Sprawling, Shifting Lines
From 10 April
I was late leaving Waukesha. After a late night catching up with my cousin Mariah and brunch with my cousin Catie and her two boys, my afternoon nap that Saturday stretched on a bit longer than it should have. It was a small sacrifice to make for the opportunity to reconnect with family after a long time on the far side of the planet. With the rental car loaded up it was time to hit the road for Northwest Wisconsin and the next stop on the Home Assignment Road Show: Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Baldwin, WI.
During the nine years that I lived in the Twin Cities I must have driven past Baldwin dozens of times. Never really venturing into the town, I'd occasionally pull off to fill up my tank at the Kwik Trip or scarf down a Subway sub for lunch. Located on the eastern edge of the Minneapolis/Saint Paul Metropolitan Area, Baldwin is a community in transition. According to demographic trends from the last ten years, the county in which it is located, St. Croix, has been the fastest growing one in Wisconsin. As the population of the metro area has grown, housing developments, office parks, and shopping centers have been creeping ever-outward along the I-94 corridor.
This sprawling and shifting of lines between urban, suburban, and rural spaces is one that I was vaguely aware of as I shuttled between Minnesota and Southeastern Wisconsin. Now, thanks to the distance of time and a growing interest in the movement of peoples and populations, the changes that have been occurring appear that much much more starkly.
I arrived in Baldwin after 9pm that Saturday night and was graciously welcomed (with ice cream and freshly baked goods!) by a member of the congregation. We chatted a bit about her life's joys and struggles, about her involvement with the different mission activities of the church, the congregation's history, and community life in formerly-small-town Wisconsin. The conversations were picked up again later on Sunday when, after preaching at two services and giving a presentation on Malaysia, I was invited to have lunch with their Mission Committee.
Through our time together, I learned about the town's history and the way in which successive waves of European immigrants were relegated to settle areas on 'the other side of the tracks.' I heard about the congregation's commitment to serve those in need in their community through Food Pantries and Crop Walks as well as the connections that they have made globally, through their support of people like me and in partnership with their companions of the Makota Parish in Malawi. I told stories about my work with ELCA-GM, the YAGM program, and my call to global service. Food was passed, toasts were made, reports were offered, and much laughter was shared all around. It was a delightful visit.
After lunch I continued West to Minneapolis/Saint Paul for a few days of reconnecting with friends. As I drove, I noticed with new eyes the shift between the countryside and approach of the city. I wondered what it must be like to live in a community that experienced a growth rate of nearly 50% over the last ten years. Questions surfaced: What impact do those population changes have on the lives and livelihoods of those who have lived there a long time? How are newcomers received, both in the congregation and the community at large? And, how permeable are the lines between 'residents' and the 'new immigrants' - whatever their original city, state, or nationality may be?
Crossing the St. Croix, and then the Mississippi, migration was again on my mind. . .
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| The Gethsemane Bells - April 2013 |
During the nine years that I lived in the Twin Cities I must have driven past Baldwin dozens of times. Never really venturing into the town, I'd occasionally pull off to fill up my tank at the Kwik Trip or scarf down a Subway sub for lunch. Located on the eastern edge of the Minneapolis/Saint Paul Metropolitan Area, Baldwin is a community in transition. According to demographic trends from the last ten years, the county in which it is located, St. Croix, has been the fastest growing one in Wisconsin. As the population of the metro area has grown, housing developments, office parks, and shopping centers have been creeping ever-outward along the I-94 corridor.
This sprawling and shifting of lines between urban, suburban, and rural spaces is one that I was vaguely aware of as I shuttled between Minnesota and Southeastern Wisconsin. Now, thanks to the distance of time and a growing interest in the movement of peoples and populations, the changes that have been occurring appear that much much more starkly.
I arrived in Baldwin after 9pm that Saturday night and was graciously welcomed (with ice cream and freshly baked goods!) by a member of the congregation. We chatted a bit about her life's joys and struggles, about her involvement with the different mission activities of the church, the congregation's history, and community life in formerly-small-town Wisconsin. The conversations were picked up again later on Sunday when, after preaching at two services and giving a presentation on Malaysia, I was invited to have lunch with their Mission Committee.
Through our time together, I learned about the town's history and the way in which successive waves of European immigrants were relegated to settle areas on 'the other side of the tracks.' I heard about the congregation's commitment to serve those in need in their community through Food Pantries and Crop Walks as well as the connections that they have made globally, through their support of people like me and in partnership with their companions of the Makota Parish in Malawi. I told stories about my work with ELCA-GM, the YAGM program, and my call to global service. Food was passed, toasts were made, reports were offered, and much laughter was shared all around. It was a delightful visit.
After lunch I continued West to Minneapolis/Saint Paul for a few days of reconnecting with friends. As I drove, I noticed with new eyes the shift between the countryside and approach of the city. I wondered what it must be like to live in a community that experienced a growth rate of nearly 50% over the last ten years. Questions surfaced: What impact do those population changes have on the lives and livelihoods of those who have lived there a long time? How are newcomers received, both in the congregation and the community at large? And, how permeable are the lines between 'residents' and the 'new immigrants' - whatever their original city, state, or nationality may be?
Crossing the St. Croix, and then the Mississippi, migration was again on my mind. . .
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