Christmas
- December 23, 2025As Christmas arrives once again, it comes into a world that longs for hope and truth. For Christians everywhere, Christmas is not simply a celebration of tradition, nostalgia or seasonal cheer. It is the bold proclamation that God chooses to come close; fully present in human vulnerability, as a baby, wrapped not in power but in love. The Christmas story, told in the Gospel of Luke, begins far…
By Brenda Winter, ColumnistDecember 09, 2025It was Christmas 1967, or maybe '68. My four-year-old eyes were wide with wonder as I cradled the new Christmas doll. Locks of beautiful synthetic chestnut hair curled around her angel-like face. Eyelids with long, thick lashes blinked for real when she reclined and sat up again. Awake or asleep, the tiniest hint of a smile remained on her perfectly formed red lips. But, oh, that hair. It…- By Rev. Dr. Steven Voris, First Presbyterian Church, LuverneDecember 09, 2025Like most Christian pastors, I was frustrated with the commercialization of Christmas and the lack of spiritual meaning expressed during the holiday, UNTIL I served as a U.S. Navy Chaplain and understood, for the first time, that there is more than one correct way to celebrate Christmas. After all, President Ulysses S. Grant made Christmas a Federal Holiday in 1870, the only U.S. Federal Holiday…
By Lori SorensonDecember 03, 2025A crew of 16 women descended on the Hinkly House on a sunny November day with cleaning supplies in hand to prepare the Victorian home for Winterfest and other holiday occasions. The volunteers, many of them members of the Tuesday Morning Coffee Group, divided the duties — vacuuming, dusting and polishing in more than 15 rooms of the first and second floors, and they completed the work in an…- By Pastor Mark Eliason, First Lutheran Church and Palisade Lutheran ChurchDecember 03, 2025At the front of almost every Lutheran church, for the four Sundays before Christmas you will see a wreath with five candles on it. Four around the outside of the wreath and a larger one in the middle of the wreath. The four candles represent the themes of Advent which are hope, peace, joy and love, and one candle is lit each Sunday representing the theme of the day. But why do we do this, and…
December 24, 2024Luverne High School Jazz Band students played Christmas music at Wildflowers Coffee Boutique Wednesday afternoon as part of a tour of holiday music they shared in the community over the past week. The Jazz Band, under the direction of James Jarvie, also played at the Veterans Home and Rock County Opportunities Tuesday, and they were featured at the annual band concert at Luverne High School along…
By June KroonDecember 24, 2024Editor’s note: This information was written by the late June Kroon of Steen. Her daughter, Faith DeBoer, shared it last week with the Star Herald for publication. Today I am babysitting my six-month-old namesake, Virginia, while her mother goes Christmas shopping. I have just laid her down to nap. I marvel at God’s miracle of creation as I gaze fondly at the long, dark lashes reposing on red…
By Lori Sorenson, editorDecember 18, 2024The calendar says our Dec. 19 edition of the Star Herald is the final publication before Christmas. Next week’s paper is Dec. 26, at which point we’ll be working on our year-in-review coverage and moving on to 2025. That means on Dec. 15 — a good 10 days away from Christmas — I found myself considering a column about Christmas. Which I wasn’t ready for. Again. It’s not that I’m a scrooge. I…- By Pastor Mark Eliason, Palisade Lutheran Church, Rock CountyDecember 11, 2024And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. Luke 1:46-49 (NRSV) Imagine, if you can, the story of a young girl, around 14 years old, engaged to a man she barely knows…
- By Pastor Nita Parker, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, HillsDecember 13, 2023This will seem like an unusual article for this time of the year, and my life will never be normal again, so please bear with me. I like to use Christian music to find my way these days. I usually find a piece of scripture and tie them together to try to make sense of what I am feeling. Since Dec. 21, 2021, nothing makes sense. That is the day that my son died. It was senseless to me, and yet I…
By By Lori SorensonNovember 29, 2023Nearly 600 people visited Santa and Mrs. Claus at the train depot in Luverne Sunday, and roughly 300 cars drove through the lighted park following the 7 p.m. fireworks. The festivities were all part of the Luverne Area Chamber’s annual kick-off for the holiday season in the community. “I can’t say enough about what great partners in the community we have,” said Chamber Director Jane Lanphere…- December 20, 2022Christians believe “God so loved the world that he gave his only son” to take away the sins of the world (John 3:16), and as such, we celebrate the arrival of Jesus as told in the Bible’s second chapter of Luke: In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. … And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of…
By Rick Peterson, general managerNovember 29, 2022Thanksgiving is in the books for another year and Christmas is just weeks away … that is, for most of you. The Petersons are celebrating Christmas this coming weekend. Our kids and their families will be coming to Luverne from North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and, of course, Minnesota. With busy work, school and sports schedules, it seems getting together at Christmas just doesn’t work. This isn…- November 21, 2022The Rock County Star Herald is again facilitating a holiday campaign to send Christmas greetings to deployed military men and women serving the United States around the world. After the first campaign in 2019, more than 600 letters were mailed through the Star Herald’s lighted display in the city park. We are again collecting letters for service people at our lighted display at the park, and…
- December 21, 2021Christians believe “God so loved the world that he gave his only son” to take away the sins of the world (John 3:16), and as such, we celebrate the arrival of Jesus as told in the Bible’s second chapter of Luke: In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. … And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of…
By Lori Sorenson, editorDecember 15, 2020We have a leg lamp on display in our western Rock County neighborhood, proudly illuminated in a highway-facing window. It was a highly-anticipated mail-order gift, and the neighbors (our friends) documented its delivery in a series of group text images. First came a photo of the “major award” assembled and plugged in. Then, to prove its authenticity, came a photo of the delivery box with large…
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