Cannon Falls family to host Rural Life Sunday Mass June 26

When Deb and Jack Lorentz host an anticipated 300 or more people June 26 for Rural Life Sunday at their family farm, they’ll have had plenty of practice. One of the three family reunions they’ve held at their farm about five miles north of Cannon Falls drew 250 relatives.

“There’s a lot of Lorentzes in the area,” Deb Lorentz said. Their farm has been in Jack Lorentz’ family since 1884.

This year marks the first Rural Life Sunday event hosted on a family farm since 2019, as the gathering was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and held in the church parking lot at St. Patrick in Shieldsville last year as COVID concerns continued.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis will celebrate this year’s Mass at 1:30 p.m. on the family’s large deck overlooking the back yard. Deb Lorentz has added angel figurines to pots of flowers hanging off the deck to honor the occasion.

The Lorentz family’s pastor, Father Terry Beeson of St. Pius V in Cannon Falls, the host parish of Rural Life Sunday this year, will concelebrate, and other priests have been invited to join them.

Deb, 74, and Jack, 77, have lived on their farm for 48 years. It’s where they raised four children. It was a dairy farm until about 15 years ago, Jack Lorentz said. Now the focus is beef, corn and soybeans, and some cannery crops, too: peas and sweet corn, he said.

Father Beeson grew up in Fargo, now a city of about 120,000 he said. When he was assigned to the Cannon Falls parish and to St. Joseph in Miesville eight years ago, one of the first things he noticed was the farmers’ hands when they received Communion, “a little bit hard to get the dirt off, a little bit calloused, just the hands of hard-working people,” he said.

“This is rural country and many of the parishioners have a farm,” Father Beeson said, calling the Lorentzes “good folks.” “Their names came up right away” when the parish was asked to nominate a host family, he said.

The Rural Life Mass recognizes the people who provide food on the table and on grocery store shelves, he said. Farmers also care a great deal about their spiritual home, Father Beeson said, making sure the church is cared for and needed improvements made.

Father Beeson said he has offered prayer intentions at Mass for good weather, something Jack Lorentz also prays for during the growing season.

Dale Hennen, parish services coordinator at the archdiocese, acknowledged the generosity of the Lorentz family in hosting the event.

Rural Life Sunday has been celebrated in the archdiocese for about 60 years, he said. “Rural Life Sunday brings us together to pray and remember and celebrate all the good things God has given us in our rural way of life,” Hennen said.

Hay bales with wooden planks over the top will be provided for seating at the Rural Life Sunday event, but participants can bring their own lawn chairs.

A box lunch and hot dogs will be offered after Mass (freewill offerings accepted). Children’s activities and games will be available, as well as close-up looks at farm animals, including goats and sheep in pens.

HOW TO GET THERE

From downtown Cannon Falls drive to Minnesota Highway 20, then five miles north to 270th St. East. Turn right and drive two miles to 12670 270th St. East, Cannon Falls. The farm is the third place on the right.