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We are living in ordinary times – at least according to the church. What I mean to say is that the church goes through seasons just like the natural world. The big four church seasons are Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. But now, from May 27 unti…
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On one recent Monday morning, it was really quite quiet outside the two-story brick building on the corner of 15th and Ripley streets in Davenport. The sun shone down. The birds chirped. The hostas and milkweed planted outside rustled in the breeze….
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Most of us, I would imagine, are creatures of habit. We have our usual morning routines. Or our typical bedtime sequence of events that tells our brains it’s time to sleep. Or we might drive the exact same route to and from work each day. While varie…
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Along with heat and humidity, the season of summer offers predictable sounds: rolling thunder, occasional fireworks, and outdoor concerts. One of the loudest sounds of summer comes from the buzzing cicadas. It is a high-pitched, electrical song that…
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As a mother of two young children, wife of the life of the party, choir director of 4- and 5-year olds, and preschool music teacher, I have a high tolerance for noise. There’s a lot of noise in our lives. Much of our daily noise is joyful and peppere…
As superintendents and golf pros, these St. Paul people choose golf as a profession. Every single one of them experienced golf as a child. No matter the exact age or circumstance, Eric Drane, Ike Hurning, Alex Stuedemann, and Erin Wikoff all encounte…
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Another beautiful and sacred journey I have enjoyed will soon end. After working 13 years as the administrator of the St. Paul pastoral residency program, I plan to step away from my staff position to join my husband in retirement and to pursue some…
St. Paul Lutheran Church and Family Resources will host a session for area clergy on how to best respond when someone discloses sexual, physical, or emotional abuse. Clergy Roundtable: Start by Believing will be held on Thursday, Aug. 16, 10 a.m.-12…
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The beginning of Tammy Hermanson’s time on staff at St. Paul started with the dream of a pastoral residency program. St. Paul was invited to apply for a grant from the Lilly Endowment to begin an initiative to provide two years of residency to newly…
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The 38 acres of land and 20-acre pond, tucked away along Highway 5 in East Moline, needed a new owner. A wetland, the family who owned it knew they could no longer take care of it. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wanted to find an organization that…
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It’s late in the night on the Fourth of July as I write this. My beloved neighborhood is fully embracing “the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,” lyric of our national anthem. It’s so very loud. Thankfully, the rest of my family is sleepi…
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I don’t know for certain, but I feel as though once a hint of spring emerges in the Quad Cities, we’re all off to the races. Running, biking, swimming, or remote control boating – if it’s an active endeavor, there’s a race for it. I went to my first…