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Leslie Klipsch

Awake to the World

It’s the little things for Leslie Klipsch. These days, she’s intentionally bringing thoughtfulness to the smallest of decisions. “I want to take the time to think, to consider what I really feel about things, how it affects other people.” It’s possible, she says, to “go through the motions without being awake to the world.”

Leslie is awake. She is mindful that her seemingly small efforts ripple out to others. To her young sons whose characters are shaped daily by her actions. To the neighbor who receives grace in the form of Leslie’s zucchini chocolate chip cookies. Even to someone Leslie will never know, a person dancing for joy under a geyser of clean water in Africa.

Perhaps the word to describe Leslie is audacious. She believes, with authentic and contagious passion, that she can make a difference. Her faith compels her. Her passion emboldens her. This one woman, living on Grand Court in Davenport, can act with love for the world.

For Leslie, family is everything and “living local” is a value. Her heart translates that to mean the entire human family and the world that seems close enough to embrace.

She grew up in Tipton, Iowa, daughter of a single mother and a vast support system of aunts and grandparents. “I was constantly watching my mom being excited about her faith and serving others,” Leslie reflects of her Roman Catholic upbringing. Thanksgiving dinners “were all about hospitality and feeding people who are alone.” At the abundance of her grandmother’s table, Leslie learned that “everyone is worth lighting a candle for.”

In college at the University of Iowa and the Newman Catholic Student Center, she sang in the choir. There she met her future husband Jake. The close community of faithful young people and the songs they sang “ingrained in me a sense of God’s love.”

But it was in Chicago at The Church of Wrigleyville, “a great community of people who loved the world,” that “faith really came to life” for Leslie and Jake. “It was there that I started to understand the Gospel and who Christ really is. Growing up, I tried to do the right thing — but at the Church of Wrigleyville, I felt compelled to love because that’s what Jesus does. I tried harder to walk the walk.”

Leslie was introduced to books about faith and justice that have shaped her journey. “Live your life as an act of worship,” a pastor told them. “That’s revolutionary,” says Leslie. “Everything you do, every book you pick up — ask yourself, ‘Would God be glorified?’”

“The path that Jesus asks us to follow is not the path that society values,” she says. “Often [the call of Jesus] will keep you up at night. You’ll not really be able to conform to society. It’s a more difficult path, but it’s worth it to act with love for our neighbors.”

In Chicago, sons Oliver (5) and Eli (2) arrived on the scene. “As a mother, I want to provide an example. My actions have more weight because someone is constantly watching.”

The Klipsch family packed up and moved to Davenport, where Jake is associate principal of J.B. Young Intermediate School. From her home, where she’s first and foremost a mom, Leslie teaches online business writing classes for Kaplan University and is associate editor of Quad Cities Magazine.

The family began looking for a church home. Then a year ago, Leslie’s growing passion for clean water found a powerful image in our congregation’s “ripple effect” of pebbles and water in worship. “St. Paul seemed so primed, so ready to act with love for the world.” She was drawn to the adjectives of our core values, words like “radical,” “passionate,” and “adventurous.”

Meanwhile, this stay-at-home mom, and a small group of other stay-at-home moms, were doing something “crazy.” You might even say radical, passionate, and adventurous. They were dancing (and crafting and blogging and baking and using any talent they possessed) for water. And it was contagious. People caught their spirit. The local grassroots movement, called Water for Christmas, took hold in the Quad Cities. Dozens posted dances on YouTube and hundreds began to give toward a global vision for clean water. Middle-schoolers at J.B. Young danced, and added $1,000 to a pot that grew to $100,000 in a year’s time.

Inspired by life in her new congregation, Leslie emailed, texted, called, and chatted with her new St. Paul brothers and sisters too.

Now charity:water, the nonprofit organization that receives all this local fund-raising zeal, has tasked eastern Iowa with Liberia. Yes, the entire country. Bringing fresh water to this African nation bears a $15-million price tag. Leslie laughs with the delight of one who believes in possibility, priorities, and generosity. “It’s the little things. It’s a lot of little people giving up their Starbucks,” she says.

“Jake and I are simple people. We really can see our priorities by looking at our checkbook,” says Leslie. “The church. Food. (We like to eat!) Friendship. Great kids. We are so blessed. I am constantly amazed with what we have and how we’re able to share.”

Giving generously for the ministries of St. Paul is a priority. “When we see the money come out of our account every month (through electronic funds transfer), we appreciate the great things our church is doing. We want to be part of that. A strong church has always been central in our relationship and lives.”

And then there is Africa. “I love local,” says Leslie. “But I can’t ignore Africa. I love the dance. I love the literal dance for joy when a well is completed. I hear the music and I just want to move.”

Ethiopia has a special pull on the heart. There a little girl, age two or younger, waits for the day when Leslie and Jake will come to take her home to Iowa. This African child will grow up loved by two older brothers who like to dance for water.

Or as Oliver pipes up, “What about dancing for chocolate cake?”

An Ethiopian proverb says: “Move your neck according to the music.” Leslie Klipsch is awake to the music of the world. She hears the melodies and she moves — with cookies for a neighbor, commitment to her church, water for Africa.

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"Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go." ~Mother Teresa