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Earlier this week, just after rushing to take photos of my kids on their first day of school, I walked through our neighborhood seeing other families doing the same thing. Kids stood on front porches or on the school’s front lawn with big smiles, ner…
“Maybe the way back will somehow make sense of the coming.” Claire Keegan’s Foster is a brief but powerful novella that has captivated readers around the world and is the focus of this year’s All St. Paul Reads event. Come along for a journey into th…
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For every meeting and gathering in the main building of the church, the route from my office takes me through the halls of the preschool, often multiple times a day. When I first started as the new pastoral resident in January, the corridor was alive…
All around the Quad Cities, the people of St. Paul show up—in neighborhoods, on construction sites, around boardroom tables—offering their time, talents, and hearts to build a stronger, more compassionate community. These faithful acts of service are…
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I have a confession; and I hope I don’t hurt anyone’s feelings. I don’t like musicals. Like, musical theater. I like plays; I like music…I don’t like musicals. This hasn’t always been true, but for whatever reason, it has become true. My wife an…
After three years serving in children’s ministries and growing both personally and professionally, Maddy Carroll is preparing to step into the next phase of her call to ministry. Maddy departs St. Paul this month to begin a nine-month internship in M…
A deeper chapter in a meaningful partnership is about to unfold. This summer, St. Paul is expanding its relationship with Tapestry Farms, a Quad-Cities nonprofit dedicated to walking alongside refugees and strengthening access to resources in this co…
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If you ever find yourself driving northeast outside of Tucson, Arizona, you may happen upon Biosphere 2, owned and operated by the University of Arizona. Inside this large campus of glass domes is essentially a mini-Earth. Whole ecosystems exist in w…
For many people, everything about these last days of July has screamed “vacation!” It may be the welcome break from a long slog at work. It may be a deep desire to escape the vagaries of a Midwest summer. It may be the fulfillment of a long-planned a…
By Karen Brooks, contributing writer Every weekend, pastors lead worship in front of the congregation, but behind the scenes many hands help make St. Paul a warm and welcoming place. Some volunteers sharpen pew pencils. Others collect the recycling…
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The abundance of rain has made the yards in my neighborhood lush and verdant. Tomatoes overflow their cages. Coneflowers burst with their bright pink in every direction. Hydrangeas have grown to be as big as bowling balls. On my daily dog walks, I’ve…
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Nearly 30 years ago, a German artist named Hans Hemmert came up with a new concept for a performance art piece. Hemmert wanted to find a way to visually represent the power of seeing others in a different perspective and the significance of what it m…