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Story Archives
Browse through the archives of feature stories
A place for compassion & healing
Anna Goodwin imagines a central place of healing for persons with mental illness who need information, support, and the embrace of community. A place where each person is valued, known and loved. Anna’s spiritual home, St. Paul, is such a place.
Christa Orfitelli possesses an avid sense of adventure. She knows that the adventure of the discipled life is all about the daily encounters, the ordinary moments, and the opportunities to care about other human beings.
God takes on the sinews, bones, and skin of early life. That’s the essence of the Christmas story. Nikki Rohner and Zach Ebener know something about the daily practice of incarnation. It’s not tidy. It’s not learned from books. It comes in flesh-and-blood concrete ways that embody love.
Rabbit Cochran-Zavitz is gentle and tough; humble of heart, and fierce in warrior discipline. As the top-ranking female practitioner of Okinawan karate, Rabbit practices the discipline she needs to execute this highly-patterned art, and the patterning of a lifetime of faith.
“When the shell you live in has taken on the savor of your love, when your dwelling has become a taproot, then your house is a home.” — Scott Russel Sanders
For Katie and Zach Kaduce, a house and a church become home.
A good joint, holding the pieces together, will stay strong for generations. Brian Lovig knows this to be true. These strong bonds are a part of his woodworking, his family, and his church community.
Deanna and Leon Feuerbach have rooted themselves in the soil of St. Paul for more than five decades. This church, for them, is the vantage point for perceiving the goodness of life.
Jeff Carroll’s gift? ‘I love to make new connections, to find out what’s important to people, what we have in common.’
In retirement, and in every year leading up to it, Peggy Gustafson depends on “the overabundance of God” — in the classroom and out. Then as now, she is surely
a catalyst for sparking a spirit of exploration in others.
For Mary Tjarks, an obstetrician, facts and statistics help guide patient care. The facts about malaria prove it to be a vicious killer in the developing world. But these are not just numbers or statistics. These are people — children of God.
We call a portion of our St. Paul campus the Church House. In its earlier life, this grand pillared structure was home to a son of a prominent German immigrant. Family memories are embedded in the handsome woodwork of a bygone era.
Knitting with meaning & purpose
“God gave me this gift of knitting so I would have something connected with serving God as I grew older.” Knit three. Purl three. With her hands, Marilyn keeps doing God’s work for others.
It turns out life isn't a DIY project
Steve’s first instinct is to fix things that are askew or in disrepair. But life with God is not a do-it-yourself project.
Lisa Holdorf compares her Appalachian mission experience to “the yellow brick road.” Along the way, she faced down some of her demons. She tuned in to the call for adventure. She gained some courage. And she discovered that it’s better to ease down the road in the company of God and others.
We are called to love tenderly
“Why am I here? What purpose does God have for my life?…I have a feeling that my daily life counts for something.” Though tragedy has let a mark on Scott McCartney’s past, laughter, family, and faith help him lead a centered life.
Our daily lives are tangled up with the things God is doing in the world. For this crafting ministry, easy laughter and kindness are daily reminders of our connection to one another.
We're not so different, you and I
Laughter and humor have always been a part of John Foley’s character. But for this funnyman, a relationship with God is what has gotten him through life’s challenges.
Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. Meet Kathie Heaps. She’s as salty as they come.
Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” — Mother Teresa
Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.
Marking the 1-year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti, people are still renewing hope and rebuilding lives. St. Paul people stepped up in a big way following the disaster, donating $5,103 to Haiti relief…
This Christmas, in the miracle of Jesus’ birth, Harris considers the birth of love and hope in his own life.
Growing up in a Lutheran tradition in a musical family, I could even look forward to the ‘bare tree’ songs… I always say that music is the sustainer of my faith.
With cloth bag in hand, Jan power-walks her north Davenport neighborhood with an eagle-eye for litter. It is her way of being a steward of this earthly home.
Dylan Parker lives within his hopes, not for himself but for the world. He chooses life and community — for the common good.
For Heather Hepner, life is rooted in relationships: her family and the Friday-morning mothers. Grounded in God’s love. Connected even to the monarch butterfly hovering over the garden milkweed.
As Davenport’s Ground Transportation Center’s manager, Tom Wittig is conscious of his carbon footprint. Tom’s local actions, much like the smallest movement of a butterfly’s wings, can have a global impact.
I Just Want to Live While I'm Alive
Val Waring received a gift. In the midst of a struggle with cancer, God handed her a renewed ‘sense of joy of being able to breathe.’
A middle-schooler’s spirit draws her to write poetry, dream of distant oceans, love family laughter, and help hungry people.
Grandmother Stella was the earliest relational “thread” whose “simple acts in everyday life” left an imprint on Sheila and shaped her spirituality.
HOME: Belonging. Living. Growing.
Home is a place where you can catch a dream and ride it to the end of the line and back… Home is a place to become yourself…
Here’s what Augustine of Hippo said: “Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who… are brought into closer connection with you.” Meet Mickey Herman.
Empty. Filled up. Running over.
Nikki LaTray’s resilience and determination, along with the kindnesses of strangers, are mixed into the pastries and cookies at East Side Bakery in Davenport.
Matt Schroeder is a guy who remembers where he came from. From Schroeder to Schroeder. From farmer to garden-tiller. From tiny seed of faith to red August tomato.
Inside Story: A Membership Inquiry Class
On a weekday evening, a little community takes shape. Awkward introductions give way to surprising connections. Empty folders fill up with ministry information.
The little homesick girl has grown up. She has found her very self, along with a passion for serving. She carries with her a sense of belonging and home.
“When God wants to speak and deal with us,” wrote Martin Luther long ago, God doesn’t send an angel but “parents, or the pastor, or our neighbor.”
It was Palmer’s consideration of “soul and role” that particularly resonated with Lynn. Other readers may be drawn to quite different aspects of what Parker calls a “hidden wholeness.”
St. Paul is a support network for families, where these young parents have committed to raise their children in the faith.
In this Advent story, pregnancy is a sign of divine blessing. Love is on the way!
Sings Bono: “Lookin’ for to save my soul, lookin’ in the places where no flowers grow, lockin’ for to fill that God-shaped hole.” Meet Joe Cowley.
A small boy started to clap. “His heart knew the love of Jesus, and he couldn’t contain it.”
A St. Paul stay-at-home mom is compelled by her faith to make a difference in the lives of others.
No Excuses: A Spirit of Servanthood
Everything is a gift of God. In a spirit of servanthood, Deb and Joe James “give back, because of all that God has given to us.”
Be a Letter of Christ! Write a letter
“Sometimes telling someone ‘I love you’ or ‘You matter to me’ is not enough. The best way to communicate feelings and convictions is by writing. Good words add up to strong connections.”
“I envision that God is holding me from underneath with loving arms. God is underneath me, all around me.”
His very life is a letter that anyone can read by just looking at him. Meet Jim on his mail route in west Davenport.
In the sun-drenched library of Madison Elementary School, Bob reads a book to two small friends. A volunteer literacy tutor, Bob serves in a spirit of love.
Her workspace is littered with the stuff of creation. Hymn verses. Lively verbs. Scripture texts. Books that swarm with monkeys and toucans, elephants and bees.
Working on flood-damaged houses crystallized some things for Kim. “It was a reminder to keep it simple, to keep to the basics. Love God. Love others.”
Scott makes connections between math and music, head and heart, life and faith — traveling to church in Davenport from Morrison, Illinois.
There among 163 Wikipedia footnotes on Lutheranism, something about God’s grace grabbed Jess. And she found her way to church.
This is the story of two retired guys. They are willing and available. They love the church. And some years ago, they started noticing stuff.
Camp Shalom: Raising Kids in Faith
Explore a place of natural wonder that breathes with the rhythm of God’s Spirit.
Tackling Money Issues with Faith
“For us, our motivation is to get our own house in order so that we can go out and help others,” says Dave, letting his faith take the lead.
Meet a woman who found a path to walk in the light of scripture. She’s one of 20 St. Paul people leading small study groups during Lent. It’s all part of a 40-day journey that carries us more deeply into the language of faith.
The Bible was a “foreign” language for Juli. But now it nourishes her spiritual imagination every day. She has a great story to share.
“Music to me is so intertwined with faith. It’s who I am,” says Claire Kuttler. She’s the 24-year-old who sang for President Barack Obama’s pre-inaugural prayer service in Washington D.C.
The “fascinating, transformational power of ideas” has shaped Bob Sorensen’s life and vocation.
Utah pipe organ artisans chat about what it means to craft a magnificent 36-foot instrument for a Davenport church.
Plenty of ways exist to help the struggling people of the world. But the best involve sustainability and self-reliance.
Budget Lessons from a Seven-year-old
“Emma, you don’t have to put all of your birthday money into the offering, maybe just some of it.”
“If you want to have love in your heart and experience peace, you can’t make room for hate to have such a stronghold.”
It's Always Better When We're Together
Witness a teacher’s love for kids and for sharing the faith.
Susie can’t move on her own power — but the power of prayer nourishes her unshakeable faith. When frustrations douse her spirit, she keeps turning to God.
In church, where the word of God takes hold of people and sends them out with love for others, Sharlene gets her oxygen.
Trust others. Stay anchored. Bear with one another. Watch for obstacles. Work shoulder to shoulder. Live with gratitude.
From threading the filmstrip projectors of the early 70s to creating the Power Points of today, teachers Steve and Cheryl Arp leave a trail of kindnesses in the Long Grove community.
It’s a vocation that makes her feel alive. “Listen to my people as they walk. Pay attention to the shuffling of pants legs.”
“My whole goal in life is to use the gifts God has given to me to help people do what needs to be done,” says Don, an “easy-going” guy at home in flannel and denim.
Martin Luther wrote that the true vocation of the Christian is to honor God through service to the neighbor. This St. Paul high-schooler is getting the idea.
Like Our Most Special Neighbor
“We treat everyone like our neighbor, like our most special neighbor,” says RN Sherri Beyer. Her vocation treating people with cancer keeps her poised between grief and hope — and grateful for God’s grace.
From the smallest Head Start child to the proud gowned graduate, kids are Bill Osborne’s passion.
'We Left Them Shining with Hope'
Along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, two friends encountered a region devastated by hurricane and poverty. They’re not afraid to step out and serve… “Even at our age.”
“A life is not important except for the impact it has on other lives.” — Jackie Robinson, Jim’s first sports hero
Witnessing faith and resilience
“If I had to pick two words to describe the people of Argentina, it would be faith and resilience,” says seminarian Josh Ebener. “The faith of the people here is powerful, constantly acknowledging God’s presence and giving God thanks.”
From Argentina: Our 'pan de cada dia'
Amidst the uncertainty of where the next meal is coming from and the frailness of malnourished bodies, they can eat food. Church is both spiritually and literally the pan de cada dia (daily bread).
Alert for What God Will Do Next
Enter John the Baptist with travel directions for an Advent perspective: “Change your life,” he shouts. “Make the road smooth and straight! Make a clean sweep of your lives.”
Jane's Top Ten List for Single Parenting
Jane’s ten commonsense goals for single parenting resonate with humor, pathos, and hard-fought wisdom.
“I see myself as the church — cultivating and nourishing body, mind, and spirit — so that I can give to others,” says Jim.
“I just know in my heart that things will work, because of the strength of people pulling together,” says Georgeann.
“Mom would cash the check on Friday,” recalls Eric Engstrom of his mother Velma. “The first thing, she’d put money for the church in an envelope, and then she’d put the envelope in the cabinet.”
Love carries Kari into the new sanctuary
“I am going to walk into the new church with the help of God,” Kari thought. And she did!
Voice from Tanzania: Water Stories
Grace flows in water stories from Tanzania: “Free drinks at the Byerlys’!”
“I freely gave her what God had first given me without reservation. No act of kindness is too small when done with love.”
A 25-year-old student at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Paul Bailie grew up at St. Paul in Davenport. Paul is serving his internship year at Trinity Lutheran Church in Manhattan, New York.
Hospitality in Big Bear Slippers
In his big bear slippers, Steve Hart practices the art of hospitality.
A young Haitian woman learns English fluency and friendship with a Bettendorf family.
Putting Sparkle in Dental Care
Her daily work puts her up-close-and-personal with hundreds of bicuspids and incisors — and people to care about.
Mabel’s easy smile and impish wit surface easily in the presence of this new friend. “I love hearing Mabel’s stories,” says Sharon.
It was Bariki Charles, a five-year-old in green blazer and pants, standing in the arid landscape of Tanzania.
“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies,” wrote Mother Teresa. At 94, Helen Reins delights in small beautiful things.
In a 15-hour car ride from Iowa to Mississippi, a handful of St. Paul people experienced the mystery of God.
Sharon learned: “Seventeen months after the worst natural disaster to hit this nation, people emerged with their faith not only intact, but stronger…”
A teacher of literature, a parent of three, a lover of questions, a disciple of connections, Katie Hanson turns to an English novelist for her mantra on learning. “Only connect!”
"Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.