The Cutlers: Online and In Life
Note: This is a revised version of an article that appeared in the bulletin on August 16, 2026.
On Sunday, June 21st 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.
Though physically absent from services, when Kay and David were asked by a couple of members for ideas to aid their home congregation, they readily agreed. With a handful of like-minded souls, they reached out to College Church and our Domestic Missions Committee for advice. They researched church growth material and surrounding local congregations. They consulted with Heritage 21, a brotherhood organization dedicated to helping small churches, and with the Kite Center for Ministry at York University. They also explored fundraising possibilities, and David developed several options for renovation of the building.
The Brookings church does face numerical and financial challenges, with current attendance typically 15 to 20. But for more than 50 years it has been a spiritually sound congregation serving generations of Christians from the region around Brookings and its college community.
The last five years have been rough for the Cutlers. 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.
On Sunday, June 21st 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.
Though physically absent from services, when Kay and David were asked by a couple of members for ideas to aid their home congregation, they readily agreed. With a handful of like-minded souls, they reached out to College Church and our Domestic Missions Committee for advice. They researched church growth material and surrounding local congregations. They consulted with Heritage 21, a brotherhood organization dedicated to helping small churches, and with the Kite Center for Ministry at York University. They also explored fundraising possibilities, and David developed several options for renovation of the building.
The Brookings church does face numerical and financial challenges, with current attendance typically 15 to 20. But for more than 50 years it has been a spiritually sound congregation serving generations of Christians from the region around Brookings and its college community.
The last five years have been rough for the Cutlers. 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.
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