Chasing bears with a camera in Orr, Minnesota

courtesy of njadams1.wordpress.com

My friend and wildlife photographer Mary Lundeberg recently spent a week up north in Orr, Minnesota photographing bears. To see Mary's photos of bears and wolves, go here.

The state of Minnesota: all people are welcome here!

Minnesota State capitol building in St. Paul, photo by Virginia Bergman

A Minnesotan by choice, I was born and raised in northwestern Ohio, and I’ve lived in several other states, including California. I prefer Minnesota not so much for its climate – it does get really cold here in winter – but for the state’s historical emphasis on humanitarian concerns in its governance and its religious institutions.

The press release I recently received from the Minnesota Council of Churches in support of refugees who have made their homes here is a good example:

Preserving refugee stories as part of Minnesota’s heritage

The forthcoming book featuring refugee stories by the Minnesota Council of Churches Refugee Services received publication support from a Historical and Cultural Heritage Grant Minneapolis (February 25, 2011) – The stories of Minnesota’s newest refugees will be remembered for generations to come thanks to a Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grant from the Minnesota Historical Society. The grant award supports editing and publication of the book This Much I Can Tell You: Stories of Courage and Hope from Refugees in Minnesota to be released June 1, 2011.

This book gives a glimpse into the lives of some of Minnesota’s newest refugees. Women and men from Somalia, Bhutan, Iraq, Cameroon, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burma share their individual refugee stories that are as diverse as the storytellers. In their own words, they tell about their lives before conflict, why their lives fell apart, their experience as refugees and their transition to Minnesota. This book documents their trauma and tragedy as well as their hopes and

dreams for the future.

“Before we are the displaced and displaced people have no legal status. So now we are so glad to be living in America and get the legal status. We can legally live the center of our lives here, so we are very glad,” Saw Josiah, a Karen story teller, says in his chapter.

Besides being refugees, each person represented in this book shares another thing in common—they accessed services at Minnesota Council of Churches Refugee Services. MCC Refugee Services is a local affiliate of Church World Service and Episcopal Migration Ministries, two agencies contracted by the US Department of State to resettle refugees in the United States. MCC Refugee Services welcomes persecuted people from around the world into lives of freedom, hope and opportunity in Minnesota through four lines of service: Case Management, Employment Services, Immigration Services, and

Education.

“The refugees we are privileged to work with have journeyed across the globe to find safety in Minnesota. As Minnesotans we know refugees as neighbors, as coworkers, as customers, or as friends. But we don’t know their stories. We don’t know about their life before they became refugees or what they went through to find the safety we enjoy. We hope this book will help bring those stories to light so we can know each other better,” said Rachele King, director of MCC Refugee Services.

The book will be available on June 1, 2011 through Beaver’s Pond Books. To find out more about This Much I Can Tell You visit: www.mnchurches.org/refugeestories.

“Winter Blasts Into the North Country” (video)

Photo by V. Bergman

The sun is breaking through the cloud cover in St. Paul this morning even though dangerously cold wind chill temps are in the forecast. We’re looking at –25 to –30 degrees.

Unbelievable.

I drove to church Sunday morning in the rain. It stayed above freezing long enough for me to stop at the supermarket on my way home. Today it’s warm and snug in my apartment as I watch the video “Winter Blasts Into the North Country” and congratulate myself for stocking up with groceries and other necessities ahead of the severe weather.

Hey, Minnesotans, the Laugh’s On Us!

My friend Ava, formerly from Minn. and now living in Calif., emailed me these comments from Jeff Foxworthy’s web site: Jeff explains, “You might only understand these if you ARE Minnesotan... but still, I thought they were hilarious: “

If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through l8 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, you might live in Minnesota.

If you’re proud that your state makes the national news 96 nights each year because International Falls is the coldest spot in the nation, you might live in Minnesota.

If you have ever refused to buy something because it’s "too spendy", you might live in Minnesota.

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, you might live in Minnesota.

If you instinctively walk like a penguin for five months out of the year, you might live in Minnesota.

If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don’t work there, you might live in Minnesota.

If your dad’s suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, you might live in Minnesota.

If you may not have actually eaten it, but you have heard of Lutefisk, you might live in Minnesota.

If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you might live in Minnesota.

If you have either a pet or a child named "Kirby", you might live in
Minnesota.

If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, you might live in Minnesota.

If you have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in Minnesota.

If you know how to say Wayzata, Mahtomedi, Edina and Shakopee, you might live in Minnesota.

If you grew up thinking rice was only for dessert, you might live in Minnesota.

If you think that ketchup is a little too spicy, you might live in Minnesota.