Janet Rae Flickinger

November 26, 1942 ~ January 8, 2021 (age 78)

Janet R Flickinger, 78, of Motley passed away on Friday, January 8, 2021 with her family by her side. Visitation will be on Friday, January 15, 2021 from 5-8 pm at the Brenny Family Funeral Chapel-Staples.  Private family services will be held on Saturday, January 16, at 11 am at MotleyUMC, and interment will be at Motley Public Cemetery.

Janet was born on November 26, 1942 to Earl and Ida (Frye) Swartz in Murdock, MN. She attended Motley High School, graduating with the class of 1960. In 1963 Janet was united in marriage to LeRoy Flickinger in Frazee, MN. They began farming together in 1965, and had four children. Janet also worked at the Staples/Motley Middle School and Elementary School. She also worked at Camp Shamineau for over 30 years. She loved family gatherings, gardening, reading, and teaching vacation bible school and Sunday School. Janet also enjoyed wondering which grandchild was going to come down for a ride home after school, and playing cards with family, friends, and neighbors. Janet will be dearly missed by all who knew her.

She is survived by her sons Brian (Louise), Kevin, and Mike, and daughter-in-law Aletha all of Motley, MN; seven grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and siblings Leota (Reynold) Tollefson, Jerry (Virginia) Swarts, Richard (Sally) Swartz, and Linda Mudgett. Janet was preceded in death by her parents, husband LeRoy Flickinger Sr, and son LeRoy Flickinger Jr.

VISITATION

Friday
January 15, 2021
5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Brenny Family Funeral Chapel, Staples
309 North Fourth Street
Staples, MN 56479

Celebration of Life Private Service for family; also on Zoom

January 16, 2021
11:00 AM
Motley United Methodist Church
Pastor Greg Leslie, presiding
Zoom Meeting ID: 218 352 6466   Password: same as for Sunday service

A Celebration of Life for Larry Godejohn is scheduled on August 29th at 11 am to be held at the Halverson-Taylor Funeral Home in Brainerd.  There will be a visitation period from 10 am to 11 am prior to the service.  The address is 512 S 8th St, Brainerd.

Larry Godejohn, 74, of Cushing, Minnesota, went to be with the Lord on Friday, April 24, 2020.  Born on November 10, 1945, he grew up outside of Erie, North Dakota, learning to love all things outdoors and playing sports. He graduated from the University of North Dakota, where he studied accounting and where he met his wife Shirley. He and Shirley married in 1967. He served in the US Army and was a successful entrepreneur, having owned and operated Staples Sports, with Shirley, from 1983 to 2019. He loved fishing, hunting, and traveling the world; including the completion of the “Great Loop” – circumnavigating the USA by water. He was a member of a New Orleans Mardi Gras organization and enjoyed riding in the parades. He is preceded in death by his mother and father, Eulalia and Theodore Godejohn, and sister Carol Godejohn. He is survived by his wife, Shirley; a daughter and grandson, Angie and Alex Godejohn; a daughter and son-in-law, Nicole and Eric Baird; a daughter and son-in-law, Tani and Tyler Johnson; two grandsons, Camden and Crosby Johnson; a brother and sister-in-law, Orvin and Janet Godejohn; and a sister, Donna Godejohn.

Caring for the Godejohn Family:  Halvorson Taylor Funeral Home
www.halvorsontaylor.com/Larry Godejohn Obituary

Communion is important, it is a time to come together with Jesus. The Elements are a representation of Jesus. The Bread and the Cup. Now as you all can see I wrote Cup; it is a vessel like Jesus is a vessel for us.  It is not the juice.  So, what I am saying in this is that you can put anything in your cup, but I would prefer it to be juice.

The bread can be any bread; just cut it into small pieces.

I will bless it, and we will feast together in communion. I will hopefully do this from the altar in front of the church. Have the Bread and Cup ready.

We meet on Sunday Morning @ 10 on Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/973954278; Meeting ID: 973 954 278)

Blessings,

Pastor Greg

On Sunday, May 19, we honored our high school graduates Jared Eischeid (not pictured), Alec Jensen, and Elise Jensen.  We are also excited to receive six new members of MotleyUMC: Larry & Shirley Godejohn, Les & Elaine Rogers, and Tom & Sharla Trutwin!  See photos in the files below:

Graduate Sunday & New Member Reception Photos

Jared Eischeid

Happy Easter to you all, and yes, it is still Easter.

⁹ God said, “Let the waters under the sky come together into one place so that the dry land can appear.” And that’s what happened. ¹⁰ God named the dry land Earth, and he named the gathered waters Seas. God saw how good it was. ¹¹ God said, “Let the earth grow plant life: plants yielding seeds and fruit trees bearing fruit with seeds inside it, each according to its kind throughout the earth.” And that’s what happened.¹² The earth produced plant life: plants yielding seeds, each according to its kind, and trees bearing fruit with seeds inside it, each according to its kind. God saw how good it was. (Genesis 1:9-12; CEB)

May has always been this month of transformation for myself. The school year is ending, the teachers and students become restless as they watch out the window and feel the warm rays of sunshine gleaming through the glass of their classroom, waiting for the bell to ring. The grass begins to become greener. The birds chirp loudly as they come back to their summer homes. Yes, nature is one of God’s greatest creations, isn’t it?

When I think of nature, I also think of Jesus’ time on earth after his resurrection. We all know that during this time, before he ascended, that many people saw him. Mary Magdalene was the first, then three more women, the disciples minus Thomas, a group of 500, and so on. It is this time that Jesus spent with the people that gave us the realization that resurrection is possible, that the world and its people can be made new again.

The reason that I mention this is because seeing Jesus in our lives in important, see a loving God in our lives is also important. What is also important is taking care of what God has given us, like this glorious place to live. The world was created for us to live in and for us to take care of. We watch our families grow, and we all hope that the planet is safe and prosperous for the generations following us.

As we worship our resurrected Christ over the next month, let us also remember that each spring our world is resurrected to give us what we need to live, our food to eat, and our water to drink. And I hope that as you look out your windows, and watch the buds begin forming on your trees. Or as you get ready to plant your gardens, that you all understand why we are here. And I believe that is to proclaim a resurrected Christ and a God who provides for each one of us.

So, I ask you to all begin looking for God in your lives today and begin proclaiming the goodness that we see and feel each day. Remember “God saw how good it was.”

Blessings,

Pastor Greg