11 2nd Ave. N., Unit 103, Sauk Rapids, Benton County, MN 56379 Second Section Inside!
Saturday, December 22, 2018
Same Local Coverage Since 1 8 5 4 .
Vol. 164, No. 36
In a manger on Christmas Eve Living Waters Lutheran prepares for annual barn service BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY NATASHA BARBER
A group of volunteers – Tim (front, from left), Eric, and Liam Paulsen; (middle, from center) Steve Anderson and Tim Carlson; (back, from left) Ted Helgerson, Dan Pederson, Bruce Neubauer, Jeff Moon and Dennis Wahl – are pictured at the Sauk Rapids residence of Elizabeth and the late Phil Pederson Dec. 15. The group prepared the outbuilding for Living Waters Lutheran Church’s annual Christmas Eve in a Barn services.
OBITUARIES • DeLoris C. Cashman
PUBLIC NOTICES
SAUK RAPIDS – On the sunny morning of Dec. 15, there were no animals in the barn at the farm of Elizabeth and the late Phil Pederson. Instead, a group of men and two boys gathered to prepare the former dairy for Living Waters Lutheran Church’s annual Christmas Eve in a Barn services. Hay and straw bales were aligned into pews and electrical wiring was tested for lighting and sound. The barn was transformed into a venue for families to share in the coming of the Christmas child. “Everyone smiles and they
can’t believe they sat in a working barn and went to Christmas Eve service,” said Dan Pederson, Phil’s son, of why his family continues to offer the site each Christmas Eve. “You see over 1,000 people who are happy – from everywhere, from all walks. It would be pretty tough not to do it.” Phil Pederson offered up his homestead at 5400 Golden Spike Road N.E., Sauk Rapids, 24 years ago. The first year, the church had one service with 150 in attendance. The event has since grown to four services at noon, 1:30, 3 and 4:30 p.m. and boasts an average of 1,000 guests that day. “When Living Waters got started, we used to have our services in the former high school (now Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle
Barn Christmas page 3
Grieving through the holidays Getting through the happy moments with sorrow in your heart
• Assumed Name - Hornbacher’s - pg. 7 • Benton County Summary Budget Statement Public Notice - pg. 13 • City of Sauk Rapids Enterprise Funds 2019 Adopted Budget pg. 7 • City of Sauk Rapids 2019 Minnesota Summary Budget BY NATASHA BARBER Data - pg. 10 STAFF WRITER • Benton County Reg. Meeting Minutes, Dec. 5, 2018 - pg. 7 • Minden Township Notice - pg. 7 ST. CLOUD – Of all the ad• Mayhew Lake Township Notice jectives used to describe Christ- pg. 7 mas – joy, magical, peace, love
– one word is rarely found on the list: Grief. Yet the merriment that surrounds many during the holidays, does not surround all. Holiday seasons can be a time of pain and discomfort for those who have lost loved ones throughout the year. Memories trigger sadness. Gatherings and social interactions may become overwhelming. “Other people’s lives are going on; the world goes on,” said Lisa Dalton, of St. Cloud. “It’s kind of like you’re standing back here looking at the world – everybody is happy, joyful, getting presents and decorating. You want to be happy for them, but yet you’re numb. You don’t feel that. You can still appreciate what they are experiencing because you know that joy, but it is hard to engage in it at that time.” Lisa and her husband Tim lost their son, Cale Dalton, to a seizure in March 2016. Suffering
PHOTO BY NATASHA BARBER
Tim and Lisa Dalton hold a photo of their late son Cale Dec. 12 in St. Cloud. The Daltons will facilitate GriefShare, beginning in January at Riverside Church in Sauk Rapids.
from seizures which increased in severity as he aged and having autism, Cale lived with his parents his entire life. He was 31 when he died. “This will be our third Christmas he hasn’t been with us,” Lisa said. The Daltons said that even though Cale passed away roughly eight months before the Thanksgiving through New Year’s holi-
day season, the firsts that followed Cale’s death were difficult. “It’s not just the holidays,” Tim said. “There are things that just happen, spontaneously. … Something simple like I opened the drawer where I kept my shaving stuff. When he was young, he had a little plastic razor. He would put shaving cream on his face and wipe it off. That was always in my drawer. Opening that up and
seeing that was enough to make me feel sad. So, when it came to Christmas, seeing things he liked … or the things he used to say would pop into your head and you remember, somebody is not here.” The Daltons will facilitate GriefShare, a 13-week grief recovery support group for those who have lost a child, spouse, family member or friend, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 15, 2019 and meeting Tuesday evenings at Riverside Church, 1702 West Highview Drive, Sauk Rapids. Registration can be found at https://myriversidechurch.com/caregroups. “We certainly never thought we would be in this place, talking about grief, being the grieving parents and looking to minister to people who have had loss,” Lisa said. But just as the Daltons will be there for others this coming year, a family was there for them in their time of need. Following Cale’s death, the Daltons sought grief support from Pat and Judy Misener, of Smile Again Ministries, who had also lost a child. “It felt natural because they knew our story,” Tim said. “They knew what is was like and had made it their life’s work to help others who had experienced the same thing.” Lisa described the first year without Cale as a fog, and Tim and she agreed the second year without their son was harder on them
Daltons page 3