As he filmed a series documentaries focused on the issues of immigration, Luis Argueta noticed the consequences, especially for kids, of familial separation. During one of his trips to the Midwest (Argueta also produced a documentary about the large-…
Dressed in brown and white robes, the monks of New Melleray Abbey enter the chapel. Mid-day light pours through the arched windows of the expansive place, made of limestone and wood. They do not speak to each other. Instead, they chant together. Glor…
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On the ping pong table in his family’s basement, Thompson Teasdale creates art. Specifically, the beautiful watercolor paintings that now hang in the Luther Loft at St. Paul, are the work of Thompson. Using photographs of the St. Paul Memor ial Garde…
Consider three major transformations in the nation’s religious landscape – increased religious diversity, the growth of the religiously unaffiliated, and changes within the main Christian traditions – with Peter Kivisto, Augustana College professor,…
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Like so many beautiful things in life, Pamela Hardiman’s work came to be because of something that wasn’t working quite right. A quilt-maker at the time, she was creating a quilt she wanted to call Fire and Ice. The fire part was great, but putting i…
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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…