I am trying to fathom the experience of a 32-year-old black man highlighted in the Justice Department’s scathing report on Ferguson, Missouri’s corrupt police department. Our 32-year-old friend is cooling off in his car after a basketball game in a F…
In the warmth of the Dominican sun, Brad Holehan leads a class room of future leaders. These students are tops in their class. In a country wracked by poverty, at least half come from families who live with very low incomes. Brad is a graduate of Aug…
St. Paul members will consider calling two new resident pastors at a congregational meeting on Sunday, March 22, 10:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary. The candidates, who would come to serve St. Paul from August 2015-July 2017, are Amy Diller (right) and Lies…
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Ann Hochhausen deployed with the 28th Combat Support Hospital to Iraq. Her lived experiences as an OB-GYN nurse, called upon in war to be the chief nurse of a Combat Support Hospital. She will present Sunday during the learning hour, 10:45-11:30 a.m….
On Lenten Wednesday evenings, downstairs in Fellowship Hall, a crew of a half-dozen or so people scrape and wash plates during the congregational meal. On a few Saturday mornings each year, a crew combs the St. Paul neighborhood, picking up garbage,…
The sun shines through the brightly colored stained glass windows in the chapel at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque. A pipe organ rises to the ceiling, and rich brown brick creates a warm space. Every weekday at 9:30 a.m., the students, facul…
Pastor Chad McKenna asked the crowd gathered in Fellowship Hall this question: How many of you would say your lives are busy? By a show of hands, it was a room full of people who have their hands full with life – many with just one or two nights a we…
Pat Herath held onto her dream for 50 years. When Pat was in the second grade, a missionary visited her school telling stories of Africa. Pat knew then that someday, she wanted to help. Twenty five years later, Pat visited Africa. As an adult, she re…
Ever since I read about a woman named Betty Tudor more than 20 years ago, I have been unable to forget her tale. Her 19-year performance deserves an Oscar in the Academy Awards of Failure. A resident of Exeter, England, Ms. Tudor struggled to master…
There was a short lived game show that was on television from 2008-2009 called “Hole in the Wall.” Inspired by a Japanese television show, competitors were challenged to fit through a “hole in the wall.” A human form in various kinds of poses would b…
The Quad City Symphony Orchestra is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. As part of the celebration, the symphony commissioned Bill Campbell, St. Paul member and coordinator of contemporary music, and others to write new music. Each composer…
One of God’s favorite tricks seems to be the hiding of certain Kingdom of Heaven treasures in unsuspecting places. Insert extraordinary objects into ordinary surroundings and you are bound to create surprise. It’s a play right out of the playbook of…