Echoing all over the world this week are the words “je suis Charlie,” which in English is “I am Charlie.” These three words have been found on placards at marches, on Twitter feeds and on buttons worn on lapels of torn wool coats and expensive velvet…
To know Ken Hofer was to adore Ken Hofer. It was a simple as that, really. His smile lit up a room. He loved to dance and give hugs. He cared deeply for family and friends. His faith in God was true. He really loved to learn about the lives of other…
Last week I sat on an Amtrak train heading southwest towards a New Year’s visit with my family. Not long after I took my seat by the window, the winter sun began to set. And by late afternoon my view turned from various shades of brown, frozen fields…
Bullying. Body image. Family finances. Mindfulness. A series of Sunday morning learning discussions, titled Parenting with Promise, will engage the hearts and minds of St. Paul parents with kids of all ages – from infants to adults. This five-week se…
One of the really cold nights this week, Joanna Roland received a phone call. “Miss Joanna?” the voice on the other end of the line said. “It’s Tyler.” And Miss Joanna smiled. The first time Joanna met Tyler was when he was about 4 years old. She was…
A candle flickers in the middle of a circle of people. It’s Thursday evening in an upstairs classroom at St. Paul, and Brenda and Dave Kuster are two of the souls gathered with others for Centering Prayer. Leader Dick Jensen reads a passage from the…
Darkness fills the Sanctuary. White candles are anchored in white sand in wooden boxes surrounding a large wooden cross down by the altar. One by one, people come through the doors and make their way to a space in a pew. They are scattered throughout…
Talking by phone, you can hear the really big smile on Shelley Klaas’ face when she talks about her two adult daughters. She talks about family meetings when they were growing up, and stealing moments of conversation in the car, and how she needed to…
David Crowe and Jason Mahn have a lot in common. They are fellow Minnesotans, and neither of them can shake their interest in Lutheran religious questions. In January at St. Paul, they will co-teach a three-week Sunday morning learning session – Enta…
Ordinary Grace, a novel from American author and crime writer William Kent Krueger, is the 2015 All St. Paul Reads selection. St. Paul members and Augustana faculty members Katie Hanson and David Crowe will lead a discussion about the book on Thursda…
Belonging to a church is an increasingly unfashionable idea. Just look at the larger culture. Check out the statistics on churchgoing habits. Observe what much of America does on a Sunday morning. With the possible exception of government, few instit…
We speak of prisoners “serving time.” I have never been incarcerated, so my words are careful here. But if I were imprisoned, I am guessing that service to the clock would be as awful as the toughness to the lock securing my cell. Time never seems to…