The Cutlers: Online and In Life

On Sunday, June 21 st at College Church, as LJ Valentine closed his Bible and
walked from the lectern, having just read the morning scripture, Kay Cutler
exclaimed to her husband, David, “Wow! LJ has grown up since we saw him last! He
did a great job!”
The young man did not hear her praise—no one there did—because when she
said it, she and David were in Brookings, South Dakota, watching on television.
So LJ, other members—meet the Cutlers, your brother and sister in Christ.

Products of the upper Midwest, David and Kay met when she was in college and
were married. When they moved to Brookings in 1997, Kay had a Ph. D. in Child
Development and Family Relationships. She began teaching at South Dakota State
University. David worked in construction. They joined the tiny Brookings Church of
Christ, where for two decades they were active in several ministries.
Then, in 2020, came the double whammy of the pandemic and Kay’s multiple
autoimmune issues, eventually resulting in their decision to worship online. With no
streaming at Brookings, they searched until they found College Church.
Since then, they have been faithful online participants each Sunday. They sing
with us, partake of the supper with us, and pray with us. After worship, David (B.A.
in Bible, HU) leads a study that has, they feel, strengthened their relationship.
Even at a distance, the couple experiences a sense of fellowship. They can name
dozens of our members, rejoice in births and baptisms, and savor every announced
potluck, to the point of sharing this running joke: “Think we can make it to Searcy
for that?” Her online contact with College Church led Kay to volunteer as a WBS
teacher, and her fellowship now extends to her students in the U.S. and other
countries.
But what about Brookings? It is a small, isolated, and struggling congregation of
about 20. Its aging membership is saddled with a modest, hard-to-access building.
The absence of even one couple would be felt. And theirs was.
But though physically absent from services, Kay and David did not abandon their
home congregation. With a handful of like-minded souls, they began planning its
revival.
This group reached out to College Church and our Domestic Missions Committee
for ideas. They researched church growth material, consulted with Heritage 21, a
brotherhood organization dedicated to helping small churches, and explored
fundraising possibilities. David developed several options for renovation of the
building. Because their current preacher wants to retire, they’re now seeking
Sunday morning speakers to fill in until a permanent preacher can be found.
The whole congregation has welcomed these efforts yet has been slow to endorse
elements of their plan, leaving Brookings in limbo. Despite the present indecision,
the Cutlers are not giving up on their committee’s plan.

The last five years have been rough for them. While wrestling with the church
situation, they grappled with how to keep Kay safe when potentially everything in
any given environment could be a health threat, thanks to her autoimmune
disorders. By the grace of God, expert doctors, understanding colleagues and
students—and her husband’s unfailing support—Kay made it through the worst.
Though complete recovery is elusive, she has improved.
There’s joy in that. For David, now retired, there’s joy in caring for their home,
gardening, and serving as an alderman. For Kay, joy in ongoing projects related to
child development.
In fact, she realizes that this “joy in children” is a through-line for both her and
David. For 23 years she directed SDSU’s lab school, with David involved as “Mr. Fix-
It” and construction engineer for kid-related activities. The two of them collaborated
on a project for the Children’s Museum of South Dakota: a tile mosaic, created by
children, that now adorns an art-studio wall. Lately, Kay has been making doll
furniture, one of those “Grandma” things she likes to do for young kids.
They both obviously love children, wanted their own, yet have no living offspring.
Cal was stillborn in 2002. In the years surrounding that death, Kay had four
miscarriages. Only in 2023 did the Cutlers learn that all five were victims of Thyroid
Peroxidase, associated with one of Kay’s ongoing immune disorders.

Yes, the Cutlers find joy in LJ’s coming-of-age and in the other L2L boys they’ve
seen up front. As their Brookings family struggles, they find solace and hope in their
remote fellowship with us.
They want to visit one day, and when they do, David, a song leader himself, might
want to talk church hymns with counterparts here. As for Kay, she yearns to know
more about the L2L girls and women of the congregation: “The first thing I want to
do is to meet all of them!”
The pleasure will be all ours.