From the Senior Warden, Luke Krueger

I returned from five and a half weeks away to run the Vermont Summer Academy. Thank you to all the St. Paul's folks who sent positive affirming E-mails. It was a rough go this year.

I returned to DeKalb late on Tuesday night, August 12. Chris and I took Wednesday to spend together. Thursday we did prep work for the DeKalb County Animal Shelter's bake sale at the Threshing Bee. We also attended Peg Newby's father's visitation. Friday, all day at the Threshing Bee selling baked goods for the Animal Shelter.

I can't say I have a great deal to offer as regards updates, thus my report will be brief.

The capital needs improvements:

• The new sign will be delivered this month and installed by Paldo signs.
• The permit was approved, and I will pick it up on Monday.
• Jeff Theisen spoke with me today. They do have the contract we signed and     we are on their list for October to replace the rectory roof.
• Royer is proving exceptionally difficult to get a hold of. At this point, it might   not be feasible to get the lot resealed this year. I will pursue to make sure we   are first on the list next year.

I would like us to take names for the nominating committee so we can have that assembled this month.

Thank you all for your help and support.

Respectfully submitted,

Luke Krueger

Senior Warden

It gets better every time we do this!

For the second year in a row St. Paul's offered a NIU Welcome Week edition of Prayers2Pass on Tuesday August 26th and Wednesday, August 27th.  The event took place at two locations in our yard where dozens of students walk through each day on their way to and from class.  We handed out several hundred bottles of water and rolls of Mentos with prayer labels attached that are "tweet" length.  Here's an example: "Jesus: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Mark 12:31 Consider yourself loved :) #prayers2pass ".  We also took prayer requests from students on the spot and invited them to write their prayers on prayer walls or place an anonymous prayer in the "Secret Prayers" box--that's for prayers that are just for that person and God to know about. Prayers from the prayer walls ranged from personal concerns, to intercessions to have a healthy and productive semester, to praying for the concerns of the wider world such as for world peace and for change for the better in Gaza.  We will include these prayer wall intercessions in the Prayers of the People on Sunday mornings beginning on August 31st and continuing throughout the month of September.  The prayer walls and "Secret Prayers" boxes will also be on display in our sanctuary throughout September.  You are welcome to add prayers to the prayer walls and prayer boxes as well. You are also encouraged to take your Sunday bulletin home and include these prayers2pass intercessions in your daily devotions.

Perhaps the most interesting thing to come out of this event is the friendships that are begun with the simple offer of a free bottle of water and a smile.  We witnessed not only friendship begun between St. Paul's and our neighbors, but also between the students themselves.  One young man from Minneapolis met a young man who just arrived here from India at our table. As it turns out the Indian student has a sister in Minneapolis, so the American student said, "Let's share phone numbers so we can carpool sometime!"  I can't imagine this conversation would have happened anywhere else between two students from vastly differently disciplines and different cultures.  That's what being the church is all about: making a space for everyone to experience the hospitality of God's love.   A big thank you to all our Welcome Week 2014 Prayers2Pass team members who helped make positive encounters such as these happen: Jane DeGolier, Gretchen Schlabach, Chris Krueger, Rosemarie Ostberg, Terry Dickow, James Stubblefield (for scheduling the tweets and updating the website

 www.prayers2pass.com), Rich Frontjes (for help setting up and tearing down on Tuesday), Oscar Frontjes and Rowan Frontjes (for hauling water, sticking labels on Mentos, and greeting students on Tuesday), Rev. Stacy, and Susan King (for deciphering the prayer walls for our Sunday intercessions).