trinity and the continued life of Redeemer. I am a better Christian, a better person, and a better member of creation for having had a chance to share some life with you. Be safe, and Godspeed . . .
we will miss you around here, but glad for your new adventure. We love Chicago, too!
I hope you are settling in well in my old stomping ground (HEHS ’77; and many many pizzas consumed at the Olde Town in in Mt Prospect and Gino’s East at Golf & Algonquin and points in between…)
Best wishes in your new ventures!
Far too busy with my own ‘issues’, I didn’t know you were leaving.
What a dreary place GBM will be on Thursday mornings without one of the instigators of that rowdy big table group!
Sounds like a great move for your family, but a real loss for Northfield, at a time when we need wins, not losses. But Chicago was my home (born in Evanston, raised in Evanston and Skokie, raised my kids in Evanston and Lake Forest), until I became a forever replanted Minnesotan… one who will be permanently ‘planted’ at the cemetery of the immigrants, Valley Grove.
Love and best wishes to you all; hold down the Fort of Chicago for me!
You obviously had a much better Northfield experience than what we did. We lived there seven years, tried to fit in, but never did. We found Northfielders snobby and cliquish. I got tired of saying “As a matter of fact, I don’t have a computer science degree, but thank you for asking…” Goodbye Blue Monday though was the exception to that rule, and along with the bakery and Chapati, the only things we miss about the town.