Lights On

Carolyn Nelson is a lifelong Lutheran. She grew up at Calvary Lutheran Church in Rapid River, Michigan, the fourth of six children to Hjalmar and Edna Nelson.  

Carolyn’s career was as a nurse and many of her working years were spent in Kalamazoo, Michigan working in the PICU, and occasionally the NICU, then going all the way up to Geriatric Care in a Special Care/Step Down unit towards the end of her career. Carolyn is a nature lover at heart who finds a strong genetic connection and memory for plants and birds. Sometimes more so than for people! She is proudly retired these days.

When Carolyn moved back to the family home, she found herself nearly coerced into community at First Lutheran Church. Family connections, even old camp friends from her days at Fortune Lake Lutheran Bible Camp continuously drew her in. Before she knew it, she was in the choir wearing a robe and a new member corsage. In particular, the lights always being on at First inspired her. Something was always happening even if it wasn’t a church event, there was life. First continues to be a place where people gather: scouts, Kiwanis, sewers, singers… The building is not a lonely place.

For Carolyn, community is important. She needed a place where she could be with people she knew and cared about, and she needed to know that they knew her and cared about her too. First, became that place. In Carolyn’s vocation she worked with people from cradle to grave. From hearing the first cries of babies, to the last breath of elders, she understands that there is a reason we are meant to be together. That might be why the hymn, “I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry” is one of her favorites and Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 speaks to her.  Spring being her favorite season even makes sense for that is the time when our created world is “on the cusp of possibility.”

Carolyn sees the church changing. We are on the cusp of possibility. What exact season we as church are in isn’t clear, but Carolyn is an example for us. She doesn’t call herself an evangelist in words, but her actions speak louder.