A Little Bird Told Me . . . These Books Are "Tweet!"
Check out the newest additions to our Gethsemane Library. These new books can be found on the second shelf immediately to the left as you enter the library.
Adult Non-Fiction
- Riches Stored in Secret Places by Verdell Davis
- Light In My Darkest Night by Catherine Marshall An intimate glimpse of her season of disappointment and anger with God, offering hope to anyone who has ever experienced spiritual silence and darkness.
- Second Wife, Second Life by Marjorie Holmes
- How To Survive the Loss of a Love by Melba Colgrove, PH. D., Harold Bloomfield, M.D., and Peter McWilliams
Adult Fiction
- Home To Holly Springs by Jan Karon The first of the Father Tim series by the popular author of the Mitford series.
- The Restorer by Sharon Hinck The first in the Sword of the Lyric trilogy
Children
- The Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen ages 4-8
- Today I Feel Silly by Jamie Lee Curtis ages 4-8
- Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Parks When her brother, Mick, is killed, Phoebe Harte’s world was turned upside down. Here is a very real look at a difficult subject by one of today’s most popular authors. ages 9-12
- Landon Snow and the Auctor’s Riddle and Landon Snow and the Shadows of Malus Quidan by R. K. Montgomery ages 9-12
The first step in interviewing Marilyn Zwack and Marge
Campbell should be attach name tags. It is a problem...which is which?
When they started life in Watertown, Minnesota as Marjorie and Marilyn Hammerberg, Marilyn was born first..five minutes ahead of Marge. Their parents, Ruth and Elmer Hammerberg, were totally surprised. They had been “expecting,” but they hadn’t expected twins. Mom was a homemaker, and Dad worked for the telephone company.
The family lived on the edge of town, a location that made it possible to raise a few pigs and chickens. The twins remember having to saw wood or hoe potatoes before their Dad would take them fishing.
In childhood, they say, they were shy and quiet. And obedient! When, as teenagers, their mother sent them shopping for clothes, saying quite firmly that they were size 16, they obediently bought size 16 clothes for their size 12 bodies.
They lived about a mile from school, and on their first day they got lost walking home. Actually they often rolled to school with their clamp-on-roller skates. Bikes (acquired at age 12) took them to Luther League, 4-H and other activities. Their church burned down when they were teens, and Marge and Marilyn were among those who watched it burn.
The code of behavior in the Hammberg household was strict..no movies, no dancing, no lipstick. It was, however, a happy home. “Never once did we hear our parents argue.”
Their father was musical, often playing musical instruments in his telephone truck.
There must have been “something in the water” in Watertown. There were three sets of twins in their high school class of 23.
Have Marilyn and Marge always fit the twins stereotype? They did dress alike when they were small, but in high school, not so much. They’ve always had identical interests and still call each other every day. There’s one difference in their uncanny similarity. Marge will accept a cup of coffee, but Marilyn asks for water. They’ve sometimes attended the twins convention in Twinsville, Ohio.
After high school Marge enrolled at the Minnesota School of Business in Minneapolis..and of course Marilyn did, too. Marilyn found work as a secretary and so did Marge (Marilyn at Pillsbury, and Marge at Lutheran Brotherhood).
One night Marge went to a dance at the Business School, as did Marilyn. That night each of them met the man she would marry. (Gene Stavlo for Marilyn, and Earl Redmond for Marge.) There was a double wedding.
Early in their marriages both “took in” sewing, and both cared for foster children, along with their own.
The Stavlos had five children (three boys and two girls), and the Redmonds had four girls (one of them died.)
The Stavlo family joined Gethsemane in 1955...the Redmonds in 1967.
Marge did secretarial work part-time at Gethsemane with Pastor Harlan Robbins as her boss and Marilyn did duty in the nursery.
Marilyn and Gen Stavlo had a “friendly divorce” after 26 years of marriage, and in 1979 she married Butch Zwack, a neighbor who had been baby sitter for her children.
Marge was widowed in 1968. A mutual friend played matchmaker, introducing her to Jim Campbell, who lived in Pennsylvania. Their marriage soon followed. The Campbells adopted son Tom, and they were also surrogate parents to exchange students from Chile, Colombia, and Sweden.
The twins’ grown children are all close by. Of Marilyn’s five, Scott Stavlo is in Hopkins, Paul in Elk River, Tammi in Champlin, Dane in New Hope, and Cherry Hempel in Waterville. Of
Marge’s four, Debbie Kapinos lives in Bethel, Kim Corkins in St. Bonifacius, Kelle De Costa in Elk River, and Tom Campbell in Shakopee. Both twins are grandmothers as well as great-grandmothers.
Gethsemane’s kitchen is a home away from home for Marge and Marilyn. They’re in charge of preparing dinners for the ASK (After School for Kids) program and are also involved in serving funeral luncheons.
Both twins are members of Dorcas Circle. Together they sew about 40 school bags a year for Lutheran World Relief, colorful containers that are filled with school supplies by other circle members.
In a project called Sew Much Comfort, they produce adaptive clothing for amputees and other disabled servicemen. Utilizing a generous amount of Velcro and elastic, the clothes are designed to simplify the dressing task.
Marge Campbell and Marilyn Zwack, two of a kind and a double blessing for Gethsemane church.
Cross-country skiing in winter, biking in the summer, conducting exercise classes every Monday morning at church, stuffing the tract racks with health brochures…Charlotte Bolla is Gethsemane’s energetic fitness guru.
As a kid growing up in New Ulm, Char was a tree-climbing tomboy, and decades later the image hasn’t changed much.
Char’s dad, Ben Krahn, was in the monument business; her mother, Meta, worked as a secretary. They had met at a wedding in Milwaukee before settling down in New Ulm. Char’s sister, born with spina bifida, died at age two, and she had one older brother, Roy. The family made their home in an apartment above the monument shop.
“At New Ulm public high school I tried everything,” she recalls, “badminton, softball, the junior play…”
She was college age when all the boys began leaving for World War II military service, and Char signed on to the Cadet Nursing program at the University of Minnesota, training at General Hospital. After graduation in 1946 she earned $10 a day caring for polio patients at the University Hospital.
A fellow nurse, Marie Bolla, invited Char to her home for dinner. Marie’s brother John was off somewhere with the Navy, but his family and Char “got to look each other over.” She became Mrs. John Bolla in 1947.
After his Navy discharge, John became an accountant, then comptroller for Farmers and Mechanics Bank.
Char’s nursing career was put on hold when she became pregnant with Anne. As three more girls and a boy filled their nest, she was content to be a stay-at-home mom. When the kids were all in school she began a 20-year service as a nurse practitioner for Planned Parenthood.
When the family outgrew their house on Beard Avenue South in Minneapolis they moved to April Lane in Hopkins. Their church for five years was Zion Lutheran, but Char’s good friend and neighbor, Virginia Prior, lobbied enthusiastically for Gethsemane, showering her with parish literature and inviting her to attend. Eighteen years ago the Bollas transferred to Gethsemane. In her new church home, Char joined Virginia’s circle and sang alto in the church choir.
It was Merle Knutson who set up a parish nursing program at Gethsemane. It was natural for Char to work with Merle. She took a preparation course, then took over the part-time position as parish nurse in 2000.
“It was rewarding,” she recalls. She kept in contact with those on the sick list, did blood pressure checks, assisted with services of healing, and promoted the use of Life Line for members living alone. Char has allowed her RN accreditation to expire and no longer holds the position, but she believes in the work. Although it’s no longer officially her assignment, she still feels a special concern for the health of Gethsemane’s members.
Three of the Bolla’s grown children live in Minneapolis, and two in California. Nee, a financial manager for a women’s health group, lives in California. Katie Bolla is a nurse. She lives in California with her carpenter husband, Pat Ford, and their two sons. Jack is single, is lead engineer at a small hotel, and lives in Minneapolis. Jane is divorced, manages several small HMOs and lives in Minneapolis. Mary Bolla and her husband, Don Ness, have two teenagers, 16 and 18. They are also a Minneapolis family, and Mary works for U-Care.
It was Char Bolla who got Gethsemane’s After School for Kids program started six years ago after noting Mizpah’s successful effort. A corps of volunteers works with about 40 kids on Thursday afternoons, helping them with schoolwork, playing games and serving supper to the children and their families. Char also enjoys working with a church group that produces quality, hand-stitched quilts.
Away from church, Char is a backyard birder and an enthusiastic gardener. She is also an avid biker; every year she takes part in the St. Paul Classic bike ride, a marathon achievement.
Charlotte Bolla’s hopes for Gethsemane’s future include a permanent commitment to a parish nurse program. Thus far the money hasn’t been there to support a salaried position, but it is a need that is being recognized by increasing numbers of neighboring churches.
Three years ago the Deborah Circle decided to provide midwife kits to Global Health Ministries (GHM) as a service project. Since then they have provided nearly 200 kits. The kits are assembled in the fellowship hall on special activity days. Each kit includes the following items:
- one regular size bath bath towel
- one wash cloth
- one 36 inch square sheeting for mother to lie on
- one bath size bar of Ivory soap
- one small cotton or flannel shirt (to waist only as babies do not wear diapers)
- one receiving blanket
- one newborn stocking cap
- one pair non-latex gloves
- one new razor blade (single edge, safety wrapped) to cut umbilical cord
- two white cord ties-- 8 inches long of heavy cotton string or yarn to tie umbilical cord
The shirts are sewn by Deborah Circle members and the wonderful caps are knit by Mabel Nielsen. Follow the links below for more information on this project and the other good things being done at Global Health Ministries.
The kits will be used by local midwives in Africa, India, Madagascar, and New Guinea.
Click here to visit the GHM website
Click here to read more about the Midwife kits
Click here to view Photo Album
Three years ago the Deborah Circle decided to provide midwife kits to Global Health Ministries (GHM) as a service project. Since then they have provided nearly 200 kits. The kits are assembled in the fellowship hall on special activity days. Each kit includes the following items:
- one regular size bath bath towel
- one wash cloth
- one 36 inch square sheeting for mother to lie on
- one bath size bar of Ivory soap
- one small cotton or flannel shirt (to waist only as babies do not wear diapers)
- one receiving blanket
- one newborn stocking cap
- one pair non-latex gloves
- one new razor blade (single edge, safety wrapped) to cut umbilical cord
- two white cord ties-- 8 inches long of heavy cotton string or yarn to tie umbilical cord
The shirts are sewn by Deborah Circle members and the wonderful caps are knit by Mabel Nielsen. Follow the links below for more information on this project and the other good things being done at Global Health Ministries.
The kits will be used by local midwives in Africa, India, Madagascar, and New Guinea.
Click here to visit the GHM website
Click here to read more about the Midwife kits
Click here to view Photo Album
Lenten Offerings in Library
Begin your Lenten journey with resources from our Gethsemane library. Browse our display and allow these inspiring materials deepen your reflection and renewal. May these suggestions enrich your experience of the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord.
Staff Picks:
- Walk With Jesus by Henri Nouwen
Discover the 15 Stations of the Cross, painted by Sister Helen David, with Henri Nouwen. Even as humanity is broken, the cross promises healing and hope.
- The Final Week of Jesus by Max Lucado
Max Lucado guides us on a journey from Jesus’ sacrifice to his ultimate victory.
- The Parable of the Lily by Liz Curtis Heiggs
A farmer’s daughter receives a mysterious gift which she neglects and then discards only to find out on Easter morning how special it is.
- The Tale of the Three Trees retold by Angela Elwell Hunt
Three trees dream of grandeur and then discover the greatest recognition comes in humbleness.
Three Youth Join the Library Birthday Club
Best wishes and thank you to Jack, Sarah, Aliese, and their families for donating books in honor of their birthdays.
Jack’s books, Landon Snow and the Auctor’s Riddle and Landon Snow and the Shadows of Malus Quidam, begin a fantasy series about a boy who is swallowed into the pages of an ancient bible. Sarah’s donation, Butterflies Under Our Hats, a beautiful picture book, tells a folktale about how hope is discovered if we just look under our hats. Aliese’s choice, The Restorer, is the first in a fantasy series about a young mother who finds herself pulled through a portal into a foreign culture and reality. Look for a video of Jack, on the Gethsemane web page, receiving his birthday favor as a gift from the congregation. Please consider donating materials to our library in honor of a special young person.
Fair Trade coffee and tea (as well as other products) are sold at Gethsemane on a monthly basis. The Lutheran World Relief Coffee Project ensures that more of the money you spend on coffee reaches the farmers who actually grow it. Fair Trade coffee, tea, and cocoa is sold at Gethsemane every third Sunday. Products can be pre-ordered the first Sunday of each month and picked up and paid for on the third Sunday of each month between services. Email Karla Williams to place your order.
Prices range from $5.50 - $6.50/lb of coffee and $3.50/24 bags of tea. You will be able to special order, order in advance, or make a "cash & carry" purchase every 3rd Sunday. We will have several varieties of coffee and tea available, such as Columbian Decaf, Tanzanian Jubilee, Breakfast Blend, Mind/Body/Soul, English Breakfast Tea, and Organic Green Tea.
Visit http://www.lwr.org/fairtrade/index.html to learn more about the Lutheran World Relief Fair Trade Coffee Project.
Clients of ICA, our local food shelf, really appreciate our donations of fresh vegetables and fruits. As your gardens produce, or when you're visiting the farmers' market, please pick some to donate to ICA. Place your donations in the basket at the foot of the altar on Sundays and we’ll promptly deliver them.
