When Deacon Randy Altstadt visited Kenny and Abbey Moenkedick’s farm in Perham to see if it would be suitable for hosting this year’s annual Rural Life Celebration, it happened to be a day when they were making pork sausage in the shed.
“Everyone was involved,” Deacon Altstadt said. “All the children were up to their elbows mixing the sausage, grandpa was grinding, Abbey was stuffing. It was really fun to watch.”
Deacon Altstadt, who serves the Northern Cross Area Catholic Community, has witnessed firsthand how the couple’s faith shapes both their family life and their work on the farm. And when he asked them to host, it was an immediate yes.
“They put their trust in God along with their hard work to make the farm successful,” he said. “Their faith is a big part of their lives, and I know it guides them to take care of the small corner of creation God has entrusted to them.”
Kenny and Abbey said that their “yes” to hosting the Rural Life Celebration is an opportunity to recognize farmers and honor the rural way of life. Less than 2% of the U.S. population are farmers, Kenny said, and there is lot of pressure to literally put “food on the table” while prioritizing first a relationship with God and second family life.
a statue of Mary at the farm July 13. (Dianne Towalski/The Central Minnesota Catholic)
“So many stressors on a farmer are outside of their control, like commodity prices, weather and biological effects on animals and crops,” he said. “All farmers desperately need our prayers.”
The couple sees this celebration as an opportunity not only to welcome visitors to their farm, but also to bring people together and strengthen relationships within the parishes of their ACC, Northern Cross Area Catholic Community.
“Our pastor Father Omar [Guanchez] has been preaching about unity throughout the All Things New planning process,” Abbey said. “We, as a family, have been looking for opportunities that can bring together our ACC and the diocese. This celebration is a beautiful way to bring more unity and less division.”
“For example, all the different people working behind the scenes to put on the Aug. 16 event come from all four of the churches in our ACC — Butler, Dent, Perham and Rush Lake — and we hope that people from all over the diocese join us for the day,” she added.
As a rural life coordinator in the diocesan Office of Social Concerns, Deacon Altstadt was tasked with finding a host for the celebration and Kenny and Abbey immediately came to mind.
“They were really excited,” he said. “I thought I would have to sell them on it, but they just flat out said they would do it. They are a good choice because they are very faithful to the Church, faithful to their family life and they are excellent farmers.”
The original Moenkedick farm has been in the family for decades. Kenny’s grandfather, John, purchased the land in 1978 as a second farm and eventually sold it to his son, Andy. In 1980, Andy began milking cows and, together with his wife, Katie, built not only a dairy operation but a home centered on faith and family.
Andy and Katie raised their five children, including Kenny, on the farm, stressing the importance of praying together, especially before meals and in the evening before bedtime. For a time after high school, Kenny didn’t want to be a farmer and, he said, neither did any of his siblings. He started a career in construction, but after he and Abbey got married, he didn’t like the idea of being on the road for building projects all the time.
Kenny went to his father, Andy, and asked about moving back to the farm.
“And the rest is history,” Kenny said.
Kenny and Abbey took over ownership in 2019. They sold the cows in 2020 and now concentrate on crops like corn, edible beans and soybeans.
Kenny said he feels blessed and unworthy each and every day to have the responsibility of caring for God’s creation.
“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to care for God’s earth as a job,” he said. “I know many people who look forward to Fridays and dread Monday mornings. I, however, tell people that I never have to work because I truly enjoy what I do.”
In addition to working part-time as an OB nurse in Detroit Lakes, Abbey homeschools the couple’s seven children — ranging in age from 13 to almost 2. “She’s teaching them to continue the tradition of making a living off the land and from the farm,” Deacon Altstadt said.
The celebration is not just about farmers and everyone is welcome.
“The Rural Life Celebration is about celebrating the beauty of being a rural diocese,” said Kateri Mancini, director of social concerns for the Diocese of St. Cloud, the office that coordinates the Rural Life Celebration each year. “It’s about bringing people together to be in and grateful for God’s creation, especially as we experience it in central Minnesota — on farms and in rural settings alongside our neighbors.”
The event will begin with Mass on the farm at 1:30 p.m. Immediately following Mass, Bishop Neary will present this year’s Catholic Century Farm Awards and the Rural Business Award. Everyone is then invited to stay for refreshments, fellowship and activities for the whole family.
“In ‘The Rule of St. Benedict,’ he speaks of how we are to receive guests,” Abbey said. “I hope we can imitate that as we welcome people to our farm.
The Rural Life Celebration begins at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16, at the Kenny and Abbey Moenkedick Farm in rural Perham (38153 – 431st Street, Perham, MN 56573). The event is free and open to all. Money collected during the Mass that is not in a parish envelope will benefit the Rural Life Fund.
The Rural Life Fund is available to help individuals and families in rural areas throughout our diocese who experience a sudden financial set-back or emergency. Funds up to $2,000 can be available through the Social Concerns department to help individuals with qualifying expenses that arise unexpectedly which would push one into a financial crisis or further a situation of poverty. For more information about this fund, visit stcdio.org/rural-life.