I recently had my blood drawn in preparation for my annual physical. I used to be nervous about the poke, but now I’m less anxious about being punctured and more frantic about the test results. I think as we age things can go haywire, causing me to b…
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When I was in middle school, I got a TV in my room. Of course, since I was born in the 1900s, a TV in your room didn’t mean much if you didn’t have cable or a VCR (neither of which I had). Some nights, when the clouds were few and the wind was jus…
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St. Paul member Anna Villareal has built a career placing art where people need it most—and she’s bringing that work home to share with the St. Paul community later this month. Anna grew up moving. Wisconsin. North Carolina. Different cities, differe…
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Almost 20 years ago, the poet Mary Oliver wrote this poem, called Iraq. I want to sing a song for a body I saw crumpled and without a name but clearly someone young who had not yet lived his life and never would. How shall I do this? What kind of…
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Most Monday mornings when I get into the office, one of the first things I do to start my week is make a to-do list. I think about the tasks I need to get done, or I try to map out what my week might look like (knowing full well that my best-laid pla…
In this season of Lent, as we’re called to slow down, to change our pace and reconnect with what matters most, two St. Paul people have found something profound: the ministry of presence. Jan Muhs walks hospital corridors offering prayer cards and li…
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Last Tuesday morning began with a small moment that has stayed with me. I was out running on the Duck Creek path, completely in my own head — thinking about upcoming rehearsals and performances, entertaining the illusion that I resembled Giselle rath…
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Camp Shalom is thrilled to announce that Noah Scantland has joined the organization as its new Executive Director, beginning in early January. Noah, originally from Tennessee and new to Camp Shalom, brings passion and expertise shaped by his experien…
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“I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless, ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness. Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory? I triumph still, if thou abide with me.” -verse four from “Abide with Me” by Henry Francis Lyte A Scottish cle…
Changing Pace is this year’s Lenten theme. The rhythm of modern life often leaves us breathless, racing from one obligation, one text message, one Facebook notification to the next. Explore what it means to resist the tyranny of hurry and discover th…
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Like many of us, I’ve found a great escape and joy in watching the Winter Olympics. From the subtle skill of the curlers to the fierce bravery of the downhill skiers, I cannot get enough of watching the athletes do their thing—not just as individuals…
Sometimes a love story begins with a letter, a long walk, or passing hellos. But what starts as a spark grows into something more—through distance and difficulty, through ordinary Tuesdays and extraordinary challenges, through the daily choice to sho…