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John Sumwalt For Agri-View
Nov 23, 2025
Nov 23, 2025

1 of 3

The Rev. Jeanne Murray Jones – 1941-2025 – relates a healing experience at a retreat that left her profoundly changed. ‘For several months afterward, every time I closed my eyes Jesus with his arms outstretched was imprinted on the inside of my eyelids,’ she relates. “I also experienced great joy and odd sensations, such as being able to taste music. I could suddenly ‘play by ear’ instead of just reading music.’ She also told of an experience when she smelled flowers though there were none present.

Willow Valley United Methodist Church

The Willow Valley United Methodist Church in Ithaca, Wisconsin, is originally built in 1856. John Sumwalt’s grandfather, James Archie Sumwalt, worked on a renovation of the sanctuary in the 1930s when the family lived on a farm in Little Willow. It’s since been renovated again.

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John Sumwalt attends a New Year’s Eve Watch Night service in 1968 at Willow Valley United Methodist Church in Ithaca, Wisconsin. The photograph is taken in about 1960.

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John Sumwalt For Agri-View

Upon hearing recently of the passing of my friend, the Rev. Jeanne Murray Jones, I remembered the day she told me a remarkable mystical story. She mentioned it in passing as she showed me around the newly renovated Willow Valley United Methodist Church in Ithaca, Wisconsin. Willow Valley is my home congregation; I was back to do a storytelling program in the new sanctuary.

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John Sumwalt new mug 2024 — John Sumwalt

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John Sumwalt is a retired pastor and the son of dairy farmers. He is the author of “Shining Moments: Visions of the Holy in Ordinary Lives.” Email johnsumwalt@gmail.com or call 414-339-0676 to reach him, or write to W172 N7735, #932, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051.