The Joy of Friendships by Barbara Kersbergen
Introduction by Bud Hall When Barbara shared the following with me , I felt it would be good to share her story with others . Thinking of long-term friendships — I thought of several scriptures that tell of the importance of friends .
We know that King David and Jonathan were close friends . Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 sums up friendship very well : “ Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor . If either of them falls down one can help the other up . But pity anyone falls and has no one to help them up .”
I think Barbara could tell of times over the last 80-some years these friends pulled one another up .
The first one was Ruth Mary . When I was one year old , we moved to Des Moines and our parents told us Ruth Mary and I played together in the church nursery at Cottage Grove Presbyterian Church . The next one in the group was my best friend , June . We met in kindergarten and went all through the grades and graduated from high school together . And the third one who became my friend forever was Jane whom I met in third grade .
When I was fiver years old , my parents built a house across the street from Westminster Presbyterian Church and we changed to that church . Soon after that , Ruth Mary ’ s and Jane ’ s families were going to Westminster also . June ’ s father was minister of a Christian ( Disciples ) church so I saw her every day at school , but not at church like the other two . The four of us did many things together .
In junior high , Ruth Mary and Jane went to one school and June and I went to another . In nice weather , June and I rode our bicycles to school . In seventh grade , Jean moved into the neighborhood and she and Phyllis started going to Westminster . We were in church on Sunday morning , Sunday evening , for Christian Endeavor and Wednesday nights for Youth Club . Youth Club was for fourth through ninth grades and we were there after school until 8:00 p . m . About seventy to eighty attended Youth Club ( it was a big church ). At youth club we had choir , crafts , Bible study led by the minister where we studied the Bible and learned to give sentence prayers , then dinner ( our mothers took turns helping in the kitchen ) followed by a Wednesday night prayer service for those who wanted to stay . Sometimes on the weekend they would open the church gymnasium ( yes , a full gym !) so we could go roller skating . My mother said many times that she should move my bed over to the church since I spent so much time there . When we were in ninth grade , we graduated from Youth Club .
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Marie , Barbara , Nancy , Ruth Mary , Jean and Madelyn on our way home from Clear Lake
The Joy of Friendships by Barbara Kersbergen
My childhood in the city of Des Moines , Iowa was a happy one . I had many friends through the years , but I want to tell you about the ones who are my friends forever to this day .
JUG pin