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The Bethlehem
Lutheran Church of Valentine was situated at the end of Main Street
on the plaza. The dusty boulevard cut through the heart of the
business district and led directly to the church. The Church was
north of the community edifices. On the east-side of the road were
the school, municipal building, bank, general store and cablegram
service. The west-side was home to Doctor Thomasen, the hotel, barber
(Charles Mitchell Sageser referred to himself as a “Tonsorial
Artist”), post office, the Green and Green Law firm, and the
printing press for the Valentine Democrat. These businesses occupied
the plots along Main Street and were the soul of the town. The end of
the road on the south end met up with an informal trail that split
off toward farms, homes, and if one were so inclined, eventually
Sioux City to the East and Denver to the Southwest.
The Leader walked
past the Church to the house to the rear. He gave four evenly paced
knocks on the pine door. They were firm knocks but did not betray
any sense of urgency. There was no alarm in his knock. He paused
and waited. The door opened before the leader repeated his arrival
declaration. Pastor Grant was exuberant.
Otis Grant was the
head of the largest church in the community. He had a healthy
congregation at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. They dutifully attended Sunday services, attendance was consistently high. They tithed. The
choir was a social coterie of most enviable status. Outside of
church though, Pastor Grant was lonely. He had a healthy personal
relationship with Christ, but his flock rarely sought his council.
He was their shepherd and he had an obedient herd but they did not
come to him for advocacy. The members invited him over for an
obligatory dinner to keep up appearances, but seemed to attend the
church out of duty only. It was expected. Not necessarily out
of their faith, it was the implicit commitment among the community.
One simply did not miss church.
Grant was an
outsider to the community, having been assigned a few years before.
Only one parishioner regularly sought his advice and company, Joseph
the carpenter. Joseph was a man truly devout in his faith. He had a
beautiful wife and a pair of lovely young daughters. Nearly daily he
visited Otis at his house for a discussion. Joseph's
understanding of the Bible rivaled Pastor Grant's. Truth be told,
sometimes it was Otis who sought advise from Joseph, or at least
perspective.
When the knocking
on his door revealed somebody other than Joseph he
was jubilant. Though a stranger, he was more than happy to welcome
him into his home and play the role of cordial host. “Come on in,
there are no strangers in my home. What can I do for you? Would you
like some coffee?” The Leader grinned and stepped over the
threshold.
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