Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in December 2020. By a wide margin, it is the most-read and most-shared post in this blog’s history. We present it again in honor of what would have been Darcie’s 56th birthday. “There’s no...
Toni became the Kids Ministry administrative assistant in August 2021, though she and her family have called First Free home for several years. Born and raised in Minnesota, Toni found her way to Rockford after marrying her husband, Philip, a Rockford native. At the...
Kathy Schooley carefully folds thin slices of prosciutto, places them on top of honeydew melon cubes and gently pierces them with a toothpick. She’s preparing hors d’oeuvres for the church staff Christmas party the next night—the latest of many times she’s used her...
by Jim Killam | 2-minute read These recommendations all can be found in The Scroll Resource Center. The Scroll is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays; Wednesday evenings; and Sunday mornings. Pastor Luke Uran recommends: The Imperfect Disciple by Jared C....
by Mary Harker | 3-minute read Growing up, my church did not emphasize Lent. To me, Lent meant we had macaroni and cheese and fish sticks in the school cafeteria because the Catholic kids couldn’t eat meat, or that they (the Catholic kids) gave up eating candy from...
by Jessi Uran | 1-minute read Are we back here again? The short but gruesome season Of cold that burns more than skin, But reaches frozen fingers inward And incinerates the heart of hope? Is it impossible to write? To find order, Rhythm or song in things like...
