Nancy Huddleston of the Savage Pacer reports:

Now more than ever, people are having a tough time finding hope in their lives.

So a coalition of eight area churches have come together to help find hope and battle depression with monthly information talks by health care professionals and clergy. The South Suburban Depression Support Coalition has scheduled five seminars – each dealing with a different aspect of depression.

Shawn Hogendorf of the Prior Lake American reports:

Former Prior Lake pastor John Kameron Erbele pleaded guilty last Wednesday (Feb. 3) in Ramsey County District Court on charges of soliciting a prostitute.

The 36-year-old was a pastor at LifePrint Church, which meets at Twin Oaks Middle School, will serve probation in lieu of jail time for the misdemeanor offense under the plea agreement reached.

Lori Carlson of the Prior Lake American reports:

PRIOR LAKE -- In the hours after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked Haiti on Jan. 12, the Rev. Robert Nowak, in Port-au-Prince on a mission trip, and his congregation members, at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Prior Lake, all chose the same Biblical psalm to guide their prayers.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,” reads Psalm 46.

Southwest Newspapers staff reports:

Members of other local organizations have been affected in some way by the Haiti earthquake. They include:

PRIOR LAKE ROTARY CLUB

Kristin Holtz of the Shakopee Valley News reports:

In today’s environmentally conscious society, natural is the way to go — even when it comes to deciding the right time to have a baby.

More couples are turning to natural family planning as a way to achieve or postpone a pregnancy. Whether for religious, health or environmental reasons, these couples are shying away from contraceptives and having the family they always wanted.

“It just made sense,” said Juli Currie, a mother of seven from Chanhassen. “This fits with what we believe.”

With the permission of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Jordan, I gave myself a self-tour of the historic building's tower. It's five stories high with three bells. Years ago, the brothers stood in the entryway of the church, pulling with all their might, as parishioners flooded into each mass. For a few years, the bells have been fully electronic, but a recent project much improved them and ensured that they will ring throughout each day.

See my photos of the bell tower here: http://www.jordannews.com/news/church/church-bells-ring-again-slideshow-....

See my impromptu self-tour:

Seventy years ago, an accident proved to the Wagners that a pet can truly be man's best friend.

Read about this and more of Jordan's history in the Looking Back column published in the Jan. 28 print edition of the Jordan Independent. 

Andrina C. (Weckman) Radermacher, 93, of Jordan, died Jan. 13 at the Gardens in Shakopee.

The matriarch of the Radermacher family, Andrina was known for her talents at the piano and organ of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Jordan, her work with the Jordan Fire Department ladies auxiliary, and her love for her children and husband, the late Roman Radermacher, who started the family's local grocery store business.

Visitation will be on Friday, Jan. 15, and the mass of Christian burial will be on Saturday, Jan. 16.

Ten years ago, a husband-wife team will co-pastor Jordan’s newest church.

Read about this and more of Jordan's history in the Looking Back column published in the Jan. 7 print edition of the Jordan Independent.

The church bells at St. John the Baptist Catholic in Jordan will ring again, starting tomorrow. See a slideshow of the bell tower: