International Falls Daily Journal - March 24, 2008

Kabetogama church bonds entire community, By TOM LAVENTURE, Staff Writer

KABETOGAMA — Churches by nature are open to all community and Kabetogama United Methodist Church is renowned for its welcome.
Faithful of many denominations call the church the most important place in their community. Members and nonmembers alike say the UMC is the only church in the area and a central part in the lives of fulltime and part-time residents.
The UMC pastors come from the Mobile Ministry, under the United Methodist Church Annual Conference of Minnesota, with a mission to offer parsonage to Kabetogama and the Crane Lake Chapel. The conference’ spiritual mission is to make “God’s good news visible in northern Minnesota.” And making ministers available throughout the 1,200 square mile area of extreme northern Minnesota is a big job.
Based at a parsonage in Orr, the Rev. Ruth Gangloff is now in her sixth year as the full time pastor to Kabetogama and Crane Lake Chapel. She drives about 120 miles each Sunday to serve both congregations. She previously served the Aurora-Hoyt Lakes UMC for nine years.
“I am a team pastor, everyone has to work together and I can’t ask for a better team than what I have right here,” said Gangloff. “If I need something all I have to say is boo and it is done. That says a lot about this congregation. The congregation has taken ownership of the Kabetogama United Methodist Church and they are going to make sure that this church is here.”
Church member Gen Carlson said Kabetogama is lucky to have such a dedicated pastor, because not every minister is cut out for the tough assignment of running a remote and rustic church on a small budget. When pastors feel comfortable up here, it makes life easier for everyone, she said.
“We do have a terrific parsonage and it is a tough assignment,” said Carlson. “It is not easy to drive 120 miles every Sunday in the wintertime and so we have been very fortunate.”
Gangloff said the “come as you are” invitation to Kabetogama and Crane Lake means that a suit and tie are the usual accouterments of a visitor. More than its informality, the warm welcome of its members has made Sunday services popular to the cabin goers and vacationers.
“It is surprising how many vacationers take time out to worship the Lord when they are on summer vacation,” said Gangloff.
The Kabetogama community is comprised of a small core of year-round residents. There are also many retired couples that divide their time and are here from April to October. The summer brings vacationers and cabin residents that quadruples church attendance to about 100 people.
Ron and Sandy Moyer joined the congregation in 1999, and recalled there was just one prior Methodist in the church community at the time.
“The rest of us came from various denominations, Lutherans, Catholics, Presbyterians and Baptists,” said Sandy Moyer. “There was one person who became baptized that day and became a member of the church.”
“It is a Methodist church but it is really the Kabetogama community church,” said ****** Carlson, who with his spouse Gen divides their time here with a home in Hudson, Wis.
“Many of us have been coming here for 40 to 50 years, but have just made it our permanent home in the last five to 10 years,” said Vickie Peterson. “Many of us left friends when we moved up here and this takes the place of it very nicely because it is such a warm and welcoming area.”
That the church exists at all is a testament to a small but determined community. That it continues so strong today is the legacy of its core members in creating an open and welcoming environment for people of all faiths. It needed to be this way to work in a vacation and cabin area.
Kabetogama UMC began with the conference mission in 1961, and services held in private residences until the church was built in 1963.
According to Edward Town, a charter member of the church, the original building construction began in October 1962 and began to hold services in the spring. Their goal was “to serve and provide to the spiritual needs of the people who have come into the area,” said Town.
“It’s been a challenge but it’s been really rewarding,” he added. “When we paid for the original construction of the church, we had two cents left in the checking account — and that’s gospel.”
The Kabetogama church is a destination stop for the beauty of the sanctuary. Its pulpit, baptismal font, candelabra and altar were all hand-carved by Herman Melheim, who lived in the area and was a church member.
The church remodeling in 2002 was an effort that began with an administration board discussion about painting the sanctuary, according to Sandy Moyer. “Within 45 minutes it had gone from painting the sanctuary to totally remodeling the building,” she added.
All of the labor was voluntary with the exception of the carpeting. They installed new siding, windows and raised the flat ceiling to a cathedral style arch. A drywall contractor who cabined in the area agreed to install sheetrock for no charge because his parents had be so welcomed by the church.
There is nothing else to replicate this importance of the church as both a spiritual and community center, say the residents. They could have the nicest home on the lake, but it is the sense of community here that makes this place special to them.
“There is no more important place on the lake than this church,” said Moyer.
Gangloff credits the core members with creating the welcoming environment and spreading the good word in various ways. They hold blueberry pancake breakfasts, soup suppers, after service coffee, bazaars, an ecumenical vacation bible school and will make the building available to non-church related group meetings and an AA group.
“We don’t turn people down if they want to use it for meetings, gatherings, weddings or funerals,” said Vickie Peterson. “It fills a great need even for people who are not members.”
The members are also present in many local activities and their visibility is positive outreach for the church. They support the Heifer Project and many nonprofit programs. They also offer several scholarships to local students to attend any type of post secondary education, whether they are church members or not.
Kabetogama UMC has Sunday 9 a.m. services, and with a potluck to follow worship on the first Sunday of each month. It is located at 9853 Gamma Road, Lake Kabetogama. Call 218-875-3010. The Crane Lake Chapel is located at 7399 Handberg Road, Crane Lake. Call 218-993-2325.