Wow, didn’t we have a wonderful time at our “50 Years in the Neighborhood” Celebration Sunday, November 20 at the church??! AND the Beef & Noodle Dinner Saturday the 19th!!! There are so many thank-yous to express—to volunteers of all kinds who used their time, talents and resources to make wonderful things happen in many categories!
For those of you who didn’t get here [yet], there are great photo displays everywhere! People who came for totally “other” reasons found themselves cruising down the hallways to just take a peek, and then would find themselves-as-a-child in a Christmas program, or someone they knew getting married, or some other wonderful treat. We have booklets for our members (and former members) highlighting the 50 years since St. Paul’s came to West Louise Street, and they quote statements from people you know about setting the cornerstone in 1961, or breaking ground in 1970 (1969?) for a sanctuary, and for the new Life Center in 1998. We have Power Point and other video opportunities to see these pictures almost large-as-life, and of course even live action and speech from ’98.
It was really neat to open the contents of the copper lockbox which was inside the cornerstone! Harold Truax put them in 1961; Leonard Truax took them out 2011. We have those contents spread out over a table for now, so that people can see and remember—treasure their vision for the future, which is now! (We’ll have another smaller party several months from now on the day we put those things back in along with more pieces from our own time for a future generation to discover later. Keep watching the Apostle to know when that will be.)
St. Paul’s had their first worship in the new building January, 1962. We are going to celebrate throughout 2012, leaving the photos and displays up for some months—I would say, at least until Easter (which is April 8, 2012)—maybe even longer. We will run some of the video presentations on Sundays and some Wednesday evenings this winter. That way people can really take their time. If there is someone who needs a blank bulletin board for another kind of display, let me know and I will find them one—please do not take down any of the historical pictures that the committee has put up for the “50 Years in the Neighborhood”—THANKS!
Russ & Joy Lowe Good Neighbor Award
St. Paul's United Methodist Church was presented the Russ and Joy Lowe Good Neighbor Award from the Waterloo Neighborhood Coalition on Monday, November 21. They Coalition noted “invaluable support that St. Paul's has given to the neighborhood, and to the community-at-large.” St. Paul's is part of the Waterloo Neighborhood Coalition's history--our church has provided space and hospitality for the Neighborhood Coalition meetings since they began, some ten years ago.
“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works
and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Jesus – in the Gospel of Matthew 5:16 - The Bible
Russ & Joy Lowe were active community members in Waterloo who spoke out and demonstrated by their lives that “if you get out there and just get involved you can make a change.” They lived in Waterloo since 1949, and died in 2007 and 2010 respectively. J. Russell was an educator and administrator with the Waterloo Schools. Colleen Joy had worked for three decades as a juvenile parole officer. Both worked in many aspects of community service, and in both their professional and personal lives were crusaders for civil rights and fair housing practices.
Congratulations to these Award Winner at our 50th Celebration!
Also Honored with a Certificate was our Oldest Members: Betty Vaughan, Gerry Wagner, David Grosse, Judy Moore, Mary Strassburg, Harold Getty, Marion Elefsrud and Byron Guernsey.