HIGHLIGHTS June/July 2021

In this combined month issue, we start with the wistful lyrics of “Song of Home.” Home is where we gather with loved ones, but for much of this pandemic, as we stayed physically distant, we looked for ways to stay connected. In an interview with Molly Tulki of West Denmark Lutheran Church, we hear about her project of producing Sounds of Home, a weekly audio recording by and for members of the community. Then Karri Brady shares how she found a sense of community during the pandemic through yard signs. 


The theme of building community and fellowship continues with a Pentecost and Danish slant. Andrés Albertsen introduces us to his student Megan Eide from his Danish for Ministry class. In her sermon for Pentecost, she encourages speaking the Holy Spirit’s language of love to engender beloved community. Our columnist from Denmark, Hanna Broadbridge, wonders about the renewed interest in Grundtvig among Danes and hopes that the increasing global attention to his ideas will foster cross-cultural fellowship.

​Besides finding shared values, people must address any harms to move forward in relationship. Sisters Annette Laursen Brickley and Sandra Laursen describe workshops, such as one they led at Danebod Family Camp in 2019, to raise awareness about the historical relationship between those who settled the land and the Native peoples of that land. 


While the summer camps are not taking place in person this year, there’s always the summer treat of eating watermelon. We hear from Whitey Jorgensen about the development of seedless watermelons. I held this article a couple of months in order to publish it when we would be eating watermelon. Unfortunately, the author will not see his article in print; he died just as this issue was being assembled. The cover is a kind of tribute to this man who lived life with joy and optimism.