John Lorson — St. Francis and The Rail Trail Naturalist

Sunday Service — 10:30 a.m.

Speaker — John Lorson
Leader — Karen Gotter

Title: St. Francis and The Rail Trail Naturalist

Topic: I will draw upon my experiences–told through photographs and stories–of my daily, year-round bicycle commutes to and from work through rural Wayne and Holmes Counties.

Bio: By day, you might find John Lorson ankle deep in the byproducts of Ohio’s agricultural bounty as Program Administrator for the Wayne Soil and Water Conservation District. While deeply moving in many ways, livestock manure isn’t John’s only passion. He draws great inspiration from his year-round, daily, bicycle commute to and from work in the heart of Ohio’s Amish Country—a Sisyphean journey now in its 15th year. The trip has spawned hundreds of stories that have fueled stand-up bits, keynote presentations and a decades-long presence in newsprint. The thousands of photographs that corroborate those stories have appeared in gallery shows, live presentations and several years of large format calendars. They’ve also spawned a loyal following on Instagram @railtrailnaturalist and Facebook @JohnLorsonSendHelp. John’s nature column “Rail Trail Naturalist” appears twice monthly in “The Bargain Hunter” newspapers in Wayne and Holmes Counties.
When the work, the ride or the countryside fail to fully inspire, the constant cacophony of children, pets and eccentric friends that surround John and his wife of 33 years, artist Kristin Kovach Lorson, always seems to pull through. Many folks know John and Kristin through their weekly humor columns “Send Help” and “Drawing Laughter” a story-and-cartoon collaboration which have collectively appeared in local newspapers in Wayne and Holmes counties every week for over 25 years.

*Mask are requested in the building*
Fellowship not available at this time.