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In the great plains of South Africa, there’s a poor farming community called Nieu-Bethesda. One of the small houses stands out from the rest. The yard is full of statues – cement camels and mermaids, wise men and angels, and lots of owls. They are bi…
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Flying can be an isolating experience, which is ironic because airports and airplanes are usually crammed full of other people. But when you fly, your own needs and wants take up a substantial amount of space in your mind. Do you feel that way, too?…
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Last week I took a few minutes to thoroughly sweep all the nooks and crannies in our kitchen. Especially horrifying are the patches of floor under the chairs where my children sit to eat their meals. (Our beloved black lab, Sydney, passed away earlie…
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Growing up, I took piano lessons for the better part of seven years or so. And yet, if you sat me in front of piano today, about the only melody I might be able to produce would be one half of the Heart & Soul duet. Or maybe, if I had enough time…
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On my car radio on Monday afternoon, I heard a rabbi from Pittsburgh interviewed. Rabbi Moishe Mayir Vogel is the director of a humanitarian agency, the Aleph Institute. He lives and works in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, the site of the latest act…
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On a United flight to Denver last year, I ordered my customary cranapple juice to sip while reading a book. The napkin beneath my drink struck me as worth saving. So I did. It reads: “Planes change. Values don’t. Your priorities will always be ours.”…
Shatter the Stigma – A Public Screening of “Don’t Talk About the Baby” Don’t Talk About the Baby is the first documentary to explore the cultural stigmas surrounding pregnancy loss and infertility. Join us for a screening of the film, followed by a W…
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What can I do? I ask myself this question every time I learn about a different need in the world, or hear another great speaker bring an issue to light. At first I get fired up with great momentum, knowing I want to help fix the problem and bring abo…
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This year the theme for St. Paul’s Vacation Bible School is Shipwrecked: Rescued by Jesus. It is a fun way to get young people thinking about their faith. Imagining that we are all stranded on an island for the week, we have been reflecting on our re…
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I am what you call a “cradle Lutheran.” I grew up going to the same Lutheran church in Lebanon, PA until after I finished seminary and moved to the Quad Cities. I was baptized, confirmed, married, and overall raised in the faith at Holy Trinity. I at…
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Every year I look forward to watching the NFL draft on television. I love college football, and I’m eager to see the reactions of some of my favorite players when a team selects them. What an emotional moment to finally realize that their dreams of p…
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Over 50 years ago, Ezra Jack Keats helped a lot of people to see. It was simple, really. He wrote and illustrated a book called The Snowy Day about a child waking up in the city to a snowy day. Peter, the little boy, bundles up in a red snowsuit and…