Final sermons set for this Sunday

FINAL SUNDAY — Pastor Gary Rusinko will deliver his final sermons at Zion Lutheran and St. Paul’s Lutheran this Sunday, May 12. (Star Eagle photo by Kathy Paulsen)

By KATHY PAULSEN

Staff Writer

Some individuals have a special zest for living. They are interested and committed to doing many things. Such an individual is Pastor Gary Rusinko. 

“Pastor Gary” has been an important and successful participant in various occupations that always seemed to be serving others, which he did and continued as he became a minister of God's Word.

Rusinko and his wife, Penny, grew up in Northeast Minneapolis. He served with the Rochester Police Department for six years, and attended Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Rochester.

He then decided to change his profession, and went to work for Mills Fleet Farm in Lakeville. The family moved and joined Hosanna Lutheran Church.

Rusinko was active at both churches where he and his family had been members, but he came to believe that he needed to serve his Lord as a minister.

During his 16 years with Fleet Farm, he worked his way up, finishing as store manager before he was called into the Ministry. Fleet Farm permitted him to attend Luther Seminary while he continued to work for the company.

Rusinko started at Luther Seminary in 1990 and graduated in 1994. He accepted his first call, to a two-point parish with Zion Lutheran of rural Lemond and St. Paul’s Lutheran at Meriden, in 1995.

Both churches where he has been serving are fairly new buildings. Both the Zion Lutheran Church and the St. Paul’s congregation lost their churches to fire, in 1991 and 2000, and went on to rebuild. 

Rusinko has performed a large number of baptisms, weddings and funerals, visited a great number of people in the hospital and nursing homes over the years, confirmed many students in the Lutheran faith, as well as lead a great number of worship services, including special holiday services at Easter and Christmas, something he will miss.

Over the years, Rusinko has been involved with coaching football and golf in Owatonna. He started out volunteering his time with the football program at the Owatonna High School, and was later hired as one of their varsity and B-Squad coaches, and has been coaching there for the past 14 years. He also helps with the boys’ golf team, and hopes to be able to continue coaching after he retires from the ministry.

Rusinko appreciates being able to get to know a large number of high school kids over the years. He has really enjoyed seeing many of them after they graduated. During their visits, he has been able to learn about what careers they pursued, as well as about their families. Keeping in touch with people has been a rewarding part of his life.

Gary and Penny have three children, Brian, Kari and Holly. Brian is married and the father of two daughters, and he and his family live in Dallas – Ft. Worth, Texas area. Neither Kari or Holly are married at this time. Kari lives in New York and Holly lives in Florida. 

Gary and Penny are looking forward to being able to travel more after he retires and hope to be able to spend more time visiting with their children.

Penny has had a rewarding career as well. She began working with the American Bank in Mendota Heights while the Rusinkos lived in Lakeville, and she continues there now, commuting every day.

Due to Rusinko’s retirement, the family had to go house hunting, as they would no longer be able to live in the church parsonage. They are pleased they were able to find a home in Owatonna.

In retirement, Rusinko plans on doing woodworking, playing golf and working around the house. He also plans on looking into Habitat for Humanity in the Owatonna and Waseca areas, as well as the Grandparents for Education program in Owatonna.

We wish him a very blessed retirement and hope he continues to live a rich and happy life.

On Sunday, April 28, St. Paul’s Lutheran at Meriden held an Open House for Pastor Gary, and Zion Lutheran held a farewell party for Pastor Rusinko on Saturday May 4.

Pastor Rusinko will lead his last worship services with these congregations on Sunday, May 12th.

Best selling author to speak in Waseca

On Saturday, May 11, inspirational speaker and best selling author Don Piper will speak at the Central Intermediate School  Auditorium in Waseca. The doors will open at 6 p.m. and the program will begin at 7. Piper is author of the book, “90 Minutes In Heaven.” There is no charge for admission.

Waldorf Area Garage Sales this weekend

Waldorf Area Garage Sales will be held Friday, May 10 from 3-8 p.m. and Saturday, May 11 from 7 a.m. to Noon. Maps available at Dave’s.

By JIM LUTGENS

Editor/Publisher

The understatement of the day came from NRHEG head softball coach Wendy Schultz.

“The girls,” she said, “hit the ball very well tonight.”

Yes, Coach, they did.

The Panthers pounded 21 hits and scored 23 earned runs in a 24-3 Gopher Conference rout at Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton Tuesday, April 30.

The win improved the Panthers to 4-1 in the Gopher Conference and 5-1 overall.

By JIM LUTGENS

Editor/Publisher

The NRHEG girls’ track and field team was having a great night.

Then lightning struck.

It ended the meet after the 400-meter run, and it left the Panthers in first place in the Blooming Prairie True Team Invitational last Tuesday, April 30.

The Panthers, paced by Carlie Wagner and Kayla Lindell, totaled 528.5 points to top the eight-team field. WEM was second with 447.5, Blooming Prairie third at 415.

The discus boys continued to battle it out.

T.J. Schiltz continued to cruise.

Schiltz, already enjoying an excellent spring, won the 1600 meters while Kevin Kalis and Keith Maxon went 2-3 in the discus. The NRHEG boys’ track and field team finished fifth in the lightning-shortened Blooming Prairie True Team Invitational Tuesday, April 30.

“T.J. ran a nice mile for the win,” said Panthers coach Duey Ferber.

Schiltz clocked 4:40.97.

Kalis, meanwhile, tossed the discus 115-11 for second, followed closely by Maxon at 112-3.

The first week of official competition went off pretty well for the NRHEG clay target yeam. Back for a third season, the team this year is fielding 22 shooters. The team ranges in ages from a few students in 6th grade to a small group of seniors and everything in between.  

There are only two girls on the team this year, which is down from years past, but they are both very good shooters. Competing in Conference 6A, the team faces opponents from Brainerd, Woodbury, Cretin-Derham Hall, Kenyon-Wanamingo, LeSeur-Henderson, and Wadena-Deer Creek High schools each week. Competitions are never head to head. 

I received this comment on Roger Bannister in an e-mail. It opened my thoughts and eyes to many possibilities of things I would like to achieve. I hope it does the same for you.

There has to be something you've always wanted to be able to do. It is in your capabilities to do it, but you have to clear away any doubts that cloud your vision in wanting to try.

After finishing fourth, just out of medal contention in the 1500 meters of the 1952 Olympics, British track athlete Roger Bannister set a new goal. A goal that according to many was not only lofty, but also humanly impossible.

At the time, no one had ever run a sub-4 minute mile. No one. In fact, many so-called authorities said it simply couldn’t be done. But Roger didn’t seem to care. His goal was to break 4 minutes, and in a 1954 meet at Oxford, he did just that.

Since that time, thousands of track athletes have run the mile in less than 4 minutes, and what’s most interesting is that the sub-4 minute times came rolling in almost immediately after Roger first accomplished it.

Why then had no one ever accomplished it before?

For years and years, no one, not a single person, was able to do it. Was it because they lacked ability? We don’t think so. Nothing magical happened in 1954 to make human beings instantly faster.

You see, the limitation was 100% mental.

And it took someone like Roger, who didn’t pay attention to what others thought was possible or impossible to remove that limit.

With that mental block removed, in came an influx of sub-4 minute times.

In more recent years, no one thought that a 6'5" lanky sprinter could ever be a true Olympic competitor (sprinters are naturally short and stocky). But although he didn't fit the typical sprinter build, Jamaican Usain Bolt set his mind on being an Olympic Champion at a young age.

And in the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing, Bolt not only accomplished his dream of winning Olympic gold, he did it while completely annihilating world records in both the 100 and 200 meters. And again he reigned #1 in 2012.

Stories like this really inspire me, because they remind me that truly anything is possible.

Sometimes we are surrounded by so much negativity with the people around us placing limits on what we can accomplish, achieve, or be.

You may be someone who has always struggled with your identity and ability, and maybe even your family has a long history of negative thinking. You don’t have to buy into that. 

Break the mold. Remove the limitations — those that others have tried to place on you, and most importantly, those you’ve placed on yourself.

I dare you. See what happens.

The fact is this: You are special. There is greatness inside of you. Wherever you are at, you can achieve more. A LOT more.

And here's another truth: the limitations that others have placed on you can only become reality if you believe them, too.

Are self-limiting beliefs holding YOU back from achieving your best? Or even going after your best?

Don't let it happen. You're better than that. You're bigger than that. And you can achieve more.

It's your turn to believe in yourself.

Today marks the day where you can start thinking like Roger Bannister and Usain Bolt, Carlie Wagner, Maxine Anderson and Jim Hanson.

You are in control of what you can and will achieve...no one else is. Think of what you want to achieve.

Now believe it's possible, because it is.

Get started toward the "impossible" today. You can do it. I believe in you. You are extraordinary. Believe it.

Here are some examples:

An outdoorsman wrote often about the natural environment around him, but he always wanted to write a book. Something held him back until a little hoot turned him on and in his mind he said, "Hey, I can do this, and he did."

A grade school teacher had extra ordinary interest in history. It was so strong she went so far as to share stories she had heard of WWI with her students. Little did she know she stirred interest in the most crucial battles of the war and in the process, motivated at least one of her students to study and look into the authenticity of those stories.

The student went to great lengths to prove the teachers stories not only true but also rich in unbelievable quality. She motivated others to learn "the rest of the story" and opened doors to real historic actions beyond anything remotely popular in fiction.

And another. If anyone had told her in high school she could see California, Alaska, Ireland and Hawaii she probably would have thought, "Yeah, in my wildest dreams." However, the thought was planted. 

She wouldn't believe she could run/walk a 26.2 marathon either, but she did not do it just once, but many times. It was difficult to achieve, but her mind set was strong enough to make it a goal and she did it.

And yet another regarding my cousin, Jim Hanson. His desire was to fly. He asked his parents. 

Yes, he could take flying lessons if he had the money and time. The desire was there and so strong he rode bike to the airport, where he mowed the grounds and took lessons. He peddled newspapers, mowed lawns with one goal in mind.

Fifty years ago, on his 16th birthday, the kid without a car license realized his dream. He "soloed" and accomplished his goal to fly an airplane and receive his pilot’s license. He achieved his goal because he didn't quit. He didn't give in to negative thoughts.

We must believe we are gifted for something and that this thing can be attained by determination, perseverance and hard work. 

"Ordinary people believe only in the possible. Extraordinary people visualize not what is possible or probable, but rather what is impossible. And by visualizing the impossible, they begin to see it as possible." —Cherie Carter-Scott

Some of our Star Eagle readers have commented they like to read about events such as family and school reunions, birthdays and anniversaries, and birth and wedding announcements. In order to read about these important things, we need our faithful readers to pass along the information to us. If you have news, please contact me via e-mail, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; by postal mail, P.O. Box 192, Geneva, MN 56035 or telephone, 507-256-4405.

Birthdays and anniversaries:

• Thursday, May 9th: Elli Pearl Baker, Aidan Jeffrey Schlaak, his 6th; John Jensen, Sue Pence, Jake Simmons, Julie Haroldson, Sue Hohansee, Audrey Horan, Karol Carroll, Nijole Aaseth, Rachelle Doran, Carolyn Greer, Karla Kelly, Jerry Westrum, Jill (Ottesen) & Cam Kehne.

• Friday, May 10th: Tari (Walterman) Erickson, Ryan Callahan, Tina Nelson, Steve Nielsen, Christine Ingvaldson, Dave Oeljenbrun, Mary Wilker, Brody Johnson, Mark & Sara Misgen, Rande & Jamie Nelson.

• Saturday, May 11th: Michaela Ann Hanielton, Jaxon Edward Beavens and Parker Reese Beavens, their 7th; Carol Cromwell Cox, Ed Haberman, Krista Hanson, Troy Janka, Daniel Robertson, Robert Vaith, Loretta Schewe, Scott & Shannon Pacholl.

• Sunday, May 12th: Everal Lageson, Richie Robinson, Dorothy Jensen, Larry & Jean Klocek.

• Monday, May 13th: Brooklyn Christine DuBois, her 10th; David Richards, Rose Glienke, Troy Donahue, Curt Esplan, John Nechanicky, Holly Pence, Tracy Swearingen, Larry Schmidt, Reed Thostenson, Rose Glienke, Alan & Kathy Knudson, John & Barbara.

• Tuesday, May 14th: Clair Dahl, Linda Olson, Anna Mae Peterson, her 8th; Katie Peterson, Ginger Thompson, Bruce Waage, Brad Wayne, Judy VerHey, Mark VerHey, Jeff Christensen, Shannon Krikava.

• Wednesday, May 15th: Carter Hagen, Evan Dobberstein, Megan Grubish, Alex Wayne, Mark Flesche, Dan Hagen, Don Hagen, Nicole Strand Harris, Stephanie Krueger, Neil Berg, Sandy Jensen, Marsha Neitzell, Tammy Thompson, Brett & Jessica Richards, Ralph & Irene Krueger, Jon & Nicole Farr.

Here's hoping that your special day brings you laughter, a light heart and much love.

For some reason, I am having a hard time getting into the mood for this year’s fishing opener. I suppose the 10 or more inches of snow we received this past Wednesday and Thursday may have something to do with that. In spite of the growing list of weather setbacks we have been experiencing, like the snow, the show must go on and next weekend is the official Minnesota fishing opener.

I have been attending the Governor’s Fishing Opener since 1995. Each year is always just a little bit different. In 1996, the opener was held in Bemidji and that was another late year for ice-out. 

I usually leave for the opener early on Friday morning. On this particular opener as I drove past Leech Lake, I noticed that the ice was still on the main lake but the bays were open. The ice on the lake we fished in the Bemidji area had just come off on Wednesday so fishing was not exactly the best. On the way home as I passed Leech Lake, it was now completely open. Amazingly, it took just two nice days for it to look like a totally different lake.

This year’s fishing opener will be in the Park Rapids area and from the news releases that I have been receiving from the Department of Tourism, they assure us that we will be fishing on open water. The Minnesota Department of Tourism, Minnesota DNR and the host community join together to feature a different area of the state each year.

At the core of Minnesota's great fishing is a system of DNR research, management and effective law enforcement. This system has made Minnesota one of the nation's top five angling destinations. It is the foundation that generates $3 billion in annual Minnesota retail sales and supports 43,000 Minnesota fishing-related jobs.

Your license dollars are the fiscal foundation of this fish and wildlife management. License fees increased March 1, 2013, for the first time in 12 years. The increase, which passed in 2012, was critical to maintaining the world class fishing and hunting that Minnesota enjoys.

Each year as the opener approaches, I look forward to learning about the area that I will be fishing. As the time draws near, I also anticipate meeting the person that will be hosting me and my friend Jeff Anderson who is a sportscaster from Watertown, South Dakota. 

I actually met Jeff quite a few years ago at one of the openers and we have been fishing together ever since. The opener is also a time for us to catch up on how our families are and what we’ve been up to for the past year.

In the years that I have been attending this event, I have had the opportunity to meet some very nice folks. Usually I’d refer to the person that I fished with as a “guide,” but they now prefer that we call them “hosts” because most of them are just average or above average fishermen that know the area. 

I have, over the years, fished with some actual guides and also with some that could actually be guides. I have also fished with one or two very nice folks that would probably have a hard time catching a bullhead in Waterville. This is what makes each year unique because not all of the hosts are going to find fish. However, what they can teach you about a lake, or the area that you are fishing is invaluable.

Yes, I will be fishing on “open water,” but what body of water and who I will be fishing with will remain a mystery for a few more days. Good luck to everyone that ventures out for the walleye opener this year.

If last weekend was a preview of things to come for the upcoming fishing season, then it should be a pretty good one. The crappies were biting hot and heavy on Fountain Lake last weekend. All you had to do was take a drive past Hatch Bridge to know that the bite was on.

My grandson Trevor was going to take grandpa fishing Saturday evening but unfortunately an accident with his truck at the landing put those plans on hold. But, I am sure that there will be plenty of those days still ahead. 

The weather on that weekend was just about perfect, and there were limits of crappie being caught as evidenced by the number of fishermen lining the banks of the lake. So on Sunday my grandson Dylan and I decided to give it a try. 

We had planned on fishing by the bridge, but unfortunately so did most of the fishermen in the area. Neither one of us are big fans of fishing in crowds so we opted to go to Edgewater and try our luck from shore. 

This proved to be unproductive so we changed our plans and tried the channel by Frank Hall Park with the same result. Even though we didn’t catch any fish, the time spent fishing with a grandson was reward enough.

Until next time, be safety conscious and don’t forget your life jacket as you head out for this year’s Minnesota walleye fishing opener.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers because they are the reason we are able to enjoy all the freedoms that we have today.

Echoes from the Loafers’ Club Meeting

"How do you pronounce the capital of Kentucky? Is it Louieville or Luisville?"

"I say Louieville."

"You're wrong, it’s Frankfort."

Driving by the Bruces

I have two wonderful neighbors — both named Bruce — who live across the road from each other. Whenever I pass their driveways, thoughts occur to me, such as: I think there are oceans on the moon, but some claim that is luna sea.

I’ve learned

Shoestrings can be used as floss in an emergency.

Not to forget the mashed potatoes when making a bucket list

Anyone can palm a basketball if he lets enough air out of it.

The news from Hartland

Ann Chovey’s Pizza Shop is now serving breakfast. It’s cold pizza.

Conan the Barber provides haircuts while you wait.

Deer hunting by Buick season opens.

Noshing

I sat in a food co-op enjoying a slice of cheese, a scone, and tea.

I said to my much better half, "This is a busy place."

I say that often. Eat joints are busy.

I loved going to the dime store when I was a boy. They sold birds, turtles, hamsters, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Not all on the menu. That was a busy place, too.

I hoped that I wasn’t sitting in someone’s favorite chair in the co-op. That might put him off his feed. I’d visited a small, country church where a woman told me that she had sat in the same pew since she was 11 years old. I’d hoped she’d gotten up a few times. My wife's Aunt Ingeborg had an assigned seat in a pew at Trinity Lutheran for several millenniums. She believed that if she’d changed pews, it would have exhibited a callous disregard for religious tradition.

We aren’t set in our ways. We’re consistent.

Horses without training wheels

Bruce Switzer rode a horse alongside his five-year old grandson on their ranch near Burwell, Nebraska. The little boy slid off his pony. Bruce scrambled from his steed and was relieved to find that his grandson was unhurt. Bruce asked what happened. His grandson replied, "The horse was running faster than I could ride."

Pursuing postcards

I was in a bookstore in Cleveland, Ohio when I found myself attempting to read the tattoo on a young man's forearm. He told me an odd tale of what the letters meant. It made no sense to me, but he seemed chuckled by it. He then smiled, looked around the store and said, "They have some pretty awesome crap here."

I was searching for postcards. I’m a fan of postcards. I send my wife a postcard each night I’m away from home. The bookstore had none. Neither had a hotel, drugstore, or supermarket. I made an executive decision to buy postcards at the airport on my way home. After going through security, I headed to Hudson News, a vendor of books, newspapers, snacks, and other things for travelers. I bought postcards picturing local scenes. After addressing and stamping the postcards, I added appropriate whimsy and embarked on seeking a mailbox. After a grueling search, I gave up. I stopped and asked the clerk at Hudson News where I might find a mailbox. She said there were no mailboxes inside the airport, but there was one located just outside the terminal. That meant I’d have to go through security again. I didn't relish the prospect. My face must have betrayed my thoughts. The kind clerk said that she’d gladly mail the postcards for me when she finished her shift. She did. My wife got the postcards. Things worked out.

It May snow

Phones are amazing. They allow a person to be in two places at once. I did an interview for a radio station in Ohio. I babbled via phone from my home. The host said that it was a sunny 74 degrees outside his studio. He asked me how the weather was in Minnesota. I told him. It was May and 18 inches of snow had fallen in my yard. There was silence, a sin in the radio industry. I assured him that the Buckeye State and the Gopher State used the same calendar.

Nature notes

Roger Batt of Algona asks how an earthworm digs a hole. The earthworm digs a burrow by eating its way through the soil. As the worm digs, it swallows the dirt and digests the decaying plant and food matter in the dirt. The soil passes through the earthworm’s body and is left on the ground in little castings. The earthworm eats itself into house and home.

Meeting adjourned

People think of you as often as you think of them. Be kind.

Do you know what day is an important day in your life Sunday, May 12, 2013? Living or deceased, this is a day set aside to honor a very important person in your life. If they’re living, a nice gift to that VIP could be a solar dancing flower. If deceased, how about, “Thanks, Mom.”

If you do nothing, quit reading, proceed to just north of the I-35-Hope exit, and you’ll be yourself “beyond Hope.”

Have you ever wondered why God did this or how God did that? I had some questions of this nature about moms, so I decided to get my answers from the experts.

I decided second grade Sunday school kids were the most qualified experts on the subject of moms. To get my answers, I posed the following questions to second grade Sunday school children at local churches.

Why did God make mothers?

1. “She’s the only one who knows where the Scotch tape is.”

2. “Mostly to clean house.”

3. “To help us out of there when we were getting burned.”

How did God make mothers?

1. “He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.”

2. “Magic plus super powers and a lot of string.”

3. “God made my Mom just the same like He made me. He just used bigger parts.”

What ingredients are mothers made of?

1. “God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.”

2. “They had to get their start from men’s bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.”

Who’s the boss at your house?

1. “Mom doesn’t want to be boss, but she has to because Dad’s such a goofball.”

2. “Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.”

3. “I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than Dad.”

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?

1. “She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I’d get rid of that.”

2. “I’d make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it, not me.”

3. “I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.”

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mother?

1. “We’re related.”

2. “God knew she likes me a lot more than other people’s moms like me.”

What kind of a little girl was your Mom?

1. “My Mom has always been my Mom and none of that other stuff.”

2. “I don’t know because I wasn’t there. But my guess would be pretty bossy.”

3. “They say she used to be nice.”

Why did your Mom marry your Dad?

1. “My Dad makes the best spaghetti in the world, and my Mom eats a lot.”

2. “She got too old to do anything else with him.”

3. “My Grandma says that Mom didn’t have her thinking cap on.”

What would it take to make your Mom perfect?

1. “On the inside she’s already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.”

2. “Diet. You know, her hair. I’d diet, maybe blue.”

Readers, if there is any feeling of who the second grader reply might be from, it could be more than coincidence! Remember, those boys and girls are from area churches.

———

Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in Volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. Bob says if you enjoy his column, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of wisdom: There is always room for God.