About fifteen years ago, when my daughters were little and we lived in the northern suburbs of Chicago, I was the director of Vacation Bible School at our church. Our theme one year was “Bethlehem Village,” and it was one of my favorite VBS themes ev…
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The word “joy” has special meaning for me. My story starts like many: I grew up in a loving home with my parents, and my big sister, Jenny. Jenny had an accident when she was 2 ½ that left her intellectually and physically disabled. This is the part…
Choral music often displays interpretive notes for the singers’ attention to suggest the tone or mood that is to be portrayed in that particular section. For example, the anthem that the St. Paul Chorale presented on November 14th, “All Creatures of…
If you know me well, you know that my two favorite sounds are my grandchildren’s voices and fallen, dry leaves beneath my feet. The kids’ words and laughter elicit pure grandma joy. The leaves offer a more subtle joy, peace, really, something I look…
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Recently, I found myself surrounded by groups of teenagers in a warm chapel hearing stories of quilting. Those two things, teens and quilting, are normally not something you find together. However, Confirmation at St. Paul has a funny way of bringing…
‘Make a joyful shout to God all the earth! God is the source of all joy’ (Psalm 66.1). I’m a glass half full person. I find joy in most things but, there is a joy I experience every day from my dog Barney. There is a joke I’ve heard about man who put…
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Ushers are those individuals who help create an environment of hospitality during worship. They allow for worship to flow and for worshipers to relax. It’s a simple and uncomplicated form of serving that’s a gift to everybody else who walks through t…
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Both sets of our parents grew up during the depression and were grateful for whatever they had. Later in life they’d tell us that back then they were poor, but didn’t realize they were poor. We think that experience must have been their foundation fo…
Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ, while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains, repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy, repeat, repeat the sounding joy. Every few years my dad and I plan a few days of pho…
Beep, beep! I never thought I would say this but thank God for traffic. I got my driver’s license when I was 23. When that ubiquitous plastic card arrived in the mail, I did not embrace it as my so-called ticket to freedom the way my friends had. To…
I’ve enjoyed Advent and Christmas most of my adult life. The fun and festivities, the family gatherings, the lights, even the hype that goes with the season. It all came together to create a pleasant interlude that led to Christmas worship. All of th…
Being a kid is tough, REALLY tough! They are learning at a rate faster than anyone can put into words. Social media, youth sports, pressure, communication, assessing, electronic grading, pacing of learning, mental and physical health, family dynamics…