May 2021 Cover & Highligts

Highlights of the May, 2021 Issue

Known for his talent as keyboardist, Glenn Henriksen shows in the cover photo that he also has an eye for photography.

The opening song is to a tune for hymns no 461 and 771 in the current ELCA hymnal. Other denominations in the U.S. may know it as “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship,” which starts in a similar vein as the text written by Joyce Marshall. She is on the faculty of Realistic Living (http://realisticliving.org/index.htm), an organization whose mission is to “clarify the essential Christian heritage and to promote and inspire its practice through small groups.” These lyrics by Joyce were taken from Songs of Resurgence, which she compiled in 1999 for use in such small groups.

Though the sermon by Andrés Albertsen is based on the readings from the second Sunday after Easter, it is especially appropriate as we approach the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death on May 25. He reminds us of the hope in which we believe.

In the mode of reflecting on what was happening a year ago at this time, the final installment of “The Slow Spring of the Reaaranged Rest of Our Lives”by Erik S. Hansen takes us through the last month of his stay at the lake house where he was caught at the outbreak of the pandemic. Observing the activity of nesting birds gives rise to his own considerations of settling down.

We hear from Hanna Broadbridge about the threat to family cohesion of asylees who have made Denmark their  new home after fleeing danger in their home countries.

With the backdrop of World War II, Ed Andersen shares his boyhood experience of building barns. The Iowa Barn Foundation holds tours of such historic barns and included last year a barn on the farm still in the family of Ole Johnson one of the original Fredsville settlers.


Announcements

You are invited to celebrate Grundlovsdag, June 5, 2021, by attending the online conference of the Danish American Heritage Society (DAHS). The theme is “Traditions and Transitions: Ways of Being Danish.” Running from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Central Time Zone,  that is, UTC - 05:00), it will be a full day of virtual learning, entertainment, and interaction. Registration is $30.00 or free with a general membership of $30.00. Both registration and membership activation/renewal can be done on the  conference page of the DAHS website, https://conference.danishheritage.org.

West Denmark Family Camp will not be in person this year but will send information to regular camp attenders about an online bulletin board to share updates and activities people are doing at home. Likewise, the June and July Danebod Family Camps will not be in-person, but virtual alternatives are being explored. Regulars will be receiving email updates.

Former Church and Life editor, our beloved Joy Ibsen, is pleased to announce the release of the second edition of Here and Hereafter: The Eternity Connection. Joy has this to say about it: “Spiritual legacy is perhaps the most significant aspect of this book. When I look back at the family into which I was born, I remember the stories of a spiritual nature that deeply affected the very core of our being. We did not talk much about them but we knew them. Those powerful stories about death and new life could pull us through any challenge, any heartbreak, any doubt.” The first edition of this collection of short stories received five-star reviews, so this newer “cleaned up” edition is surely a work worthy of gifting yourself and family. It is available on amazon.com in paperback and Kindle format.

Another book that will be of interest is the soon-to-be-published Volume 5 of the six volume series of Grundtvig’s writings translated into English and published by Arhus University Press. Edward Broadbridge will surely produce yet another remarkable anthology of translations with this upcoming volume: The Core of Learning: N.F.S. Grundtvig’s Philosophical Writings.