Easter faith tab 2016

Faith March 23, 2016

2 - Ravalli Republic, Wednesday, March 23, 2016

The interior of Huls Dairy is where the work occurs and the faith grows.

provided photo

Holy Cow – Faith and the Dairy Farmer MICHELLE McCONNAHA Ravalli Republic

Celebrating Easter is important to the Huls family of Corvallis that has been selling dairy products to Montana since 1908.

Tim Huls said they are a family of faith that enjoys Easter fun.

“Growing up we were always taught the real meaning of Easter but were allowed to participate in the fun of searching for eggs with a basket,” Huls said. “Our parents hid eggs before they did the chores Easter morning in case we got up while they were still milking. We understood the real meaning of Easter and weren’t deprived of the fun or confused about the truth.”

Huls said they raised their children the same way.

“We were careful to tell them about Jesus and his resurrection, what Good Friday was about and what Easter was about,” Huls said. “We didn’t feel like one jeopardized or diminished the other. We are happy with the results.”

Huls said that as a child, his family had Sunday dinner every week at his grandparents, Spence and Marie Huls. Easter dinner was the same.

“Easter was not a big traditional family meal,” Huls said. “We were

already fellowshipping and enjoying Sunday so Easter Sunday was the same. I don’t know how grandma did it, she taught Sunday school, attended church, and served Sunday dinner. There wasn’t an outstanding memory of Easter, every Sunday was special.”

Dave and Jenny Huls raised Danny, Tim, Bruce, Jeff, and Julie. When they grew up and had children of their own, they spread out to attend a variety of churches in the Bitterroot Valley.

Tim and Trudy Huls raised Jonathan and Aaron. Jonathan and his family live in Washington but Tim and Trudy are able to often connect with Aaron and his family who nearby.

Currently, the Huls dairy is feeding and milking 400 cows three times a day, every day. They have close to 900 cows.

Sundays are the most difficult. They give their employees the day off and Tim starts early with the first round of feeding, milking, and making sure the equipment is working.

“Easter is more challenging in that we have extra activities like a church Easter breakfast and special programs,” Tim Huls said. “I want to serve but it is very challenging because the cows don’t go away, and the chores don’t go away. We don’t get to put up a closed sign on special days.”

Ravalli Republic, Wednesday, March 23, 2016 - 3

Trudy Huls said the demands of the dairy operation are the same every day.

“It would be easier not to attend church but attending church is important,” she said. “It is revitalizing to come.”

Tim Huls said he agreed, but said, “Juggling the demands is difficult.”

“We have to really make ourselves not give up on church activities and the celebration of Easter,” he said. “It’s hard to get there but we always enjoy it. We are motivated by what Jesus did for us. It is important to come together and fellowship with our friends and people who believe the same thing we believe.”

The Huls dairy is a family business. No one in the next generation of the Huls’ family has expressed an interest in continuing the dairy but the faith has been passed down.

Trudy Huls said the legacy of faith came from a solid background.

“For Tim, both grandparents on both sides were believers and both were involved in church,” Trudy Huls said. “Tim’s parents and all of his siblings are believers. We’ve been blessed, both of our kids are.”

Tim Huls said faith is the most important thing.

“One of the reasons our farm has lasted over 100 years in our family is because of faith not because of special cows, our talent, or special fortune.

It is because of faith,” he said.

Trudy Huls agreed.

“When we go to dairy meetings we are often asked ‘how can you keep the family farm going?’ Well, it is not easy but we do have a common faith in the Lord,” she said.

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Tim Huls said he is proud of a different kind of success.

“We’ve been called successful business men and successful farmers,” Tim Huls said. “But to me if all that were to fail but knowing my kids love the Lord and serve the Lord and their faith continues and they serve the community, that is our measure of success.

“It is interesting in that almost all the families we know that are dairy farmers are families of faith. I think partly it is the heritage of that and part of it is the uncertainty of the industry. What we do requires extra faith.”

The Huls explained some of the challenges including the lengthy time of investment in every cow before any profit.

“We invest two years of feed and labor and sweat and tears to keep her alive before we ever get one nickel back from that animal,” Tim Huls said.

“If the milk price drops we can’t stop feeding and providing nutrition.”

Tim Huls said that although there are ups and downs in the dairy business and times of trials for the family they choose to keep the faith.

“Without faith we’d be sunk,” he said. “We trust God and Jesus. He has stretched us a bit but never failed us.”

Trudy Hus agreed.

“He has never failed us,” she said. “Christ is with us going through the troubles.”

Tim Huls said he relies on Matthew 6:34.

“I particularly like the Bible verse that says, ‘Why worry about tomorrow?

The day has enough trouble of its own,’” he said. “That guy’s got cows.”

411 S. 5th Street, Hamilton • St. Philip Benizi - 312 Miles Street, Darby

All masses are at St Francis in Hamilton unless otherwise noted.

Holy Thursday 7pm Good Friday 12pm Holy Saturday 8:30pm

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First Presbyterian Church 1220 West Main, Hamilton

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Please join us in observing the complete Triduum from Holy Thursday through the Easter Sunday celebration.

4 - Ravalli Republic, Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Personal progress knows no age limits STACIE DUCE Ravalli Republic

Women from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Bitterroot Valley stepped up their New Year’s Resolutions a notch this year by participating in a personal progress program designed for the teenage girls of the church. Recent events at various LDS churches in the valley have and will celebrate the progress of the ladies participating in the program.

“I was meeting with leaders of the young women when we realized that the older women could participate,” said Zo’an Dowdle of Stevensville, who is a regional leader for the Relief Society and introduced the idea to the women of the area. “It was a sudden impression that we acted on and it’s been a wonderful thing. Because of the goals I have set personally and what I have accomplished in the last few weeks, I truly feel that I have come closer to Jesus Christ. It’s having a lot more impact on us women than I think we ever imagined.”

Across the United States, the LDS Church uses the Boy Scouts of America program to guide mid-week activities for teenage boys. In parallel fashion, the church designed a program for girls ages 12 to 18 to help them learn skills, develop character traits and participate in worthwhile service. Like an Eagle Scout, the girls can earn a Young Womanhood in Excellence Award and be recognized for the development acquired along the way. For most young women, it takes years to earn the award. For the LDS women participating in the 2016 challenge, they are attempting to earn the same award in 12 to 20 weeks.

Some of the goals in week one include praying daily, paying a full tithe and living within a budget. Each week, challenges increase like serving a family member, reading the scriptures and being a peacemaker. The goals are also divided into the values of faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity and virtue.

The women must also complete several 10-hour service projects in order to earn the award. The group set up a Facebook page to show the progress of some of these projects that include writing in gratitude journals,

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sewing blankets for charitable organizations, mentoring a child, improving cooking skills and doing family history research. Dowdle posted a picture of a bathroom she and her daughter remodeled together.

Betty Recht of Hamilton posted, “After the busy holidays, I was ready for some structure and order. I also wanted a challenge so this program fit perfectly.”

Karren McLean of Hamilton posted that she originally had no intention of signing up for the program, but did get a late start after realizing the challenge would help increase her faith. “Even though I’m late signing up, I actually started that very day,” she posted.

The Personal Progress program originated in the early 1980s so many women older than 50 never had the opportunity to earn the award. Also, any woman joining the church as an adult, did not participate. They may have served as leaders of young women and helped them along their journey, while never having the chance to earn it themselves. Other younger ladies who may have earned the award when they were teenagers decided to participate again to earn an “honor bee.” The extra award is often earned by the young women as well who want to keep challenging themselves after they have earned the award and corresponding medallion.

Suzanne Higginson posted her confession, “So I just finished this insanity for my personal progress for young women. I know it was supposed to take me 10 hours, however, I am not crafty at all. So it took me more like 25 hours. I have a new respect for those that do counted cross-stitch.

Wowzers.”

Sara Hill posted, “I’m thrilled to be joining you all in working towards earning my Personal Progress Recognition Award. It is something I have always regretting not doing as a youth. But as I have been working on it now as an adult, I am enjoying the blessings it is bringing me and my family. I wish every woman would set these goals – they are such an inspired way to give your life a better focus.”

Sandy Kirkland of Corvallis posted that she is participating in the 12-week program “to stay close to my Savior and to share my love with my family and daughter who has already earned her medallion and is earning her honor bee. She amazes me with her goals in life. I have earned my medallion as a youth, but love what it teaches.”

Traditionally, all of the girls who finished the final requirements to earn their award are recognized at an event in Stevensville each November. It is anticipated that more than a dozen older women will also be recognized at the end of this year for earning the award as well.

“All of the young women who earn their personal progress award are wonderful leaders in their schools, in their communities and in their homes,” Dowdle said. “To know so many women are working toward the same goal is wonderful and will truly have an impact on our community.”

Ravalli Republic, Wednesday, March 23, 2016 - 5

Duce’s Wild:

A hymn by any other name may not be the same I was sitting in church last week and singing a familiar hymn to begin the meeting.

Holding the hymnal with the older woman sitting next to me, she silently pointed and raised her eyebrows as the STACIE DUCE chorister repeatedly sang one of the last words of the chorus differently than what was written. I understood why. At some point from the time I was a little girl until now, the text had been changed. So the original word was part of the melody in my head, no matter what I was actually singing.

It was an innocuous change, but reminded me how powerful every word of every sacred hymn can be.

Recently, I’ve read about individuals and groups who are attempting to change more words of classic hymns to make church-goers feel more comfortable. Brian McLaren is a Christian pastor who is campaigning to make an adjustment to the second line of “Amazing Grace.” He would like to alter the phrase “saved a wretch like me” for something less dramatic like “saved someone like me.” He told a reporter that he thinks church members will hardly notice, but someone coming to church for the first time will be less startled at having to call themselves a “wretch” in song.

Another hymn-altering movement is to change gendered pronouns like “men” to “all” and to describe God as less menacing. A few years ago, a group was attempting to compile a new Presbyterian hymnal and changed words of one hymn from “On that cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied” to “the love of God was magnified.”

Other church groups have changed the lyrics of older hymns to match their beliefs. For instance, in a mid-century hymnal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the beloved Christmas hymn, “Joy to the Word” was changed slightly so the lyrics read “Joy to the world, the Lord will come.” Personally, I doubt anyone sang that new version and so when a new edition of the official hymnal was printed in the 1980s, the church changed the lyrics back to “the Lord has come.”

At this time of year, many resurrection-themed hymns remind us of beliefs that the Lord has come and will come again. It takes only a small amount of faith to sing those lyrics, but a large amount of faith to live that belief in action and word. Hymns can help.

My little girl developed a new fear recently and then told me that

she sings church songs when she wants to work through her anxiety.

I’ve done the same thing in many circumstances. I’m grateful Sunday church attendance has given her and me useful tools for spiritual recentering.

For some, singing hymns is the best part of church attendance.

Others sit in silence presumably because they think they can’t sing well. I’ll always remember the sound of my maternal grandfather’s singing voice. It wasn’t pretty or melodic, but he sang out strong as a symbol of his faith. As such, I encourage all to sing as if only the Lord and his merciful ears can hear and accept the praise you’re offering.

And if those words in your heart aren’t necessarily the ones printed in new hymnals, sing what represents your faith and experience – because even congregational singing can be a private, spiritual experience.

Stacie Duce writes regularly for the Ravalli Republic and can be reached at duceswild7@gmail.com

Faith Lutheran Church

171 Lewis Lane, Hamilton (east from Murdoch’s)

Maundy Thursday Faith Family Passover, March 24th at 6:00pm Good Friday, March 25th at Noon Easter Sunday, March 27th, at 8:00am and 10:00am Scholarship Breakfast at 9:15am Weekly Worship Sundays at 9:30am faithlutheranhamilton.org 406.363.2964

Faith… ... a living, daring confidence in God’s grace.

Martin Luther

6 - Ravalli Republic, Wednesday, March 23, 2016

What’s ‘Good’ about Good Friday?

Matt Leopold Pastor Corvallis Community Church

Each year, Christians around the world commemorate the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and celebrate His resurrection on Easter or Resurrection Sunday.

We have a sense of the emotional roller coaster the disciples were on beginning the week prior to the Lord’s crucifixion.

Fulfilling prophecy, the Lord rode into Jerusalem to the praise of the people (Matthew 21; Psalm 118:26; Isaiah 62:11; Zechariah 9:9).

In all the excitement, the disciples believed this was finally the time when the Messiah would deliver the nation of Israel from her foes. On Tuesday, Jesus revealed the signs of the coming Kingdom in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25). On Wednesday, Judas Iscariot made arrangements for the betrayal of the Lord with the chief priests. Thursday at sunset, Passover officially began. The disciples arranged to spend that evening celebrating the last Passover Supper the Lord would partake of. During that

evening Jesus poured out His heart, challenged His disciples to love one another, spoke of leaving them and sending the Holy Spirit as the divine Helper, and most importantly, He prayed for them (John 13-17).

Afterward, they went out to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus experienced the most intense form of agony anticipating the wrath of God against the sin that He would bear.

At this point, Jesus is betrayed by Judas and taken into custody where he endures an exhausting evening and early morning of “trials” appearing before the Sanhedrin Council, Pilate, Herod, and then back to Pilate. Then the flogging begins. This was only the beginning of what would become a lengthy battle against physical and emotional torture, enduring the pain, mockery, and shame of crucifixion. God’s eternal clock was ticking.

By 9 a.m. that morning, Jesus was crucified (Mark 15:25). He hung on the cross for six hours when Joseph of Arimathea sought permission to place the body of the Lord in his own tomb by 3 p.m. In everything, the Scriptures were fulfilled.

Friday was an extraordinary day. For most people, the day began by witnessing the capital punishment of three individuals. But at noon, a supernatural darkness enshrouded the earth, followed by a violent earthquake, which is even recorded outside of Scripture in the journals of various leaders of nations around the earth.

In what universe could that particular day be considered “good?”

The word “good” in English has to do with being of a favorable character or free from infirmity or sorrow. I don’t believe any of the disciples or relatives of Jesus would have considered it good.

English is the only language that calls the Friday before Easter “Good Friday.” Other languages call it “Mourning Friday,” or “Black Friday.”

It has been suggested that the word “good” was used interchangeably with “God.” The saying “good-bye” seems to have originated from the longer phrase “God be with you.” So Good Friday once meant “God’s Friday.” I think it’s appropriate considering that the cross was “the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God” spoken of in Acts 2:23. Jesus Christ was delivered up to death on the cross by the eternal purpose of God who declared Him to be both Lord and Christ because of His resurrection and victory over death.

So God’s Friday becomes Good Friday in view of the cross. Here, sinners are made righteous and receive the forgiveness of sins.

Eternal redemption is found only in the work of Christ. What a great hope every Christian has knowing that not even the death of God Himself can overcome the eternal purposes that He has declared from the beginning of time. That makes it Good Friday indeed!

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Christ’s Bible Church is an historic treasure

Ed Pomelear, pastor at Christ Bible Church.

STACIE DUCE Ravalli Republic

When Marcus Daly’s attorney, Charles Crutchfield, didn’t want to attend the Catholic Church built on the same block as his stately home on Fifth Street in Hamilton, Daly built a Presbyterian church across the street to accommodate his faith.

Daly recruited a Presbyterian minister from Pennsylvania and the first services were held July 3, 1893.

Today, Pastor Ed Pomelear wishes he knew more about the history of the building and the congregations of the past, but instead he looks to the

photo stacie duce

future and the needs of his small, but cohesive flock at what is now Christ’s Bible Church.

In 1954, the current congregation began meeting in the quaint sanctuary when the Presbyterians built a larger building on West Main Street. Within a decade, they were able to buy the building and construct a concrete baptismal font behind the pulpit area.

Shirley Ash was a teenager when her parents helped the faithful group make the transition and investment. Her future husband, Warren, was also a member of the congregation. Together, they still attend every Sunday and for decades have been pillars of service amid the group, especially

8 - Ravalli Republic, Wednesday, December 18, 2012

when it comes to cleaning and maintenance of the building, Pomelear said.

“They’re a lovely couple,” he said. “They love the church and have been such a strength.”

Christ’s Bible Church is affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Bible Mission – an umbrella organization for 18 rural churches and missionary service in Montana and Idaho. Ed and his wife Carol, served for a time at the Lolo Community Church – the largest of the group – but have been in Hamilton for exactly 18 years and live in the parsonage right next door.

The Pomelears are preparing for their traditional Easter Sunrise Service that is held at 7:30 a.m. on Easter morning at Kiwanis Park.

“Afterwards, we meet back at the church for a potluck lunch,” he said. “I fry eggs and everyone brings something to share. We have a new member from North Carolina who brings grits, so our meal now has a southern flair, for those who like it.”

Aside from fellowship, Pomelear said his focus is always, “to teach people how to follow Christ and to do it faithfully. We are all Bible-believing people and we all love Christ. We try to live our lives by the Bible’s teachings and help our community.”

Pomelear conducts a Bible study for all ages every Sunday morning at 9:45 a.m. The hour-long Sunday services begin at 11 a.m.

“We have a teacher standing in the wings ready to teach a lesson to grade school kids if needed,” he said, “but right now, we only have one family with six young children who has Sunday School in their own home.”

Pomelear said average Sunday attendance ranges from 10 to 25 although the building could accommodate many more families.

“We would all like some numerical growth, but we’re more concerned

about spiritual growth of our members,” he said.

He also leads a men’s Bible study group on Fridays at 8:30 a.m. for a group of retired men and has been able to mentor several young men on their path to becoming ministers. For 15 years, the congregation has offered a live nativity at Christmas time and they host a Vacation Bible School every summer.

“One of our vital ministries for the last 12 years or so has been ‘God’s Girls’ led by Ellen Holton,” he said. “Every Wednesday afternoon, I buy pizza and she offers a Bible lesson and an activity that teaches high school and middle schools girls how they can be like God’s girls and develop a strong character. We count that as very vital to our church’s mission.”

Although the church has a long heritage in Hamilton, Pomelear said he is envious of congregations who have been able to afford keeping the buildings up to National Registry standards.

“We’ve done the best we could over the years,” he said. “Unfortunately, that meant covering the original lap board twice because it was cheaper for our small congregation. But we are proud of this place. We’ve got a large fellowship hall downstairs that holds about 100 people and we’ve kept the sanctuary as it should be.”

With bright, springtime light shining through the six original stained glass windows, Pomelear said he’s optimistic about the future of his congregation.

“We all love Christ and that’s the most important thing,” he said.

For more information on Christ’s Bible Church, call 406.363.3390 or visit Pastor Ed Pomelear at his office on the corner of Fifth and Madison streets in Hamilton.

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