(North Mankato, MN): The “Friendship Builders” gathered to celebrate Christmas at our house. These senior friends have been meeting together since they were young adults at the Evangelical Covenant Church in lower North Mankato, more than 60 years ago. The group started without a name but with a leader named Waldo Hoaglund. Millie Sandell (my mother-in-law) and Vonnie McGowan (a dear family friend) were part of the original group and are still with us this year.
The group was eventually named “Friendship Builders.” Over the years, the group has built friendships with new members and said farewell to members who have moved to other earthly homes or to their heavenly home. The name of their church changed from Evangelical Covenant Church to Crossview Covenant Church, and the congregation moved from a building in lower North Mankato to a new building on Carol Court in upper North Mankato and finally to a newer building on Howard Drive in upper North Mankato. Always, the group members have given great testimonies to the power of God in their lives. Nowadays, this is the senior fellowship group at our Church. Led by Eleanor Kottke, they gather several times each month for fellowship, worship, learning, and service.
“True community necessitates the presence and interaction of three generations. Too often the church either lacks one of the generations or keeps them apart. The third generation is the generation of memory and without it the other two are locked into the existential present. The first generation is often the generation of vision but vision requires memory. The second generation is the one of present and functions to confront the community with reality, but on its own becomes meaningless. Without interactions between the three generations, Christian community is hard to maintain.” [John Westerhoff, 1976, Will Our Children Have Faith? New York: Seabury Press.]