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Serit arbores, quae alteri saeclo prosint. “A person plants trees for the benefit of later generations.” These words of the Roman poet Caecilius Statius (220 – 167 BC) may not be original to him. And, poets, preachers, and philosophers have certainl…
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Despite a good rainstorm early this week, we are experiencing a bit of a drought here in southeastern Iowa. Its impact on the farmers is worrisome and they are grateful for any centimeter of water that falls on the shoots of corn growing. And while o…
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Bill Campbell has been a staple of Sunday worship for the past 17 years. Every Sunday, Bill arrives at St. Paul around 10 a.m., messenger bag over his shoulder, ready to set up and spend the next two hours rehearsing with the Open Spirit Ensemble and…
Oscar Wilde believed theater to be one of the greatest of all art forms saying that the theater is “…the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” Many St. Paul people find someth…
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St. Paul is abuzz this week with Vacation Bible School. Upwards of 150 children are responding to the Hero Hotline. Inspired by SuperMeer – hardly a mere cat – and “The Professor,” they are learning to be God’s superheroes for the world. At the heart…
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The term “work/life balance” has become somewhat of a buzzword over the last few years, especially among the Millennial and Gen Z populations. In general, work/life balance seems to serve as a catchall phrase for how we ration the scarce commodity of…
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One of the most important things I think Dietrich Bonhoeffer ever said relates to human prosperity. In an autumn 1931 sermon, this German pastor and theologian told his congregation that seven million people in Germany would be without jobs that wint…
St. Paul is blessed to have two care ministries, both of which intentionally connect members of the St. Paul community beyond the walls of the church. The Hospital Befrienders program is a team of volunteers who visit hospitalized St. Paul people in…
On the evening of Sunday, May 28, the unimaginable happened in downtown Davenport. The historic Davenport Hotel, home to businesses and apartments, collapsed, leaving many without homes and the loss of their belongings. Anyone wishing to make donatio…
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I moved to Davenport nine months ago. Nine months of time this year feels shorter than nine months last year. It’s a wake-up call, really, how on one end, there’s an objective measurement of time; the speed of sand falling from the top to the bottom…
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Throughout his 14 seasons of playing professional basketball, Rick Barry was known for a lot of things, many of them not good, but chief among them was his ability to make a free throw shot. In 1975, Barry played one game where he successfully made 1…
In March, the congregation voted to call McIver “Mac” Mullins to a two-year placement as part of the Pastoral Residency Program. Born and raised in North Carolina, Mac is currently at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. He begins his call in Augu…