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Growing up, our family never traveled at Thanksgiving, but instead stayed in Colorado to spend the day with beloved friends. As it tends to be for holidays, we had our traditions that were necessary to keep. We’d be sure to bring scalloped corn, gree…
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I’m sitting here with my lovely mother. She is sleeping peacefully at the Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House in Bettendorf. She is dying from end-stage COPD. We brought her here three weeks ago thinking we were near the end. But as I write today, she’s s…
Faith stories are the culmination of confirmation at St. Paul. Ninth-graders shared presentations describing how they see God at work in the world and in their lives. Kailee McCaw wrote this poem to describe her relationship with God. I stand in fron…
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Each morning as I take my eight-year-old son to school, I ask him what he is thankful for. Some mornings I get this amazing answer like, “God” or “I’m thankful for you, mom” or “for a friend.” Sometimes it’s something like a computer game or a toy. H…
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The holidays are right around the corner and with those joyous times comes uncertainty, challenges, and stressors. This holiday season, practice self-care with these simple, helpful strategies. by Angie Vaaler, St. Paul social worker/counselor As the…
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The story of the biblical prophet Jonah and his outsized moments recently gave me the object lesson I needed for a Preschool Chapel reflection. No, I didn’t bring in a whale for the children. Jonah had another outsized moment. It happened when he wa…
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This fall, St. Paul Preschool received a notable grant from Investing in Iowa Child Care (IICC) to expand and enhance the two-year-old classroom. The first of its kind, this grant is geared toward keeping early childhood education up and running duri…
Do you have a child that is in 3rd-6th grade, a good reader or speaker, and is interested in playing a role in this year’s Christmas Pageant? Auditions Speaking role auditions: Sunday, Nov. 14th and 21st in room 009 during the learning hour from 10:1…
Take part in the discussion of local film Sons and Daughters of Thunder which centers on the events that led to the beginning of the end of slavery in America and inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe to write her incendiary book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. On Sund…
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A childhood friend of mine is what you might describe as a bit of a daredevil or thrill-seeker. She will say “yes” to just about any opportunity. Or jump at the chance for any new sort of experience. I’m grateful for our decades of friendship because…
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Autumn is the season when every St. Paul member is invited to make a financial commitment for the life and work of St. Paul for the coming year. The vitality of the church depends on your involvement and generous giving. The pledges of St. Paul peopl…
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I have some brand-new fleece-lined jeans that don’t fit and need to be returned. That’s a hassle. No wonder Adam and Eve stuck with fig leaves. That these jeans don’t fit is my fault. What a foolish notion to believe that by sitting in a chair with a…