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Winter Sanctuaries
Dec 16, 2020
Christmas time has rolled around again. This season has been a little different than most. First, there is little to no snow, and second, we all have felt the anxiety and angst of a turbulent year. Somehow, the last few months have seemed to ratchet those feelings up a notch. That means it’s a perfect time for a holiday celebrating peace, love and goodwill. As for the lack of snow, I recently heard a wise farmer quip, “If there is going to be a drought, I want it to be in winter.”
Some of my fondest memories of Christmas took place in the church my family attended in Isabel. Starting with the first Sunday in Advent, our little congregation turned up the volume when Christmas hymns came out. With an organ and piano leading the way, we would rattle the windows on “Joy to the World” and make a joyful noise attempting to hit every note on the chorus of “Angels We Have Heard on High.”
The best part of Advent was the Christmas Eve service. Small brown bags full of peanuts, old-fashioned hard candy and apples were handed out on arrival. We’d sing favorite hymns, light candles and then every family exchanged gifts and cards. It seemed every face wore a broad smile. Many of those faces now gone. There was Art the usher, who gave each of us kids a piece of candy after Sunday school. Molly, a widow with the kindest heart you’d ever meet. And Chris, who created the most interesting gifts made of polished agate and other rocks. Incidentally, Chris was also hard of hearing and always revved his car engine to near jet-level decibels when leaving (which we boys loved). I could go on with memories of revered Sunday school teachers, old friends and manger scenes.
I suppose these memories are part of the reason I have enjoyed seeking out and photographing country churches. The buildings are not only pleasing to the eye, but they stand for so much more. Community. Faith. Family. Love. Death. Forgiveness. Hope. These are the things I remember when I think about my time growing up in church.
I started creating an annual “Prairie Sanctuaries” calendar in 2014. Each month features a different country church with a photo taken in that same month. For this month’s column, I thought it would be visually interesting, as well as poignant, to pull together a collection of winter scenes featuring these prairie churches. I’ve included a couple of brand-new photos taken on December 13, a very frosty day in northeast South Dakota. It was some of the only wintry white we’ve experienced this season. Seeing the church steeples and frost immediately put me in the Christmas spirit. As I wandered through the nearby cemeteries and along the wrought iron fences, the memories of all those smiling faces and joyous times at my little church rose up and lingered for a sweet moment like the fading tendrils of smoke from the candles in the window.
Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he's not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.
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