When life’s journey eventually brings you back home, could it be divine intervention? Especially if you’re a pastor?
The Hansons – Nathan, the pastor, and Ruth, the artist – met and wed long ago in seminary school. A few years ago they moved near Vining, Minn., to what Nathan says is Ruth’s “stomping grounds.”
But they followed Nathan’s pastoral call, right?
Consider the places they’ve lived, individually or as a couple: Montana (Nathan’s boyhood home), Nebraska, Texas, Idaho, South Dakota, plus different areas of Minnesota. And consider that they have now settled down for good.
As Nathan says, “We like where we live, that’s why we’re here. It’s not an accident.”
Nathan serves three church communities in the area while Ruth is busily engaged with the thriving regional arts community. They are also putting the finishing touches on a new home standing on a piece of land that was part of the family farm.
Their children are grown, with two boys living in Sioux Falls, S.D., and daughter Anna, who made a COVID-related move back home. She works in nearby Evansville. All three make a livelihood in the arts – film, print, graphics – likely because mother Ruth is quite the accomplished artist.
Indeed, Ruth is well known for her artistic passion. She’s not only a standing member of arts organizations in Battle Lake and Alexandria, but she volunteers her time and creative energy to promote artists and their work. She’s particularly involved with the quaint Art of the Lakes Gallery in downtown Battle Lake, where visitors enjoy work from over 80 artists, including her own. Plus, she has been in many artist workshops, both as a student and instructor, throughout the area – with the Henning Landmark Center noted as her favorite venue.
She also knows technology reaches new audiences, so her website (songofruth.com) features her work in watercolor batik, oil pastels, acrylics and gouache.
Online orders welcome!
Ruth knows she can find art enrichment throughout the area, just one of the many bonuses the Hansons have found in moving back to Ruth’s home area.
“There’s so many things to do and see,” Ruth said. “On Sunday, we went up to Fargo for an art opening we knew about. It was 80 miles, but it wasn’t hard to get there. The New York Mills Cultural Center is great, Fergus Falls with the Kaddatz Gallery and Lake Region Arts Council, which is a big help to the area. And there’s the college art gallery (M-State in Fergus Falls). And we have these big studio tours in the summer.”
So what would they say to someone thinking about living in this area? “Well, it’s beautiful,” Ruth said, and, looking at the snowdrifts outside, laughs, “There sure is a change of seasons
Nathan agrees and refers to the people, their neighbors and friends. “What I appreciate about it is the people who live here are intensely neighborly,” he said.
On any particular day you might find Nathan working on finishing the house or going over serman notes, preparing for church services and Bible studies, while Ruth is quietly working on her latest painting.
And living their best life near Vining is truly no accident.
