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With the changing of the seasons, I imagine many of us have similar routines where we prepare our houses, yards, and wardrobe for the colder weather. I don’t have a lot of household decorations for the fall but I do enjoy putting out a few pumpkins,…
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With “falling back” to standard time from Daylight Savings Time, and perhaps with the sleep disruptions of advancing age, I find myself more often walking through our home in the dark. Of course, I have some friends and colleagues who, through the ye…
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Amy Thoreson is the deputy director of the Scott County Health Department. First in a series of interviews with health care workers about working through COVID-19. Tell us about your job before COVID-19. My job is to oversee the daily operations of t…
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Five years ago, I was worshipping in the Mt. Airy neighborhood, on the northwest end of Philadelphia. David Lose was the preacher. “Worship is an act of resistance,” he said. Those may not have been his exact words. But the idea has stuck with me. Ev…
Want some interesting reading during this pandemic? The St. Paul Book Corner has all kinds of wonderful ideas for you – like The Great Influenza by John M. Barry. When President George W Bush read Barry’s book, he “couldn’t put it down.” He not only…
Editor’s note: Ninth-grade confirmation students are sharing their faith stories on Sunday mornings. The story below is from Claire Mask, a student at Pleasant Valley High School. I decided to write my faith story on being a foster sister. In 2015, m…
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Two months ago, when derecho hit, we briefly lost power at our house and cell service was pretty much wiped out, too. My keen husband had the foresight to head out once the wind had died down and buy as much ice as he could find. Not to hoard – that’…
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If it was Sunday evening, it was potluck night at the Ball-Trevor household. While Raymond and Mike were in the kitchen, their three kids were anxiously looking out the window for their neighbor Fran Wolfe, crossing fingers that she was walking up th…
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Have you ever spent much time examining the personalized license plates of cars you pass on the street? Or maybe you have one yourself? It’s always been a peculiar joy of mine to notice the various personalized plates and attempt to decipher just wha…
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On many afternoons as a second-grader, our daughter Rachel resituated the chairs from around our kitchen table and formed them into a semi-circle. That’s how she converted the family room into a choir room. Some of the greatest sacred music ever sung…
Every year, St. Paul gathers a team of people to participate in the annual NAMIWalk. The congregation gives $5,000 to support the work of NAMI in the Quad Cities, and the team gathers to walk together. The walk promotes awareness of mental health, ra…
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Editor’s note: Ninth-grade confirmation students are sharing their faith stories on Sunday mornings, as they wrap up their two-year confirmation journey. Hannah Turner is a ninth-grader at Davenport Central High School. When I think about faith or Go…