By Karen Evans, former member
Dear Sisters in Christ,
At some point at Gethsemane you will be asked if you would like to join a Circle. You might respond by saying, “What is a Circle and what do you do in a Circle?” Or you might recall all of those Jell-O salads your mother or grandmother used to make for funerals and think, "No way!"
A Circle is a group of women who allow God to work in them, among them, and through them. Although I have been a Circle member for many years, I can’t define a Circle. Because God is at work in each Circle member and in the Circle as a group, each Circle is unique. I can tell you how God placed a group of wonderful, Christian women (Circle members) in my life to hold and uphold me.
When my boys were young and I felt the stress of being overextended as a wife, mother and full-time employee, it was in my Circle that I was comforted to know that I was not alone in these feelings.
When I lacked joy, my Circle members lifted me with laughter and helped me understand that life’s everyday chores performed without complaint were pleasing to God.
When God nudged me to deepen my faith and when I didn’t know how I could accomplish that with an already busy schedule, God met me in our Circle’s Bible study which did not require at-home preparation.
When I did not feel valuable to or a part of this community of faith, a hug or a smile from a Circle member reassured me of God’s love and acceptance.
When I had breast cancer, my Circle members went to their knees in prayer for me and for my family, attended to our needs by bringing meals and showed us God’s love, compassion and hope.
By God’s grace, a Circle can be a group of women:
- Who are led by the Holy Spirit to grow closer to God through study of the Word.
- Who nurture, support, care for, encourage and affirm one another in word and deed.
- Who are connected in and by Christ to a community of women throughout the world.
- Who discover and share their God-given abilities and gifts through service to members of their Circle, their congregation and their community.
It is my fervent prayer that you will find a warm and welcoming Circle in which you can grow in God’s love and grace.
There's a Circle for You
All women at Gethsemane are invited to join a Circle. There are many Circles at Gethsemane—of various sizes and with varying interests and meeting times. However, you are also welcome to start your own Circle! For more information please contact Mary Pederson at 952-935-6680 or Brenda Eckes at 952-938-3519.
A commitment to community participation and service has always been a way of life for Krista Furan.
The second oldest of five siblings, Krista Maus grew up on a farm in Watkins, a “very small town” about an hour west of the Twin Cities. She describes small-town life as somewhat insular. She grew up Catholic and went to Catholic school until she reached the 8th grade. “I could still name every kid in my class to this day. And I still keep in touch with some of them,” she said.
Being involved in the community and in extra-curricular activities was expected, and a “very big deal,” she said. She played piano, joined the marching band, played softball and volleyball, and went skiing and snowboarding almost every weekend in the winter with her brothers and sisters, a “lifetime sport that stuck with me,” she said. The family also went camping often, another activity she continues to enjoy.
Anyone who knows Krista is likely not at all surprised that she was an active kid. In addition to music and sports, Krista volunteered regularly at the local nursing home, and got her first job there when she turned 16. She continued to work there until she graduated high school.
Girl Scouts were also “a very big deal in a small town,” she said. She participated fully and enthusiastically until around Junior High; her mom was a troop leader.
The family was also committed to their church community and attended worship every Sunday, even when they were camping. Her parents were involved in Bible studies and modeled servant leadership by serving on the church council and in a variety of volunteer roles.
After graduation she decided she needed a change from the small town life and chose to attend college at the U of M in Duluth. “I really wanted to go where no one else was going,” she said. “I really wanted to be on my own.”
Though she had always done well in school and knew college was the logical next step, she struggled with identifying a major, much less a vocation. The summer after her sophomore year she took a live-in nanny position in the Cities, and that fall she transferred to the U of M in Minneapolis along with some friends. She ultimately chose a major in kinesiology as the quickest path to graduation.
She took a part-time job at Regis Corporation while attending school, and that’s where she met Brian Furan. Though at first she had reservations about dating someone from work, they were engaged 3 years later.
After graduation she was hired full time at Regis Corp. in the advertising and project management department, experience that led to her current position in project management at a company called Digital 1Stop. It’s a good fit for Krista, and she enjoys her work.
There was one thing she always knew was in her future, however, and that was being a mom. “That was one thing I could always see when I thought about the future,” she said. “I played ‘house’ all the time as a kid; I always wanted to be in charge.” Benjamin was born just before Krista and Brian’s 2nd anniversary, and Nathan followed 16 months later. Naturally, the boys are already involved in a number of extra-curricular activities.
It was when the couple was expecting Ben about 8 years ago that they decided it was time to find a church home. Brian grew up Lutheran so they began visiting a lot of different churches “with a totally open mind,” looking for a place they could both feel comfortable and establish roots. Gethsemane was close to home, not too big or too small, and they both felt welcomed immediately. Krista said the worship service was very similar to the Catholic mass she attended growing up, so it felt familiar. Though she did worry briefly about what her mother and grandmother would think about her joining a Lutheran church, her family has been very supportive.
Brian began volunteering as an usher right after they joined, and Krista said that’s what initially got them to church on a regular basis. They began attending Family Ministry events soon after Ben was born and Krista said it was a great way to start building relationships. When Ben turned 3 and enrolled in Vacation Bible School and Sunday School, they became even more involved.
She has continued to be an active member of the church community by teaching Sunday School, helping plan and teach Vacation Bible School, serving on the Family Ministry Board and as Mary Circle chair, and volunteering as a Sunday morning greeter with her family. Along the way, she has developed spiritual friendships that she expects will be lifelong.
She said it feels like there is a new energy at Gethsemane, and she’s excited by new church initiatives and developments in technology such as Access Gethsemane.
“It’s funny how we moved from the back pew to the front pew,” she said. Involvement and participation in church life is what makes it feel like a community, a home. “It’s definitely become more a part of our lives than just a place we go,” she said. “The boys take their shoes off at the door.”
by Amy Furan
Gethsemane’s Scandinavian Fall Fair is valued as a colorful experience of friendship and creativity, but funds raised by the Fair do solid work in meeting needs both at Gethsemane and beyond our walls.
A distribution of funds from the 2008 Fair recently approved by the Gethsemane Church Women reveals a broad array of contributions to a variety of projects.
A total of $7,950 given in support of outreach includes gifts ranging from $200 to $1,500 to: Chapel View, Amazing Grace, Luther Seminary Friends, Lutheran Social Service, Hopkins-Minnetonka Family Resource Center, Sojourner Shelter, Peter and Solvei Stohl, Vail Place, Feed My Starving Children, Simpson Housing Services, Dinner at Your Door, Community Emergency Services, Lutheran World Relief and Coral Rose.
Gifts ranging from $200 to $2,000 were made to programs at Gethsemane for a total of $8,050. These included: After School for Kids (ASK), wages for our Kitchen Coordinator, Gethsemane Children and Youth Ministries, Choir, Habitat for Humanity, the Gethsemane sound system, and the GCW reserve fund.
When Carol Rodine drove into Minneapolis recently to make a warehouse drop of 35 quilts, three layettes and nine sewing kits, it marked the final delivery for 2008 of the warm-hearted handiwork of Gethsemane’s needlework crews. Distributed locally through Lutheran Social Services and globally through Lutheran World Relief, the 2008 totals were 313 quilts, 160 layettes, and 140 sewing kits. Louise Swanson has moved away and can no longer attend quilting, but yard is sent to her and she knit 113 hats during the year.
An average of at least a dozen women take part in quilting each Wednesday, and seven regularly take part in the layette project. The sewing kits “happen by chance,” according to Carol. They’re a kind of bonus; whenever there is a donation of fabric three yards or more in length, it becomes the nucleus of a sewing kit sent overseas.
Last year Davey and Phil Hovander funded all the needles and thread used for the projects. Right now there’s an ample supply of thread, but they can still use needles. The layette project is looking for new or gently-used flannel. Flannel sheets work really well.
On January 7 the quilters met off-site, visiting the stunning new LSS Center for Changing Lives in Minneapolis. The complex, which includes Messiah Church and affordable housing apartments as well as space for LSS consultation services was a real eye-opener. The women were able to see firsthand where their work is stored on the way to those in need.
By Betty Skold
Mystery questions of the week: What is Davey Hovander’s given name? Would you believe...Doris? It does sound a tad proper for a woman noted for wry humor and hard-hitting candor.
Doris Davidson grew up in Climax, Minnesota, a little town in the Red River Valley. When her father, Klaes Magne Davidson immigrated from Sweden, he became the only Swede among a town full of Norwegians. Mrs. Davidson was named Ragne, and Davey had two older siblings, a brother and a sister.
Their father was a garage and implement dealer. Davey confesses that she drove cars back and forth at the tender age of 12. She was an “all-around” kid; she played a lot of baseball with the boys. In high school she got “pretty good grades,” was a cheerleader, sang in the choir and played trumpet in the band. Her reward for church attendance was permission to go to Sunday night dances in a neighboring town.
After high school graduation Davey enrolled at the University of Minnesota. Her roommate showed an immediate distaste for the name “Doris.” “Let’s make it Davey,” she advised, and the nickname was permanently adopted. Her choice of a major (social work) sounded gloomy to Davey’s mother, so she added a Physical Education major to her plans.
As a third-year student she met graduate Phil Hovander on a blind date. The setting was Peggy’s restaurant in South Minneapolis. After dating for a time, Davey conceded that marriage was a great idea but elected to finish school while Phil went off to Hawaii to serve as a communications officer for the Marine Corps. During his two year absence, Davey worked for Pillsbury House, running their camp in Waconia.
After Phil’s return the wedding took place at Gethsemane with Pastor Lasse Stohl conducting the service, followed by a six-month stay at a Marine base in North Carolina. Then, back home to Hopkins. Phil has lived his entire life on North 11th Ave. Their handsome, roomy colonial house is just a block away from the house where he was born.
Of course Davey immediately made herself at home at Gethsemane, Phil’s lifelong church connection. Soon after joining the church she was appointed to the Memorial Foundation Board, a position she held for 18 years.
Gethsemane’s leadership in the middle years of the 20th century was centered in an organization known as Yo-Ma-Co. the name was short for Young Married Couples, even after its members had matured into grandparenthood. The Hovanders were deeply involved in this lively peer group and especially enjoyed working on the legendary St. Lucia Day Smőrgåsbord. One of the last surviving expressions of Gethsemane’s Swedish heritage, by the early ‘50s it had evolved into the Cadillac of church suppers; a wondrous feast of home-cooked Scandinavian delicacies, served in a candlelit setting by costumed waiters and waitresses. Of course Davey worked tirelessly in the church kitchen for Smőrgåsbord, baking krumkake, frying hundreds of rosettes and rolling mountains of meatballs.
It was in the 1920s that Phil’s father Waldo and his brother Herman bought out Johnson’s Meats that later became Hovander’s grocery store. Phil can’t remember a time when he didn’t work in the store. For many years Hovander’s supermarket was “Gethsemane’s store,” a place where most of the employees were members of the church. The store almost automatically supplied the groceries for every parish dinner, wedding and funeral. Even now, many years after he sold the business, Phil’s grocery connection is reflected in the donation of all the turkeys for the annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner.
Davey and Phil’s daughters, Debbie and Brenda, were a part of the Baby Boomer teens who flocked to Gethsemane in the post-war years. There were 98 Confirmands in Debbie’s class. Both daughters retained the Hovander name after marriage. Debbie became a psychologist and Brenda an architect. A few months ago the family was saddened by Debbie’s cancer-related death. She is survived by her husband, David Horstmann and the two daughter they adopted from China. Brenda and her husband, Michael Neets, live just five miles away. An enterprising businesswoman, Brenda buys up properties and rents them out. Their grown children are Jake Blake Hovander, who is studying on scholarship in Romania, and Gail Lindsay Hovander, a French interpreter.
In her spare time Davey enjoys reading and playing bridge. For several years back problems have kept her out of the church kitchen, but the Hovanders can be seen at every 9 o’clock worship, toward the back on the pulpit side. Phil, in his 90th years, is the Gethsemane member with the longest continuous membership.
Doris Davidson, who once changed her name to Davey, later added the “Hovander,” a name she can wear with great pride. In any account of Gethsemane’s history, the name Hovander has come to mean solid commitment and service.
