Staver anniversary is Sunday
Bishop Hee-Soo Jung of the Wisconsin Conference of the United Methodist Church will preach for the anniversary service at Staver St. Peter's United Methodist Church, celebrating its 145th anniversary on Sunday. Services start at 10:30 a.m. The church, known as Staver's Church for the family that donated the land on which the church is built, is located on County P, 3 miles west of Wisconsin 69.
CLARNO - In the rural community of Clarno, next generations often stay close to home, dedicating themselves to their families' lifestyle that includes both the family farm and the community church.
It is a tradition that Pastor Inwha Shon was not expecting when he arrived last year to serve the community's two United Methodist churches, Clarno Zion and Staver St. Peter's.
Shon said he was "surprised but pleased" to see multiple generations of family members attending church services each Sunday, something that has been ongoing at Staver for 145 years.
"Even though it is rural and small, our congregation members are all generations," he said. "Grandparents come with the children, even very small toddlers."
The Korean-dominated churches he experienced before coming to Green County often "have no young generation," he said. "The kids move away."
Shon had served in Korean congregations in Youngstown, Ohio, and as an interim pastor in Georgia. Ordained in Korea in 1992, Shon came to the United State in 2002 to advance his theological studies at the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. His wife Eunhee and their children, Sarah and David, followed in 2004.
The multi-generational family aspect he found in the Clarno community is "better for teaching Christianity," Shon said.
He maintains it is the family's "duty to introduce the young children to Christianity," whether "for lessons or for discipline.
"Sunday school is only one time per week. The children spend time at home with parents and grandparents as their Christian examples," who can teach "church life and Christian values" on a daily basis, he added.
Switching cultures
In the United Methodist denomination, pastors are assigned to congregations by their conferences. "Every Methodist pastor doesn't know where he is going," Shon said.
But that doesn't stop them from asking for assignments. Raised in rural South Korea, Shon believed rural Wisconsin would feel more like his hometown and asked for a rural church and congregation in Wisconsin.
Shon was raised in the Methodist denomination, in which his father served as a pastor for 40 years. One of Shon's brothers also became a Methodist minister.
Methodist and Presbyterian missionaries came to Korea in 1884, Shon said. The Korean culture of the 1960s and 1970s, with lingering influences of Confucianism focusing on orderliness, remained conservative, more so than it is today, according to Shon. Men and women were segregated during church services until Korea became "more industrialized, more westernized," he said.
Shon arrived in Wisconsin in August 2013, not without some apprehension.
He was "a little frightened, worried" about how much access his family would have to groceries and other shopping, and what the "variety of people" would be here. And the area's access to the internet was sorely outdated, putting his son David at a disadvantage with homework, until December when cable upgrades were installed.
It's Home
Now after just one year with his rural church - his first non-Korean church - Shon said he and his family have found a comforting place among their active congregations, whose members continue to surprise them.
Members "take time out of their work" and "work around (church) events," Eunhee said.
"I am very thankful. They are very dedicated to our church events," she added.
The churches participate in the Green County Family Promise program providing overnight accommodations for homeless families. Members also hosts ice cream socials, ham and meatball suppers, silent auction, bake sales, and garage sales to raise money to support the church and its programs.
Eunhee said American churches appear to have "more hospitality," based on her observations of members' interactions, such as visiting before and after services.
Shon describes his congregants as "gentle, generous and kind" with a "strong attachment to the church."
Eunhee is not sure whether the local hospitality is just rural culture, but she is "pleased and likes the location." She knew they would be happy here, having "taken so many vacations to rural areas."
David, now 17, said coming to the United States and growing up "for the first time not in Korea" was initially challenging. Today, he feels a better fit with this new community and its neighboring communities.
"A really nice, overall, good feel," he added.
He is now a student at Monroe High School, with an eye toward biological sciences and pre-med, and performs with the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra. Sarah studies pre-med and music at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. Both are accomplished violinists and pianists, and often play at church services.
It is a tradition that Pastor Inwha Shon was not expecting when he arrived last year to serve the community's two United Methodist churches, Clarno Zion and Staver St. Peter's.
Shon said he was "surprised but pleased" to see multiple generations of family members attending church services each Sunday, something that has been ongoing at Staver for 145 years.
"Even though it is rural and small, our congregation members are all generations," he said. "Grandparents come with the children, even very small toddlers."
The Korean-dominated churches he experienced before coming to Green County often "have no young generation," he said. "The kids move away."
Shon had served in Korean congregations in Youngstown, Ohio, and as an interim pastor in Georgia. Ordained in Korea in 1992, Shon came to the United State in 2002 to advance his theological studies at the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. His wife Eunhee and their children, Sarah and David, followed in 2004.
The multi-generational family aspect he found in the Clarno community is "better for teaching Christianity," Shon said.
He maintains it is the family's "duty to introduce the young children to Christianity," whether "for lessons or for discipline.
"Sunday school is only one time per week. The children spend time at home with parents and grandparents as their Christian examples," who can teach "church life and Christian values" on a daily basis, he added.
Switching cultures
In the United Methodist denomination, pastors are assigned to congregations by their conferences. "Every Methodist pastor doesn't know where he is going," Shon said.
But that doesn't stop them from asking for assignments. Raised in rural South Korea, Shon believed rural Wisconsin would feel more like his hometown and asked for a rural church and congregation in Wisconsin.
Shon was raised in the Methodist denomination, in which his father served as a pastor for 40 years. One of Shon's brothers also became a Methodist minister.
Methodist and Presbyterian missionaries came to Korea in 1884, Shon said. The Korean culture of the 1960s and 1970s, with lingering influences of Confucianism focusing on orderliness, remained conservative, more so than it is today, according to Shon. Men and women were segregated during church services until Korea became "more industrialized, more westernized," he said.
Shon arrived in Wisconsin in August 2013, not without some apprehension.
He was "a little frightened, worried" about how much access his family would have to groceries and other shopping, and what the "variety of people" would be here. And the area's access to the internet was sorely outdated, putting his son David at a disadvantage with homework, until December when cable upgrades were installed.
It's Home
Now after just one year with his rural church - his first non-Korean church - Shon said he and his family have found a comforting place among their active congregations, whose members continue to surprise them.
Members "take time out of their work" and "work around (church) events," Eunhee said.
"I am very thankful. They are very dedicated to our church events," she added.
The churches participate in the Green County Family Promise program providing overnight accommodations for homeless families. Members also hosts ice cream socials, ham and meatball suppers, silent auction, bake sales, and garage sales to raise money to support the church and its programs.
Eunhee said American churches appear to have "more hospitality," based on her observations of members' interactions, such as visiting before and after services.
Shon describes his congregants as "gentle, generous and kind" with a "strong attachment to the church."
Eunhee is not sure whether the local hospitality is just rural culture, but she is "pleased and likes the location." She knew they would be happy here, having "taken so many vacations to rural areas."
David, now 17, said coming to the United States and growing up "for the first time not in Korea" was initially challenging. Today, he feels a better fit with this new community and its neighboring communities.
"A really nice, overall, good feel," he added.
He is now a student at Monroe High School, with an eye toward biological sciences and pre-med, and performs with the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra. Sarah studies pre-med and music at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. Both are accomplished violinists and pianists, and often play at church services.