St. Paul’s social worker, Angie Vaaler, is available to supplement the counseling services of our pastors. Her services to St. Paul members and the Madison Elementary School community assist those who may be going through a difficult transition, stru…
For years, Dan Barry wrote a column called “This Land” for the New York Times. A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, he wandered around the country to tell stories. At some point about five years ago, he realized that he hadn’t been to Iowa in a coupl…
With excitement for a couple of new programs, and gratefulness for a camp filled with kids last summer, the staff of Camp Shalom is looking forward to a fun and faith-filled adventure for summer 2019. Registration is now open. Tom Bley, executive dir…
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Editor’s note: Emma Tews is a senior in high school. She recently shared her faith story during Sunday Night Live. If you know my family, you know that I have two sisters and we look and act very similarly because we are so close. I grew up as my old…
St. Paul’s annual meeting will be held on Sunday, Feb. 3, at 10:10 a.m. in the Sanctuary. This meeting includes items of important business such as approving the 2019 budget and review of 2018 financials and annual report. The congregation will consi…
The St. Paul kitchen, where countless meals are made each year, now has a new stove. This is exciting news for those who make food for the Churches United meal site, bread crosses on Good Fridays, and muffins for preschool events, among others. The o…
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The dedicated volunteers who lead the St. Paul Library are reporting a very good year for 2018, with 452 checkouts – up from 293 in 2017. The number of children’s books and adult fiction books checked out in 2018 doubled over 2017. 2018 Total Bi…
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Do you remember the first time you walked into St. Paul? It’s so…big. The building, the crowds, the organ. Big. If you walk in by yourself and you don’t know anyone around you, it takes a lot of courage not to turn around and walk back out the door….
How did you end up as pastor? This is a question I get a lot. So I don’t take up too much of people’s time, I often tell an abridged version of the story. I talk about how there were different points in my life where different people planted the seed…
Have you ever heard a love song That set your spirit free Have you ever watched a sunrise And felt you could not breathe What if it’s Him What if it’s God speaking – Mandisa, “God Speaking” For as long as I can remember, God has spoken to me through…
My mother died during surgery when I was five years old, the middle child. My siblings were 3 and 8 years old. An aunt and an uncle mostly raised me. We shifted around a lot from one house to another. Life was not easy during those younger years, but…
I was stuck in a forest. As a career counseling professional, I was beside myself. After years in a job I loved and found fulfilling, everything seemed to change. The changes were gradual; I cannot pinpoint a particular time when things started going…