Articles written by Sue Bahleda


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  • Community gathers to remember landslide victims

    Sue Bahleda, Wrangell Sentinel|Nov 27, 2024

    Virgina Oliver set the reflective tone for the community’s landslide remembrance by singing the first verse of “Silent Night” in Tlingit, and then inviting people to sing it together in English. The town gathered on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at the Nolan Center to remember their six friends and neighbors who died in a destructive landslide a year ago that evening. With the words “sleep in heavenly peace” resonating in the hall, Esther Aaltséen Reese, WCA tribal administrator, explained the vision for the evening: coming together to remember,...

  • Former resident encourages people to better understand Islamic faith

    Sue Bahleda, Wrangell Sentinel|Aug 21, 2024

    Former Wrangell resident Sarah Aslam spoke Aug. 16 to a community gathering at Island of Faith Lutheran Church on her relationship to her Islamic faith. Rather than a theological or an “Intro-to-Islam” presentation, she said she wanted to share what living day by day in her faith tradition means to her. “I’m not an expert,” she said, “just a messy, imperfect human who wants to share the beauty of my faith.” She began by noting that depictions of Muslims in movies, television and even news stories often use daily prayers as a formative ima...

  • Young readers far exceed last summer's library program book count

    Sue Bahleda, Wrangell Sentinel|Jul 31, 2024

    First it was radio, then television. Then it was video games and TikTok. Many book lovers, bookstores and parents of reading-age children feared the demise of the printed story. Yet, with just a few days to go before the end of the Irene Ingle Public Library annual summer reading program for kids, the youngsters are far ahead of last year’s pace. The program ends Saturday, Aug. 3, with prizes for readers and a party on Aug. 10. Wrangell’s young readers entering kindergarten through ninth grade in August had gone through 2,603 books as of Jul...

  • We're meant to grow throughout life

    Pastor Sue Bahleda, Island of Faith Lutheran Church|Aug 2, 2023

    Did you know some churches are color coordinated? We use colors to visually represent the purpose of a church season: blue is for Advent hope, purple is Lenten repentance, white is Christmas and Easter joy. The longest season is the one we’re in now, from June to October, and it’s green. Our banners are green, our altar cloths are green, sometimes even our bulletins are green! Green represents growth, and we’re meant to use these green, growing days to practice the lessons we learn from God, to grow a little for our own sake and the sake of ou...

  • Unity hold us together, despite differences

    Pastor Sue Bahleda, Island of Faith Lutheran Church|Jun 1, 2022

    One of the abiding understandings of our Lutheran church is “unity, not uniformity.” It is a practice that allows each congregation flexibility within a particular framework. We celebrate a pattern of church seasons; we mark those seasons with particular colors for banners and altar cloths; we have a recommended three-year cycle of scripture readings for Sundays and a collection of hymns and an order for worship. On June 5, we celebrate Pentecost, the day God gave the whole Church the Holy Spirit. While the banners and altar cloths will all...

  • Seeing the grays helps us see the beauty

    Pastor Sue Bahleda, Island of Faith Lutheran Church|Oct 14, 2021

    I have long said that if I were conducting job interviews for any position in Southeast Alaska, my first question would be, “Do you like black and white photography or black and white movies?” These art forms are not stark black and white; what makes black and white movies and photos so striking is the interplay of gray. Seeing and celebrating the variety, contrasts and beauty in the range of the gray tones is critical for appreciating life in Southeast. Last week, I sat on a bench overlooking the water, and the bright, flat expanse of nic...

  • Reflections: Finding beauty in the everyday

    Pastor Sue Bahleda, Island of Faith Lutheran Church|Apr 15, 2021

    I know better than to romanticize beach glass. I know most began as beer bottles, with a random bottle of SKYY vodka contributing a little blue among the white and green and brown. But I also know that how things begin isn't always how they end, and I wonder where and how that one piece of purple started. As I wander among the rocks and the wet sand, picking and collecting bits of color, I can feel how the waters and the grit blunt sharp edges. What started out as pointed and cutting has become...