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At 3:45 p.m. on Thursday afternoons, Dan Pepper’s classroom fills with the music of middle school students. Three dozen or so kids pluck away at ukuleles, more or less in unison, learning an instrument that has joy embedded in its strings. Dan, who t…
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My father, “the Good Reverend” as I called him, lived 84 magnificent, fulfilling years. This weekend we will have the opportunity to honor and celebrate a life very well lived. While it is normal to be sad on these occasions, I take tremendous comfor…
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An 11-pound bowling ball with purple and blue swirls rolled down the alley and toppled every single pin in its path. Carma Schwarz stepped away from her throw and says with a smile: “They just felt sorry for me and fell.” Carma is 89 1/2 years old. S…
A gray steel box in the St. Paul archives, locked and taped, has an envelope that says it is a time capsule, sealed in April 1994, and to be opened 100 years later. While there is no indication of what is in the box, the year leading up to that day w…
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The bell tower of Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois, rises from the green fields and roadways of western Illinois. Inside is the 2,471-pound metal bell, shipped by railway from Ohio and installed in 1881. Don Norberg, church custodian, r…
On the first day of class, Jessica Schultz asks her students to write down their future goals. “To be happy” almost always is at the top of the list of responses, she said. “Happiness is built into the framework of our country,” said Jessica, an assi…
They break bread in worship, then they share a meal. The Golden Agers Worship & Luncheon is a joy-filled annual tradition at St. Paul. For those who are age 75 and older, it’s a time of togetherness – a message, songs, entertainment, and food. Th…
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The 17th time Leslie Hunter moved was when he went to college as an 18-year-old. He was the oldest of four, the son of teen parents who grew up around the corner from each other in Chicago. His parents were alcoholics. Step-fathers were physically an…
Fall Start-Up is when we return to the fullness of our Sunday-morning learning and worship life. Sunday worship returns to 8, 9:20, and 11:45 a.m., with Saturday worship at 5:30 p.m. Learning classes begin for all ages, 10:45-11:30 a.m. There’s no ne…
They met at Iowa State. She was studying child development, he was studying science. On August. 24, 1950, Jeannine Ahlgren and Darwyn VanGorp were united in marriage at the church Jeannine grew up in – the old St. Paul at 14th and Main in Davenport….
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The guy in front of me at Brady Street Stadium was dressed in full Davenport Central gear with a blue and red cap on his head and a blue and red sweatshirt keeping the late-evening chill at bay. If the concession stand would have been selling those b…
Words have gravity and power. We contemplate them and “chew” on them because at a deep level they contain our feelings, aspirations, and thoughts. In many respects, words are the currency of living. They make meaning for our lives and help us order o…