Feeling safe, in a small town

(Editor’s Note: In last week’s Pastor’s Column, the photo and the column did not match. This is the column that should have run with the photo of Pastor Kristen Schlauderaff of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Kasson. The DCI regrets the error.)
It is time to introduce myself to Dodge County.  I am in the midst of my second year of sharing ministry at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Kasson. My primary responsibility is to visit our members who are unable to physically get to church for worship. I visit about two dozen people every four to six weeks. I preach about once a month and lead an occasional Bible study and take on other duties as assigned.  
I spent my first 18 years of life in Red Wing and enjoyed small town life in southeastern Minnesota. My father was a veterinarian. While we lived in town, I felt a close connection with the farming community of Goodhue County. People knew their neighbors and looked out for each other.  
Recently I attended a high school reunion (too many years to reveal) and while many classmates returned and joined in the festivities, there were a significant number who did not. Some were very clear that they WOULD NEVER come for a reunion.  In some cases, this is because people are introverts - they do not like being in crowds and making small talk.  For others, they do not have fond memories of school and growing up in a small town.
Kids are not just bullied today. It happened decades ago, too. There were clicks. There was a pecking order in some groups. If you were a guy and not in sports, you didn’t really count.  If you were a girl and not a cheerleader or not pretty by the standards of the day, there was a price to pay. Those wounds can last a lifetime.
Once I heard an adult say that if Red Wing had a ghetto, it would be the east side of town. Wait a minute!!!  I lived on the east side of town!!!  I didn’t think it was so bad.  Yet it had a reputation, and I guess, so did the people who lived there.  It wasn’t exactly on the wrong side of the tracks, but clearly, it was not close enough to the golf course and the bigger, nicer homes of the community.
In a small town, we know our neighbors, and we can quickly put them into “boxes.”  We can quickly make assumptions that we know someone by the reputation of a sibling or a parent. If we judge that a young person has made a mistake, we can lock them into a certain category, and they have little chance to build another image. 
I still value the close relationships we can build in smaller communities.  I still love feeling that I can walk anywhere in town at any time of day and feel safe.  At the same time, I know that small towns can have highly active rumor mills and some people can feel judged and left out.  For Red Wing, and I imagine for towns in Dodge County, it is important to find ways to make sure everyone feels safe and included.