Denver Catholic

c Rooted I Tradition Faith has been passed down through generations in the Wernsman family. Gary recalls visiting his grand- parents as a child, where he says the Rosary was a daily tradition, regard- less of which of the 29 first cousins and their families were visiting. "We said the Rosary every day at my grandparents' place. That sticks with you. It didn't really happen at home, but it did when we went to Grandma and Grandpa's," he said, adding with a laugh, "I'm sure they're both in Heaven." In a world where fewer people live close to the land, farmers and ranch- ers know their livelihood — and the faith they pass on to the next genera- tion — requires patience, persistence and trust, Barb says, in something greater than ourselves. "You can't farm without faith," she said, her voice steady with the kind of conviction that only comes from a lifetime of living it. Anchored I Faith The Wernsmans attend Christ the King Church in Haxtun, just ten miles from their home. Barb served as a catechism teacher over the years — first before her children were old enough to attend, then again when they were enrolled and once more when her grand- children came through. "We stopped work on Saturdays to make it to Saturday night Mass. And we had catechism on Wednesday afternoons," she recalled. Like many rural communities, their parish is aging, and their priest is approaching retirement age. "We have an older congregation, but we just had a new baby, which we're real excited about," Barb noted. Their priest serves t wo additional churches, St. Patrick in Holyoke and St. Peter the Apostle in Fleming, which she says have more young families. Still, the Wernsmans remain devoted to their faith communit y, even as it evolves. Barb's personal faith practice includes a commitment to reading the Bible, which she's been doing continuously since 2000. "I've probably been through it 17 or 18 times. As soon as I'm done, I just start back over," she explained, each time noticing something new, especially in connection to the Sunday readings at Mass. c Family Legacy On their farm just outside Haxtun, Gary and Barb Wernsman have spent nearly six decades cultivating crops, cattle and trust in God's providence. The couple has been married for 56 years, raising four children and now enjoying the company of seven grandchildren. Two sons and three grandchildren help on the multigenerational ranch. Gary and Barb's days are full, tending to corn, hay and wheat fields, checking fences and irrigation systems and caring for cattle that graze on summer pastures west of Sterling and winter back home. "It's not uncommon for us to have three tractors going and Gary off doing something different. Sometimes we're going seven different directions at once," Barb laughed. Despite the busyness, faith remains the cornerstone of their lives. "You don't put the bulls out, you don't put the seed in the ground, unless you have faith that something good's going to happen. There's just no way to do it otherwise," Barb said. 16 AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2025 | DENVER CATHOLIC

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