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Up at the top of the St. Paul Sanctuary, floats a red foil heart balloon. It’s been there for seven weeks. I was using that helium balloon during our Good Friday family service, until a curious preschooler freed that helium balloon from its weight. I…
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Recently, I spent a couple hours in Chicago’s O’Hare airport as I waited for a flight. I had some time to waste so I sat down near my gate and watched the crowd of people make their way to various connections. If you’ve spent any time in a large airp…
Political correctness keeps popping up as a turn of phrase in the presidential campaign of the last year. Perhaps you’ve noticed candidates referencing it with little affection and significant sarcasm. What do people mean when they fling this term ar…
Horror stories of burns are traded between professional cooks like baseball cards. People learn to have a healthy respect for fire. As humans, we often shy away from flames. We all know what it’s like to have bacon grease pop, or to run the iron over…
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I love a good adventure. I have been looking forward to visiting my brother and his girlfriend in Denver since January, because I knew it would be exciting. My brother, Philip, doesn’t do mundane. There’s a reason he flies planes and loves what he do…
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Dennis Williams, of Tallahassee, Florida, received a pretty exciting text message a few weeks ago. It read: “We’re at the hospital. Having a baby today!” The only problem was—he’d never met the person who included him in this announcement sent to a l…
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Last week I joined more than 20 St. Paul folks on a mission trip to Chavies, Kentucky. (If you don’t know about these biannual trips to serve with Appalachia Service Project, you should check them out. Another group is going October 1-8.) The crew I…
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“Since it was the day of Preparation, the Judeans did not want the bodies left on the cross during the Sabbath, especially because that Sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bo…
A three-year-old girl had a tricky walk into St. Paul Lutheran church a few Sundays ago. Earthworms had surfaced from the night’s rain. How do you navigate a sea of earthworms blanketing the sidewalk when your legs are extremely short? Well, you hop…
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There’s a strange thing that happens pretty regularly around St. Paul. But I don’t think that it’s unique to our church at 2136 Brady Street. I have a feeling the same sort of thing might happen at Christian congregations all over the place. People a…
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When I want to get my faith bearings, I try to hang around people of faith who hurt, who live with suffering loss, or who somehow manage every day against steep odds. Spending time with a guy whose kidneys aren’t working, or whose daughter keeps runn…
My friend, Elise, and I like to say that we are hooked on service. Before seminary we both did a great deal of volunteer work within our home communities and churches. When we went to India for a seminary class, we chose to stay an extra week and vol…