Churches play a rich and important role in any community. The more churches a town has, the more choices residents have for their place of worship if they choose to do so.

A church can also be valuable for the programs its parishioners organize to help local residents in need.

Last weekend, two churches hosted their sesquicentennial celebrations, honoring 150 years of existence. The Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church is located near Blooming Prairie and the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church is in Johnsburg.

As reported last week by the Herald’s Mike Rose, Red Oak Grove was organized on Oct. 27, 1859 by the Rev. A.C. Preus. Roughly eight years later, the Rev. C.L. Clausen came to serve the church, as well as four other churches, including Six Mile Grove in Lyle and Little Cedar in Adams, all of which are also celebrating sesquicentennials this year.

Last Sunday, the celebration in Johnsburg included a bake sale, a parade, activities and an open dance floor.

Those types of events bring our communities together, something all of these churches have been doing for a long, long time.

We congratulate these churches on the occasion of their sesquicentennial celebrations.