In just a few weeks, I will be beginning my eleventh year as a newspaper editor in Cook County. Many, many, things have changed since the day I walked into the Cook
County Star’s
temporary office in the Cobblestone Building on Highway 61 in downtown Grand Marais. Since then there have been thousands of stories, serious and silly. There was an office move and several coworkers have come and gone. We survived a changeover from the Star
to the Cook County
News-Herald.
But one thing has been constant—the Good News
with Pastor Dale McIntire.
This week an era comes to a close, as Pastor Dale is submitting his last column as our “regular” pastoral columnist. He won’t be gone completely— he will be joining the rotation of Cook County ministers who will be providing Spiritual
Reflections,
each pastor providing a month’s worth of essays for our readers.
When Hal and Deidre Kettunen purchased the News-
Herald
in November 2008, there was no thought of changing the way we had been handling our “church column.” Pastor Dale had been with us since the beginning. We were very comfortable working with Dale. Through all the years, he reliably, consistently met column deadlines. He rarely exceeded the suggested word limit. He always found topical subjects and frequently used humor to spread the Good News.
And he was there when exceedingly tough stories hit home. Many times I turned to Dale for counsel on how to handle a sensitive issue. Along with his weekly column came frequent reassuring messages .
It was Dale who came to us with the suggestion of returning to the format that the News-
Herald
used years ago. We weren’t sure. At first we thought it would be acceptable to readers to offer one week a month to another spiritual leader in our community. However, some community members wanted more. Theydidn’t feel it was fair that one minister had more opportunity than others to spread his or her message.
After trying the once-amonth guest columnist for several months, Pastor Dale again suggested returning to the old format, which would allow his ministerium colleagues the opportunity to expand on their writings. He said the other pastors might need more than a week to share their spiritual musings.
I felt like stubbornly digging my heels in and sticking with “our” Good News
guy. I told Pastor Dale that I didn’t think it was fair. He had stuck with us through good and bad, through computer problems and community issues. He had been a calming, steadying influence for all of us. Instead of being rewarded for his years of dedicated service, I felt as though we were abandoning him.
As he has done all along, since the early, sometimes confused days at the start of the Star,
Dale provided some wise counsel. He said he is ready for the change. He said he is looking forward to reading the words of other pastors. He set up a blog where folks can find his message. Theonly condition of his departure is that when it is his turn to write for a month, his contribution will continue to be the Good News.
I agreed of course, but repeated that it doesn’t seem fair. In an e-mail, Dale once again reassured me. He wrote:
I have learned, in whatever
state I find myself to be content.
Paul, the Apostle.
Dale, the Pastor.
Reading that, I had to laugh. And I realized that things would work out. I clipped the quote and taped it to my computer. While Dale won’t be sending me a column every week, I’ll have some great “last words” from him to help keep me on track.
Thanks, Pastor Dale, for all your Good News!
Kind words may be short… but
their echoes are endless.
Mother Teresa
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