Winter Walk at Gammelgarden Museum

Last month I went to Gammelgarden Museum of Scandia to attend the Lucia Dagen service at the oldest Lutheran church in Minnesota. 

As I entered the parking lot at about 6:50 a.m.,, the buildings were lit. Against, the indigo sky, the buildings looked so bright. 

This is the Valkommen Hus - or Welcome House. It's the main building where there is a gift shop, a classroom, and displays with museum artifacts. 

This was the pathway to the Gammelkyrkan - the first sanctuary of Elim Lutheran Church and the oldest Lutheran Church in Minnesota. As I was walking on it, I could hear two owls calling to one another. Otherwise, it was still and incredibly quiet.

Inside, the windows were decorated for Lucia Dagen - a holiday that celebrates St. Lucia. 

Each year, there is a high school girl who plays St. Lucia. 

Before each service, she and others lit candles. 

After the first service, there was a break until the second service at 8:30 a.m. I took some photos outdoors of the church. As a side note, the service was held in this unheated building. Mind you...this is the middle of winter in Minnesota. It's chilly - though not too bad at about 32 degrees! Nonetheless, people wore jackets, hats, mittens, scarves, and some even had blankets. 

As I walked outside near the restored prairie, there were deer tracks. 

This is a better view of one part of the prairie. It's not much to look at during the winter, yet it still provides some seeds and cover for wildlife. 

There's a bridge in the prairie that crosses over the pond.

At that time, we still hadn't received a lot of snow, so it was making interesting patterns on the wood slats of the bridge.  

Looking back from the bridge, the Gammelkryrkan looks protected nestled between the trees. 

 

The pond was covered with ice and snow. There were quite a few tracks on the the pond. Despite all the activity, I saw no wildlife at this time of the day. It was also very quiet in the prairie - such a peaceful and relaxing place to be.

Looking to the north, the five other buildings were easily visible. The barn quilt on the barn is one that my daughter designed and painted. She had a group of volunteers who helped her with the painting. She was 12 years old at the time. She ended up doing something like 14 or 15 more barn quilts that created the Washington County Barn Quilt.

Anyway...back to the prairie. There were dried native flowers that had beautiful patterns in them.

Everything seemed to be colored in creams and tans.

The grasses provided coverage for the wildlife.

This is another native flower. 

As is this one.

Around 8:20 or so, people started walking from the Valkommen Hus to the church for the next service.

I imagined what it must have been like in the mid- to late-1800s when pioneers trudged through the snow to go to church in unheated buildings. Such dedication and commitment to one's faith!

There were quite a few candles to light. These are ones that are on the altar.

These are ones that were rather high up - there are two of them. Before the majority of people arrived, another volunteer and I were lighting the candles. 

I took a lit candle in one of my hands after taking my boots off. Stood on a folding chair and, not thinking, put my feet too far towards the back of the chair and it collapsed. My legs were literally stuck in the chair. Of course, everyone turns around and I could hear a collective audible gasp. "Nothing to see here, folks!" Just me stuck in a chair trying not to light things on fire. 

Thanks to the other volunteer, I was able to get out of the chair without lighting anything accidentally on fire. I still have bruises on the leg and it is sore to the touch. It was a memorable morning.

After that drama, I looked at the altar again. This is a Bible all in Swedish.

Everyone was taking their seats and holding candles. 

Although it was much brighter outside now than when I had arrived 1 1/2 hours prior, the candles still added a warmth and peaceful feeling to the church and experience. 

That was a nice way to spend my morning. It was something I had never done before, and I was able to listen to Swedish be spoken by multiple people and then songs sung in Swedish by all those in attendance. 

I could imagine what it was like going back in time to the 1800s and feeling like a Swedish immigrant. It was such a wonderful experience!