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It may come as a surprise to you that one of the first major televangelists was a Catholic bishop. Fulton Sheen, for many years bishop of Rochester, NY, hosted the Fulton Sheen Program on NBC during the 1950s and won several Emmy Awards for his smoot…
After more than ten years, Madison Market completed its final pantry on Tuesday, July 23. After conversation and discernment among the Madison Market team and St. Paul leadership, St. Paul made the difficult decision to end the partnership with River…
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In a novel I recently read, one of the characters visited someone in a Convalescent Home. Convalescing is a word that we don’t use often anymore. We often talk about rehabilitation, nursing care, or recovery, but seldom do we say “convalescing.” But…
The opportunities to serve others, express faith, and actively live out St. Paul core values are many, ever-changing, and growing. Greeting, welcoming, and guiding guests through the main doors are essential to creating that radical hospitality that…
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I love surprising people. And I love it when people don’t realize I’m the one responsible for the surprise. I celebrate the time I have left acting as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the tooth fairy. I admit, there may not be many more years of tha…
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It is a delight to be delighted. When I lace up my shoes and head out of the house for a long walk, I always tune into one of a couple of podcasts. One day earlier this summer I went out for a walk and played the latest podcast episode focused on ha…
Olympic season once again draws us in to the heart-pounding drama of elite athletes competing for victory in events that are decided by millimeters and hundredths of a second. A thirty-year-old swimmer, seven years removed from setting the world reco…
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I’ve never been a big fan of running. Toss in a basketball or a tennis racquet or a good game of elbow tag, and I’m much more interested. But lacing up shoes and setting out to run a set number of miles isn’t particularly appealing to me. To be fair,…
Nearly 50 years ago, the St. Paul Outdoor Ministry Center opened in Maquoketa, Iowa. The space quickly turned from farmland into a working campsite. Cabins sprouted up, trails emerged, and a summer program was created. In 1982, St. Paul raised money…
If you haven’t seen “Inside Out” or “Inside Out 2,” I would highly recommend it. I recently asked my mom to go see the second one with me in theaters and it had quite a powerful take on anxiety and how our emotions work in our minds and bodies. Ril…
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Max and Liz Franks adopted their first dog, Charlie, when they arrived in the Quad Cities two years ago. At that time, Charlie was so small he couldn’t even jump over the makeshift puppy fence in the Franks’ backyard. But a lot can change in two year…
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Dear Beloved Community of St. Paul Lutheran Church, As I sit down to write this message, my heart is filled with a mixture of gratitude, nostalgia, and anticipation. It’s hard to believe that my time as your resident pastor is coming to an end. This…