In March of 2020, the pandemic shut down most of the country, including the school where I work. Instead of teaching in person, I was tasked with facilitating online learning to a group of first-graders – no easy task, I assure you. At the time, I al…
When I think of the birth of Jesus and all the blessings and gifts we enjoy because of his birth it is hard to stop because there are so many seen and unseen. One of God’s gifts to us includes being silently behind our goodness. It is not our goodnes…
I never thought I would say this but, I’m glad I owned my Chevy Cruze. I was 20 and had just finished my sophomore year of college. I signed up for a few summer classes at the local community college. All I needed was a summer job to save up money an…
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Looking at St. Paul’s website today I noticed the “Christmas Pageant Auditions” request. It immediately made me smile at all the memories of joy and excitement I felt as a child & adult as we prepared for the “Christmas Story” weeks in advance of…
♫ I love you in the summertime and the wintertime and all the time. ♫ Twenty-one. That’s how many beautiful years my Grandpa Pecoraro and I were gratefully able to spend together. The first was Easter which occurred that year just about a month after…
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…