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There’s a strange thing that happens pretty regularly around St. Paul. But I don’t think that it’s unique to our church at 2136 Brady Street. I have a feeling the same sort of thing might happen at Christian congregations all over the place. People a…
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Up high on the steeple at St. Paul, a crew is working to replace the 64-year-old glass and wood in a structure that shines light in the darkness and beckons countless people to worship each week. The steeple, built in 1952 with the original Sanctuary…
For more than 30 years, two-time Grammy award-winning artist Terrance Simien, an 8th-generation Louisiana Creole, has performed his beloved zydeco music. Simien has become one of the most respected and accomplished artists in American roots music tod…
Explore the dynamics of childhood behavior with a family life specialist from the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. The presentation, Avoiding Behavior Problems: Teaching Self-Control, will be on Monday, April 4, 6-8 p.m. at St. Paul. The…
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When I want to get my faith bearings, I try to hang around people of faith who hurt, who live with suffering loss, or who somehow manage every day against steep odds. Spending time with a guy whose kidneys aren’t working, or whose daughter keeps runn…
Scrape. Suds up. Sanitize. Sort. Store away. At the Wednesday evening meals during Lent this year – as they have for the past half-dozen years or so – a growing crew of people don green aprons. For 90 minutes a week for five weeks, they are a team in…
My friend, Elise, and I like to say that we are hooked on service. Before seminary we both did a great deal of volunteer work within our home communities and churches. When we went to India for a seminary class, we chose to stay an extra week and vol…
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These Wednesdays in Lent, we gather twice as a congregation. Coming together mid-day and again in the evening, we pray, praise, and contemplate how God may work in our world. These midweek services remind of me of the Christian tradition of praying t…
They set out on a scavenger hunt on the grounds of St. Paul and in Vander Veer Park, using clues and Bible verses to find as many items as they could in nature. A few examples: Whether a boulder or piece of gravel: I Samuel 2:2. It won’t last long, s…
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Early each morning, Tom Lahl rises to do chores at his hog-feeding operation out by Blue Grass. He spends about an hour to an hour-and-a-half running feed on the place where he’s lived for much of his life. Tom and his wife, Joan, have also spent tim…
These days, a trip to the grocery store can be an exhausting experience. Nevermind having to navigate the crowded aisles with the one cart that always has a squeaky wheel or waiting in line as an employee runs to the very back of the store for a pric…
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Maybe it’s fitting that the early primary season falls during Lent. Maybe it’s exactly appropriate for so much hand-wringing over who might end up as the next president of the United States to occur at just the same time that we seek to recenter our…