Today at Central Park

 

We had an enjoyable afternoon at the Albert Lea Pride Festival in Central Park. Belinda was on hand with the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce. Charles in the meantime was manning the table for the Albert Lea Art Center.

Albert Lea's nightlife

Photo-op in New Denmark Park

 

Eddie Cochran painting at the AL Art Center

A classic!

Cool!

Lots to look at tonight

We took in some of the sights and sounds of the Eddie Cochran Festival tonight in downtown Albert Lea. It was nice to see Broadway alive with people of all ages, taking in the amazing cars as the community honors the local legen.

Mountain Sky Annual Conference, pt. 2

At this morning's Clergy Session, Charles was among those approved for retirement. For us, this is not retirement in the traditional sense but just means that Charles is no longer part of the itinerancy system in The UMC.

Mountain Sky Annual Conference, pt.1

Watching AC online

Charles' retirement video is played at AC

Charles is participating in this year's Mountain Sky Conference (being held in Billings, Montana) via computer in his office at Thorne Crest. This afternoon, his retirement video was played to the Annual Conference.

Things are happening!

We were involved in two community events tonight! Belinda took part in Wind Down Wednesday (happens on the second Wednesday of each month during the summer) as part of her duties with the Chamber of Commerce while Charles attended dedication of flags gathering at the fairgrounds.

On the road with Belinda

Belinda had the privilege of leading the "Day Apart" women's retreat for Minnesota's Prairie Winds United Women in Faith (UWFaith) Area (District) yesterday! - Retreat Theme: "Finding & Building Peace in an Anxious World" - Check out the blog posts for it!

https://prairiewindsuwf.blogspot.com/search?q=Day+Apart+-+June+9,+2026+-+Part&max-results=20&by-date=true

Making music in Albert Lea

We had the pleasure of attending a concert by Lake Song Chorus this afternoon.

From the Facebook post:

About the Chorus

Diane Heaney is the director, and piano accompanist is Robert Tewes.

The group has about 50 members ranging in age from 12 to 98. The choir was formed to celebrate the joy of making music despite memory loss for those with dementia, their care partners, and community volunteers.

Music is one of the last things our brains forget, and so we sing to remember and to feel the joy of singing together in community.

Please help us spread the word by adding your Facebook Friends to the event Invite list.