HOT PURSUIT
Denise and Carl Wieman of Owatonna are guardian angels helping move an outdoor church, 6 feet by 4 feet, for Rick Bussler. It has been in Rick’s family for more than 40 years. Staff photo by Rick Bussler
I have been blessed this year to add a large church to my outdoor holiday display. And amid it all, I found a couple guardian angels from Owatonna to help unwrap the magic.
It’s a holiday tradition that has been in my family for the past 40 years or more. Back in 1980, my mom’s cousin collected some inheritance from a family member to construct a church to display in his yard. He let it shine at his home in Cosmos, Minn., for many years.
When he became unable to handle it any longer, my dad stepped up to purchase it and move it to the farm outside of Brownton where it was part of a large holiday display for more than 20 years. The church had become a key piece of their outdoor holiday collection.
With my dad’s death last year, mom wanted to sell the church this year as part of her efforts to downsize. It didn’t take me long to jump at the opportunity to keep the church in our family. I just couldn’t see it going to anyone else or potentially destroyed.
The church is a wonderful reminder of the small country church that I grew up in and our family attended for many years. That church has since closed, though it still has a few special services throughout the year.
I also feel fortunate to have such a key piece of my parents’ collection which often attracted many residents around the area to their farm every holiday season. They won many Christmas lighting contests with their array of holiday splendor.
But perhaps most importantly, the church keeps us grounded in the real meaning of Christmas by putting the birth of Jesus on our hearts.
As for the guardian angels from Owatonna, well, I needed some heavy lifting to move the church from mom’s house to my house. (It is about 6 feet by 4 feet.) Carl and Denise Wieman stepped in to transport the church for me. I certainly appreciate their generosity in giving up a part of their weekend recently to help me out.
Since it arrived at my house, I have cleaned it up and strung some lights in it so the stained-glass windows can shine brightly. I also had a couple lawn ornaments, including an angel and baby Jesus, that fit perfectly next to it. I have some other ideas for it, but they will have to wait for another year.
Besides worshipping regularly during the upcoming holidays, I’m focused on being in hot pursuit of keeping the church tradition alive with this special church in my yard.