Podcasts about Summit Avenue

Numbers 26:63-65,These were those listed by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who listed the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. 64 But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 For the Lord had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. Okay, let's start this morning with something we tried a few weeks ago: if you are under 20 years old raise your hand, hold it high. Everybody get a good look at these hands.I'm gonna do something today I've never done before. This is a different kind of sermon — because I'm going to speak directly to those of you who raised your hand. This is a sermon to everyone under 20 years old — which means either Gen Z or Gen Alpha. I'm looking at you. I'm talking to you.And if that's not you, don't check out. Stay with me. Because I hope that what I say to the kids among us will be a model for our entire church. What I say won't do any good if all the rest of us don't get behind it. So we need the whole family here. This sermon is directed to the kids, but it's for everybody.And first, let me explain how I'm getting here from the text.The Second, New CensusChapter 26 is a census. It's just all numbers of the tribes of Israel, but it's an important point in the storyline of the Book of Numbers because this is the moment when the attention officially turns from the old generation to the new generation that has taken their place. And I want you to see this in the text. We just heard these verses read, but look again at verse 63. Everybody find Chapter 26, verse 63. This is referring to the second census, verse 63 says:These were those listed by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who listed the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. 64 But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. So there are two different censuses mentioned here.The first census, mentioned in verse 64, was in Numbers Chapter 1 and it took place in the wilderness of Sinai.The second census is the one here in chapter 26 and it took place in the plains of Moab, right on the edge of entering the Promised Land.The full count of the first census was 603,550.The full count of the second census was 601,730.So it's around the same number, but the thing we're supposed to see is that except for Joshua and Caleb, not a single person counted in that first census is still around for this second census. Because they all died under the judgment of God.There has been a full-out replacement here. And the text makes this clear. Verse 64 says that “not one of those” listed in the first census is listed in the second. Verse 65 repeats this: “Not one of them was left, except Caleb and Joshua.”So this is an all-new generation. And with the newness comes both hope and suspense: Could it be that this new generation, about to inherit the land, will trust God more than their parents did? Or, will they only repeat the failures of their fathers? Will the new generation be more faithful or less?Applied to Our DayAnd see, this is the kind of question, at this point in the story, that sparks our own reflection about our future generations. Historically, that's how many Christians have read this part of Numbers. This section of the story gets applied to our own day and we realize that …Unless Jesus comes back first, every generation will eventually become the older generation. (One day, for those of us who didn't raise our hands, our time here will be done and what is presently the younger generation will be leading the way.) So then — How are we preparing the younger generations to do that?Charles Spurgeon, our favorite 19th-century Baptist pastor, understood this two-way dynamic. He once wrote of Numbers 26, If we are now serving God [current generation], let us do so with intense earnestness, since only for a little while shall we have the opportunity to do so among men…. Live while you live. [And] at the same time, lay plans for influencing the rising generation. Lay yourself out to work while it is called today.And part of our work, non-hand-raisers, is to invest in the hand-raisers.And so that's what I want to do this morning. This is not a normal exegetical sermon. We don't find these points that I'm going to say directly from the text, but instead, with the text as a kind of foundation, I want to offer three encouragements to the rising generation. I have three commendations for you kids, and the first is this: 1. Get married and build a family.The most obvious thing about the census in chapter 26 that we're most likely to overlook is that these are all families. The word used is “clan” — a clan is a smaller unit under each tribe, and it's made up of a husband and wife who becomes a father and mother to sons and daughters. These are families that are listed here, and they exist because the people of Israel are doing what God commissioned mankind to do back in Genesis. In Genesis 1:28, God told Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over [it]…”And that's been happening. Remember that's what made Israel so unpopular in Egypt. This people kept increasing! They kept multiplying, as God promised Abraham they would. God blessed the people of Israel as they were extending the first and most integral institution for human civilization, the family. It's not a political statement to say that the family is the foundation of human society. That's just a fact and it's been this way since the very beginning, and the Bible just assumes that we understand this, and most cultures always have. The family is special, and it starts with marriage. What is marriage? Well marriage is a covenant ordained by God where both a man and a woman promise to be a shelter for one another. And it's so significant that, like with other covenants in the Bible, there's a name-change. As one writer explains, the wife traditionally takes her husband's name, to show that she is bound to him, and the man takes a whole new title — the title of “husband” which means house-bound (see Wiley). The husband is bound to his wife and to what makes a house, and this is where we get to children. “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes so-and-so with a baby carriage.”That's how it works, but I want to clarify something: when husbands and wives start to have children, they're not simply having children, but they're building a house. They're building a family.And again, families are special. Everyone everywhere gets that families are special — even in our highly individualistic culture and even where there's so much family brokenness. We all know the family is still special and so I want to encourage you, kids, to lean into the specialness of family. And I don't mean just the family you're part of now as a kid, but dream of building your own family one day.Now, I understand that marriage will come at different times for each of you, and that some of you may remain unmarried for life or experience a season of not-yet-married longer than you would hope, but exceptions aside, hear this: do not sideline marriage and family in pursuit of something you think is more important or that will make you happier. Melissa and I were watching a show the other night, and randomly one of the characters took a dig at marriage and said: “Show me a couple that has been married for 50 years and I'll show you someone who didn't accomplish anything in life.” And I threw a flag right away and said Wrong! That kind of thinking exists in the world and it is maliciously wrong!If you want to “accomplish” something that lasts, if you really want to make an impact, I tell you what I tell my sons: If you wanna change the world, do whatever Jesus says and love one woman with everything you've got for the rest of your life.What I'm saying is this: kids, one day, get married and build a family. Second encouragement:2. Double down and fill the gaps.Years ago, at a coffee shop close by where I lived, I met a man named Jack. He would come in the same day every week for a coffee and donut, and in a casual conversation I found out that Jack was a WWII veteran. So I asked him if I could meet and talk with him when he came in, which he let me do. And I really enjoyed getting to know Jack — he was this man from the Greatest Generation. He had seen so much life and yet he was present and engaged and he had great stories. But Jack was old, and months later he passed away. And after he died, his son sent me the eulogy he had written for him, and it was even more fascinating to get to learn more about this man who had become my friend for just a short period of time.And one of the things that stood out to me in the eulogy was a joke that his son made about Jack hating the music his children listened to when they were teenagers. Apparently his kids would crank up the radio and Jack couldn't stand to hear this new band his kids liked, and you know who the new band was? The Beatles.I read that and it occurred to me that Jack was so old. He was so old that there was a time in his life when The Beatles were too modern for him! And Jack did what is so classic for the older generations to do: he looked down on the younger generation.And this got my attention because the younger generation to him was the older generation to me. I didn't really have a dog in the fight, but it confirmed this two-way generational dynamic that's almost as old as the sun: Older generations tend to think the rising generation is in decline, and the rising generation tends to rebel against the older generation. One looks down their nose and the other rolls their eyes.That's the way it's always been in the world, but we should make it different in our church. And that really does start with those of us who did not raise our hands earlier. It is on us — the non-kids — to grow a church that is a haven of encouragement to the rising generation. Now that doesn't mean that we break our necks to entertain our kids and make this place like Disney World, but it does mean that we believe God is at work in our kids and we want them to know that God's joy is deeper than the universe. We are here because of God's joy and we are headed back to God's joy, and so we want to be God's smile to our children. That's for us, non-hand raisers, and it's a heart thing. The Example of PhinehasNow for you kids these days, let me tell you about Phinehas. The story of Phinehas comes in Chapter 25. We saw it last week. Phinehas was the son of Eleazar, the new high priest, which means he was the grandson of Aaron. The Bible doesn't tell us his age, but he was most likely a young adult, a teenager. And as the story goes in Chapter 25, there was rampant, high-handed sin and idolatry in Israel's camp, and Phinehas stepped up to stop it. He had great zeal for God! And God commended him for being jealous for God's glory and turning back God's wrath, but I think the lesson for you kids is that Phinehas doubled down on faithfulness and filled the gap where it was lacking. Pastor Mike Schumann showed us last week that Phinehas was just doing what God has said. He knew the first commandment, “You shall have not other gods before me.” And he knew his family was supposed to guard the sanctuary. So Phinehas knew what faithfulness meant, and he doubled down on it. Apparently his dad, Eleazar, wasn't doing what was needed (neither was anyone else of the 625,000 or so people who were there) so Phinehas said “I'll do it!” Except he didn't say anything because nobody was asking. He just grabbed a spear. He saw an opportunity where faithfulness was required and took the initiative to be faithful.So, rising generation, hand-raisers, look, you don't have to drift. That's what a lot of people say you're gonna do. But don't. There's no drifting here. There's no decline here. Phinehas is doubling down on what is good and right and true, and he's filling a gap where it is required. Kids, be a Phinehas!We want you to be more solid than we are.Which means we're admitting: we don't have it all figured out. We don't have a current well-calibrated sense of our future regret (also known as blind spots). We're trying our best, I promise that! I feel good about where we stand! We want to serve Jesus with our utmost for his highest! And as you seek to do the same, there will be things that you're going to be able to do better, so do them. Kids, look, one day it's going to be your turn to double down on faithfulness and fill the gaps where it's required. And I say this to you with confidence, because we believe God is at work in you. That brings me to the third encouragement…3. Be filled with the Holy Spirit.At the end of Chapter 27, we read about when God told Moses to appoint Joshua as his successor. God reminds Moses again that he's not going to enter the Promised Land, because of his unbelief in Chapter 20, and so Moses asks God to appoint a man to take his place. Israel needed a new leader for their new generation, and God chose Joshua.And it's fascinating how God describes Joshua. Chapter 27, verse 18: “So the LORD said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit…'”Was Joshua courageous? Yes. Was he a leader in faith? Of course.Did he have good training and experience? He did. But God doesn't mention any of those things here. He simply calls Joshua a man in whom is the Spirit.And so rising generation, let that be true of you. Listen, you're going to be good at so many things, but, you can do nothing of any lasting value apart from the Holy Spirit. You need the Holy Spirit. So be filled with him. Which will mean at least three things:1. Devotion to the BibleGod's work through his church is always a work by his Spirit and Word. That's been true of every movement of God in history. And the converse is also true: Show me a so-called church or place that belittles and sidelines the Bible, I'll show you a graveyard. And that's what some people have come to expect of churches. I've got a funny story for you. We recently heard what some of our Summit Avenue neighbors think of us. It was few months ago, one of our members was at a Summit Avenue neighborhood meeting, and he was standing with an older generation of men who didn't know he was part of our church, and one of the men said, “Yeah, it's something what's happened over there at that old church. That new congregation is one of those, you know … (and he wasn't sure exactly what to say but he goes) … they're all, you know, you know, they're all happy clappy.”You can call us “happy clappy” if you want to, or you could just say alive. Because that's what we are. We're alive, and it's because of the Word of God. We take this Book seriously. We care about this Book.And rising generation, hand-raisers, care about this Book even more. Read it and memorize it and sing it! Let it be a lamp for your feet and a light for your path. If you are filled with the Holy Spirit you will be devoted to the Bible. And also, you'll have…2. Wisdom in this worldWe know it's a myth to say that wisdom comes with age, because that's not always the case. Now we hope that as we get older we get wiser, but it's not automatic … because wisdom comes from the fear of the Lord, and that means you don't have to wait for it until you get old. We learn this in the Book of Job. After Job's first three friends have their moments to speak, and each one is kinda missing the mark, there is a fourth friend, Elihu, who speaks up. He says that he's been holding his tongue and he waited last to speak because he was younger. He deferred to the older, which was polite, but then he says, it's not many years that teach wisdom, but it's the “breath of the Almighty that makes one understand” (Job 32:8).And the Book of James tells us, if you want wisdom, ask God (see James 1:5). Ask God for wisdom, rising generation!If you're filled with the Spirit and long to be wise,Ask it of God—he freely supplies.And this wisdom is not just general information about things, but it's the Spirit-empowered ability to apply biblical truth to everyday life. It's learning to see all of reality through the lens of Scripture, and then to act accordingly. This kind of wisdom is constant awareness that God is active in the world and we get to be part of what he's doing. If you're filled with the Spirit, you will be wise in this world. And being filled with the Spirit means, third…3. Loyalty to JesusAnd this is really the source of the previous two. When it comes to what you think about the Bible, the real question is what you think about Jesus. If you believe Jesus is who he claimed to be then he is right about everything he said, including what he said about Scripture, which was pretty amazing. Jesus taught that the Bible is true, infallible, and permanent and that it's ultimately about him. So if you take issue with any of those things, you're taking issue with Jesus — don't do that. When it comes to wisdom, we need wisdom because we're serious about following Jesus in this world, which can get complex at times and there's gonna be opposition. We need wisdom because we want his guidance in those details.So, rising generation, hand-raisers: it all comes back, honestly, to our love and loyalty to Jesus, and that is the central work of the Holy Spirit. “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3).It's the Holy Spirit's work in your life that makes you born again as a believer; it's the Spirit who binds you to Jesus by faith and makes his cross wonderful to you. And I really mean wonderful. Loyalty to Jesus is not a wooden adherence, but Jesus becomes your treasure. He is your good king, and his yoke is easy and his burden is light! It is your joy to say “Whatever you want Jesus! I'm yours.”See, this loyalty to Jesus, then, really means a deeper fellowship with Jesus by his Spirit, and that's what I want most for you.I pray that Jesus would become your all-consuming passion and your all-satisfying treasure … and that the Spirit would lead you every day to trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and fulfillment of all God's promises to you; that the Spirit would empower you to renounce Satan in all his temptations and schemes; and that the Spirit would help you to obey Jesus and follow him as your Lord, Savior, and Supreme Joy. The Spirit does that. And kids, may he do that in you!Could you do me a favor one more time? If you're under 20, raise your hand. Okay I'm looking at you. Receive this, I encourage you:Get married and build a family.Double down and fill the gaps.Be filled with the Holy Spirit. And that's what brings us to the Table.The TableWe come each week to this Table to remember Jesus. We remember that he came to save us — he died in our place on the cross by his free and absolute grace. Hey, we don't deserve his goodness. He loves us because he loves us. And when we receive this bread and cup, we're resting in him. We are resting in his love for us. And so this table is for those who have trusted in Jesus.If you have not yet put your faith in Jesus, let the bread and cup pass, but don't let the invitation pass. This morning you can trust in Jesus. You too can rest in him. Just come to him in faith.

I recognize that another event outside this building has the attention and hearts of many of us in this room this morning.Show of hands: How many here know and remember Pastor Kenny and his wife Malaina, who we sent out last year to plant a church in the Orlando area? Well, as we meet here this morning, Horizon City Church, led by Kenny, is having their first public gathering in Winter Garden, Florida.I don't think it's any coincidence that at the very time when we're turning our focus to being welcoming witnesses that we remember, and pray for, a man who embodies what it means to be a welcoming witness. So, if you feel a little distracted this morning, I get it. In fact, you might do well to keep Pastor Kenny in mind during this message, as a living lesson in being a welcoming witness.To be clear, what's going on in Winter Garden, and what's going on this morning at 1524 Summit Avenue, is vastly more important that any marathon or any American football game in London or anywhere else in the world.Growing Up and OutThis is now the fifth in a series of six sermons, called “We Are Cities Church,” on our vision and values. As we're approaching our tenth anniversary as a church (this January), we have found ourselves in a new season of church life. In broad strokes, you might see our first five years, from 2015 until COVID, as a time of being planted. And these last four years have been a time of becoming rooted here on Summit Avenue. Now we sense ourselves coming into a new season — of what? What would you call it? What do you call the next phase after being planted and rooted? What is an acorn planted and rooted for? To grow tall and wide. To stretch up high in worship and spread out in witness to the world. We're in a season of new growth and stretching and spreading our branches — of bearing fruit, we pray, and dropping acorns we hope will become new churches.So, for this new season, we've considered how we might freshly express our unchanging mission: we want to make joyful disciples of Jesus who remember his realness in all of life. And we have a fresh fourfold way of talking about the kind of disciples we hope to be and multiply. Each of the four brings together two realities to clarify with an adjective what kind of nouns we mean.First, we are Jesus worshipers. This is the vertical aspect, the up-reach. We are not just theists, or even monotheists; nor do we simply admire Jesus as a great moral teacher. Rather, we worship Jesus. That's what it means to be Christians. We not only worship God but worship his Son.Second, we are joyful servants. That is, we are not dour servants, doing our duty while biting our lip. Nor are we shallowly happy sluggards sitting around dedicated to self-service. Rather, we aim to have happy hearts behind our helping hands. We gladly provide shade for those scorched by the sun, and strong branches to give safety for those harassed by wolves.Third, we are generous disciplers. What do we say here — providing life-giving sap? We are not miserly mentors, nor generous donors, but generous disciplers — up close, involved, giving of our own time and energy to help others grow in the faith. Last week we saw this vision in Acts 20 of personally speaking God's word and living his word in real life while investing in the lives of a few. “Disciplers” is the big addition to our previous way of talking about a threefold calling as worshipers, servants, and missionaries. We still say worshipers and servants, but now we've added disciplers, and updated missionaries to witnesses.So, fourth and finally, we are welcoming witnesses. Here we're talking outreach in particular. Not just up in worship, and in through service and discipling, but out in Christian witness to an unchristian world.Welcoming witness means we are not okay being cold, off-putting witnesses; nor are we warm, welcoming pushovers. We are welcoming witnesses: those who open wide their arms to others to make Jesus known and enjoyed.So, we give the rest of this message to welcoming witnesses, and here's how we'll proceed. First, let's go to Acts 2, and the string of texts that follow it, and see the welcoming witness of the early church, and how it grew. Then let's consider what it means to be a witness, and then what welcoming adds to witness. You can call these three truths for our welcoming witness.1. The church and the gospel grow together.Acts 2:40 says that Peter “bore witness” to the gospel of Jesus, and verse 21 says that the people “received his word” — we'll come back to this. Then twice we hear about additions, that is, growth:Verse 41: “there were added that day about three thousand souls.” Verse 47: “the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”And this is the beginning of this remarkable theme in the book of Acts — the word growing, increasing, multiplying.So we hear in Acts 4:4: “many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.” So the (gospel) word is heard and believed, and the number grows.Then Acts 6:7: “the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem . . . .” Number grows, as word grows. Specifically, number multiplies as word increases.Then Acts 12:24, very simply: “the word of God increased and multiplied” — many more heard and believed and joined the church. So too in Acts 19:20: “the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.”The word, the message of the gospel, grows as people hear and believe in Jesus and are added to the church. Word growth and church growth go together.What If GodNow, I know that some of us hear that — all that adding and increasing and even multiplying — and think, Oh no, I just want a small church. We look around this room and think, There's already enough people here. Already too many! No more increasing, please. Okay, maybe just a little adding here and there, but no multiplying!We might think of it in terms of church size, but perhaps that's really a misplaced diagnosis. I suspect it's not really about church size as much as the rush and pace and complexities and relentless frenzy of city life. Our modern metropolitan lives are so crazy, we just want church small and simple, thank you. But our discomfort with gospel growth may really have more to do with our unrecognized calling to the city.You know what's good about city life? There are so many people nearby. And you know what's so hard about city life? There are so many people nearby.To be honest, just about all of us at Cities Church have small-church preferences. And you know what? It turns out a lot of us have small-church preferences. So many of us, in fact, that after a while, we small-church people find each other, and don't have a small church anymore.What might help us is to do business with the time and place to which God has called us. Brothers and sisters, you live in a very large city. Twin Cities. Depending on who's counting, this is the 12th to 16th largest metro in the United States. And this is where God has put you, whether you own it or not. Maybe God's loosening your roots and means for you to head to the hinterlands, but for now, if you live in the TC metro, you live in a very populated urban and suburban area. My hope for us as a church is that we would recognize our present calling, and embrace it, and persevere in it, and let it inform our expressed desire for small church.I get it. Most of us have some native bucolic longings that in the complexity and stress of city life we might try to pour into church life. Brothers and sisters, there are other ways to channel your rural dreams than into a church on Summit Avenue. Drive out-state to an apple orchard next Saturday, or get an AirBnB for a weekend. Take a trip in Duluth; visit the Brainerd Lakes area or Boundary Waters. Explore MN. Drive across South Dakota. And then come back to the big city, and own that we are a church in the city, and that it is good to have so many people nearby, and so many people to bring close to Jesus and into joyful discipleship.It would be very easy to look around week after week and think we don't have any more space. We don't have room for witness. We don't have room to welcome others in. We don't have space for more baptisms, at least not many.As pastors, we are wrestling in this season, and want you to wrestle with us, Lord, what are you calling us to? We want the gospel to increase and multiply. We want the church to grow and mature. We want to generously disciple many, and send them out like Pastor Kenny, and add to our number those who are being saved. Would you join us in praying for it? And would you join us in praying for Macalester? Amazingly, we've been seeing a new trickle of students from Macalester. What if God would be pleased to turn that into a stream, and into a river? What if God sent us 100 Macalester students? What's your gut response to that? Is it, “Oh no! We don't have room for many more people!” Or does your heart burn, “Yes, yes, do it, Lord, answer our prayers, make us a welcoming witness to Macalester, and Summit Avenue, and in these surrounding neighborhoods”?2. You are never alone when you witness to Jesus.The key verse that sets the program for the whole book of Acts is Acts 1:8: “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”Because of Acts 1:8, we often use this word “witness” for “sharing our faith” or “speaking the gospel.” Have you ever stopped to ponder what this word “witness” means for us as Christians?What is a witness? A witness is someone, who, for the good of others, chooses to testify to something they have seen or heard. Usually the witness did not choose to see or hear what they did. They didn't initiate the experience. The event chose them, so to speak. And then, for the good of others, they choose, they agree, to testify in court.So, to be a witness is both humble and brave. Something happened that you didn't do, but you saw it or heard it. And now, for the benefit of others, you testify to what you saw or heard or know.John the Baptist is a classic example of the witness: He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. (John 1:7-8)Brothers and sisters, pressure's off! You're not the light; you're just the witness. Jesus is the light, not you. It's his work, not yours. It's his grace, not yours. But this I know: I once was blind, but now I see. I'm not the light; he's the light. Look at the light!And not only do we witness like John but we never witness alone, but as we witness to Jesus, and what we have seen and heard and experience, we simply add our voice to the company of witnesses: to the witness of nature (Acts 14:17), and the witness of conscience (Romans 2:15), and the witness of Scripture (Acts 10:43), and to the cloud of witnesses that surrounds us (Hebrews 12:1).But the one I find most encouraging of all is that the Holy Spirit witnesses. Acts 5:32: “we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”The Spirit is the divine Person who works through and with the word to give it life and growth and increase and expansion. And God has given him to us; he dwells in us. You never witness alone when you bear witness to Jesus.Over and over again in Acts, the Holy Spirit fills Christians and empowers them for witness (Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 13:9), just as Jesus promised in Acts 1:8: “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses...”3. We adorn our witness with hearts and hands that welcome.Witness is the noun. Welcome is the adjective. Welcoming witness means that we adorn our gospel witness with the warmth and deeds of Christian love. Word is central in witness, and welcome adorns word.Biblically, a related concept to “welcoming witness” is hospitality, which is literally “love of strangers.” There is usual human kindness, where we welcome and love those who love us, and there is the unusual kindness of Rahab welcoming the Israelite spies (Hebrews 11:31) or the natives of Malta showing hospitality to the shipwrecked apostle Paul (Acts 28:2, 7). Love for strangers is so important to Christianity that hospitable is a requirement for office in the church (1 Tim 3:2; 5:10; Titus 1:8).For Christians, love for strangers means both that we welcome fellow believers in uncomfortable ways (Romans 12:13; 14:1; 1 Peter 4:9) as well as that we welcome strangers and unbelievers (Heb 13:2; Matt 25:35, 38, 43).Why would we do this? I remember I had a book as a kid called Never Talk to Strangers. It was not a Christian book. So, why would we do this? Why would we talk to strangers? And have a heart for strangers to know Jesus? And take action that we might welcome strangers to Jesus and witness to him?Because this is what Jesus has done for us. We were hungry and he fed us with the bread of life. We were thirsty and he gave us to drink from the well of living water. We were strangers, sinners, rebels, estranged from God, and he welcomed us.Christians learn to love strangers, and learn to be welcoming witnesses to those strange to us and estranged from God, because God himself loved us when we were yet strangers. His love for strangers compels us to be welcoming witnesses, rather than fearful of and suspicious of the strange and God-estranged.Three Spheres for WitnessSo, I end with three spheres of our welcoming witness, perhaps in increasing importance:1) We are a welcoming witness at 1524 Summit Ave. Each Sunday, we have a welcome team. You can participate in that. And let's not leave all the welcoming of each other, and strangers, to the welcome team. So, some welcoming happens on the way into this room, but mainly, after we worship, oh what amazing ministry, what welcoming witness happens on these grounds. Please don't run as a pattern. Linger and be welcoming witnesses.Then all week, as we meet people nearby, and represent our church, as we frequent businesses nearby, as we repair the steeple, and keep the lawn, we want to be together a welcoming witness to Jesus on Summit Ave and to these surrounding neighborhoods.2) We are a welcoming witness as we go out into other spaces during the week. So, your work, your school, coffee shops, gyms, ballfields. Just Thursday, I was given a new book called You Will Be My Witnesses (by Brian DeVries). I got it from someone in another city who had no idea I was preaching on “witnesses” this Sunday. It's very good. Chapter 5 summarizes the pattern of Christian witness in Acts like this, which is very applicable to our relationships with unbelievers across the metro: Christian witness is (1) usually preceded by prayer, (2) often explicitly Spirit-directed, (3) generally spontaneous, (4) with the church community itself as the dominant form of witness (DeVries talks about “contagious Christian living within an attracting church community,” 120), and all that, as we've seen, (5) with gospel communication central (and “authenticated by . . . faithful living,” 121).3) We are a welcoming witness in our homes.Sometimes we talk about someone having “the gift” of hospitality. It may be true that some are more naturally inclined toward good hosting, but hospitality is not something that falls from the sky (or not). It is first God-given love for strangers in the heart, and that love is either cultivated and grown (whatever your natural inclinations), or neglected and suppressed; and if it's cultivated, then that love overflows into practical, tangible outward deeds and welcome.I close with five practical, nitty-gritty ideas for welcoming witness in our homes.1) Pray about being hospitable and budget for it. Pray over who you'd like to invite into your home, and don't let the very minimal costs keep you from the very maximal rewards.2) Think in concentric circles of “strangers”: first, those who are not strangers at all: friends and family. Okay, that's very normal hosting. Then think of those who are strangers in that they don't live in your house but are fellow believers. Then don't forget those who are strangers according to faith. In other words, Christian hospitality incorporates both fellow believers and nonbelievers. Make use of it for both, for hosting Community Group and hosting unbelieving neighbors.3) A word for dads. I wish this lesson didn't take me so long to learn, and that I didn't still have room for growth. But it did, and I do. I'd love to save some younger husbands some grief if you'll hear an old man's counsel: dad's energy is key for hospitality. Husbands, fathers, we don't wave a wand and expect wife and kids to start singing, “Be Our Guest” — not for long. Dad, your masculine heart and hands and arms are critical; and so is her feminine heart and touch — and everyone knows her part is vital, but yours can get forgotten, especially by you. Don't forget it. Brothers, lead the way in prayer, planning, preparation, service, and cleanup. Put your male body to some use. Many marriages (not saying all) would be helped if dad sweated hospitality prep for more, and mom sweated it less.4) So, a word to the ladies: some of you may have to lower your expectations for domestic and culinary excellence. I promise, it is worth being hospitable, even if a perfect pic doesn't wind up on IG. You don't need to impress; just love. Use paper plates, and the house doesn't have to be perfect.5) A next-level consideration might be having a guest room, or plan for overnight hosting.Making a practice of welcoming others into our homes can be good for your marriage, in having shared mission and ministry together. It can be good for our kids, in the people they'll meet and interact with and learn from. And it's good for us to have open homes, open doors, open lives. An open home brings accountability with it that does us all good. Satan loves isolation and closed doors. And welcoming others into our homes might be not just an important way, but the key way in our times to witness to our faith in Jesus.Housekey?I remember the moment in evangelism class in seminary. The professor's name was Steve Childers. He asked the class, “You know what will be the key to evangelism in the 21st century, don't you?”I'm sure he could see on our faces how eager we were for his answer. Wow, the key, we were thinking. This is huge. He knew he had us. So he paused and smiled and waited. And he waited. And just when I was almost ready to burst with, “Just c'mon already!” finally he lifted the curtain: “Hospitality.”In an increasingly post-Christian society, he said, the importance of hospitality as an evangelistic asset is quickly growing. Increasingly, the most strategic turf on which to engage the unbelieving with the good news of Jesus is the turf of our own yards and homes.When people don't gather in droves for stadium crusades, or tarry long enough on the sidewalk to hear a gospel presentation, or look up from their phones, or take out their earbuds, what will you do? How will we be welcoming witnesses? Where will we testify to the unbelieving about what matters most?Invite them to dinner. Witness and Welcome at the TableEach Sunday, this Table forms us to be welcoming witnesses. First, this Table witnesses. It speaks a visible word to us about Jesus, his sacrifice of his body for our sins, and his new covenant inaugurated in the shedding of his blood. This Table witnesses to him, and as we partake we proclaim his death until he comes.And this Table welcomes — not without spiritual conditions but indiscriminately within the conditions of confession this Jesus as Lord, Savior, and Treasure and having had his name put on you publicly through baptism.

So this is sermon four of six in our series entitled: “We Are Cities Church,” the goal of which has been to communicate who we are, especially now that we're in our tenth year, and have gone from being a church planted to becoming a church rooted right here on 1524 Summit Avenue.Back on September 8, Pastor Jonathan began this series with a message on our church's mission, in which he said: “Our mission has always been, and will always be, to make disciples of Jesus” because that is what Jesus tells us to do. And when it comes to what we mean by making disciples, we mean making “joyful disciples of Jesus who remember his realness in all of life.”Now, what do those joyful disciples look like? What are their defining traits? Four things…As joyful disciples of Jesus we are Jesus worshipers, joyful servants, generous disciplers, and welcoming witnesses. And two weeks ago, Pastor David Mathis preached on that first one, Jesus Worshipers. Last week, Pastor Jonathan preached on the second one, Joyful Servants. And this week, if God allows, I'll preach on the third, Generous Disciplers. Let's pray and ask him to do so.So, we — as joyful disciples of Jesus — are Jesus worshipers, joyful servants, and, now, generous disciplers. To which, you might question, what is a generous discipler? Well, I'm glad you asked.Here's my definition: A generous discipler is someone who gladly and purposefully seeks to help other Christians follow Jesus.You like the definition? Good. But, what's with that, “other Christians” part? “A generous discipler is someone who gladly and purposefully seeks to help other Christians follow Jesus.” Why not just “other people?” Why limit it to Christians? I mean, don't we want to help those who are not yet Christians to begin to follow Jesus as well? The answer is yes — emphatically, yes! We most certainly want to help those who are not yet Christians to begin to follow Jesus because that is what Jesus commands us to do in Matthew 28:19 — a passage we recite at our commission each and every Sunday — where he says, “Make disciples of all nations.” That is, make people who, though they previously had not been followers of Jesus, are now followers of Jesus. And that process of — making those who, though previously had not been followers Jesus, are now followers of Jesus, sometimes referred to as “evangelism” or “witnessing” — is what we're going to drill down on in next week's sermon, our final defining trait — welcoming witnesses. But the focus for this morning's sermon is, assuming that we do in fact make disciples, what we should then do with them, once we've made them. That is, after we've shared the gospel with someone, and they've received Christ, and they've been baptized in his name, are we just to then say, “Alright, well, see you in eternity?” I mean, yes, Jesus calls us to make disciples. But is that all he calls us to do?See Jesus has more to say to us in Matthew 28 about this process of discipleship. He says,“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;”Do you see the transition? Make disciples, baptize them; and then teach them.Make disciples, baptize them; and then show them how to live. Make disciples; and then, we might say, gladly and purposefully seek to help them follow Jesus.It is that portion of the equation, that helping of current followers of Jesus to continue to follow Jesus, that we are focused on this morning as generous disciplers.And so, with that, I want to turn your attention to the text, Acts chapter 20. And I've got two things that I want to show you here from this text this morning. Two methods, if you will, for helping other Christians to follow Jesus. First: Christians help other Christians to follow Jesus by speaking the word of God to them.Second: Christians help other Christians to follow Jesus by living the word of God before them.You want to help other Christians to follow Jesus? Then speak the word of God to them and live the word of God before them.We'll focus first on speak.1. Speak the Word Acts chapter 20, beginning in verse 17, for some context,“Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.”The “he” there is Paul. So Paul is in Miletus, and while there, he sends for the elders of the church in Ephesus, saying, “Hey, come join me over here.” For some perspective, this is not like a quick trip out to a friend's house. That's like a 2-4 day journey on foot that he's just called them on. 30 miles as the crow flies, but more like 60 when it comes to all the twists and turns on the path to get there. But despite that distance, these elders in Ephesus hear the request, and they come.Verse 18,“And when they came to him, he [Paul] said to them: You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia…”So he's calling them back to the time they had spent together in Ephesus. And he's summing up his activity while he was there as, verse 19,“…serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house.” Now, Paul had spent nearly three years with those believers back in Ephesus. Three years! And what had he been doing throughout those three years? Among other things, he had been, verse 20: “Declaring” and “Teaching.” Mouth open and speaking to these Ephesian Christians. And what had he been speaking to them about?Well, he had been speaking to them about, “…anything that was profitable...” See it there, in verse 20?“…declaring to you anything that was profitable…”Now, at first glance, that makes it sound like Paul had been casting the net pretty wide in terms of things to speak to these Ephesians, right? I mean, anything that was profitable? Like, really anything?But just compare that somewhat vague statement with another statement of his, down in verse 27. Because while in verse 20, he says, “I did not shrink from declaring to you…anything that was profitable.” Look down with me to verse 27. In verse 27, he says almost the exact same thing. Almost. Verse 27,“…for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” Now, do you think Paul means us to read those two things as separate bodies of content? Like, “I didn't shrink back from declaring to you anything that was profitable, nor did I shrink back from declaring to you the counsel of God?” Are those two things separate? Or, are they synonymous — the one clarifying the other? I think we could paraphrase Paul's words here as, “Elders of Ephesus, verse 20, you remember how ‘I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable' that is, verse 27, how ‘I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.'” See, because the fact of the matter is, if you're in search for the body of words that can most profit a person's soul, in search of the corpus of truth that can most bring true soul-level benefit to a person, then you need not look further than to all the words that God has already spoken.And Paul is telling them, “Remember, I didn't hold back a single word that would've been profitable for you. For, I didn't hold back a single word that God has said.” The whole counsel of God.How do you gladly and purposefully seek to help another Christian follow Jesus? First, you speak the words of God to them. And all the words of God to them. You hold not one of them back.Why the Whole Counsel?Now, at this point, someone may argue: “Time out, that was Paul. Of course, he discipled others that way. He was an apostle. But look, I am not an apostle. I am an average, run of the mill Christian. Isn't it enough for me to simply seek to help other Christians follow Jesus by speaking portions of God's word? Like, can't I just share with them the parts of God's word that are especially comforting? Most encouraging? Or least likely to upset them or convict them about areas of needed change in their life? I mean, this book has some hard sayings — just take the gospels: Jesus talks about Hell, and the fact that some people are going there. Jesus talks about crosses and how we must take up ours to follow him. Jesus talks about sexual sin and how it's better to pluck out our eyes than take part in it. Jesus says we can't serve money. Jesus says we can't live for the praise of others. Jesus says he alone is the way, truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through him. Are we really to speak those words when seeking to help another Christian follow Jesus?”Well, what did Jesus say?Make disciples, baptize them, and “Teach them to observe all that I have commanded.” And he gave that commission not just to Paul. Nor just to the professionals. But to all who would claim to follow him — including you and me.Brother and sister, are you obeying Jesus in this regard? Who in your life right now needs you, needs you, to speak the words of God to them — even those that are both most difficult for them to swallow and most profitable for them to hear?So, Paul had spent three years speaking God's word, all of God's word, to the Ephesians because he knew that that was what Jesus has called his followers to do. And because he knew God's word was not going to be the only word the Ephesians were going to hear.What's at Stake?Look with me down in Acts 20:29-30. See it there with me. He says,“I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” See what Paul had were eyes to see the battle going on in the world for words and how each and every one of the Christians around him who he was seeking to help follow Jesus were living in the midst of that battle. And every day, following his departure, there were going to be twisted things like lies, deceptions, and half-truths reigning down upon them from all sides. From within, “among your own selves” and from without, “fierce wolves out there.” Each with the aim to hit and puncture and sink into their souls, so as to draw them away from Christ and toward the wolves instead. Now, just think for a moment — is our world any different than that? I mean, consider someone you know from this church. Someone who is just a bit younger, a bit further behind in their faith than you. Maybe they're in your community group, or your life group. They're likely here this morning, maybe seated near you right now. Now do you have eyes to see the battle for words that that person lives in? Do you have eyes to see that that person, a half-hour-or-so from now, is going to walk out of this place, get in their car, and go home? And tomorrow, they're not going to come here. They're going to go to work, or school, and then maybe the gym, or the store, or to see a movie, or to enjoy a concert, or to visit a friend, or to spend time with a family member, or open a book, or turn on a screen, or pick up a magazine. And as they do, ask yourself: how many words out there are they going to see and hear between now and next Sunday? And how many of them will be twisted — laden with lies, fanged with falsehoods, aimed at leading that person not to Christ, but away from him? A hundred of them? A thousand? Are there any words you might be able to say to that person this week to help them keep following Jesus, rather than turn away from him? Is there any way you might be able to, gladly and purposefully seek to help them follow Jesus by speaking the word of God to them this week?Paul knew what Jesus had called him to. Paul knew the battle his fellow Christians were in. That's why he spoke. And that's why we should to. So, as generous disciplers, we want to gladly and purposefully seek to help other Christians to follow Jesus. And the first way we want to do that is by speaking the word of God to them. The second way, is by living it out before them. 2. Live the Word Go back with me to verse 18,“And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia.”And you know, its interesting — the church at this time was neither rich nor powerful (least not in terms of how the world measures those things). Even still, this was the Apostle Paul. Surely someone in Ephesus has got a nice guest house somewhere outside the city for Paul to stay in, right? I mean, “Paul, get yourself set up somewhere out of the riffraff of commoners and townsfolk. Get somewhere cushy and secluded. You got important stuff to do, to read, to write. You can't afford to be interrupted by all these nobodies.” Right? Wrong.Paul did in Ephesus just the same as he did in every other city he visited — he lived among the people. Rubbed shoulders with commoners. “You yourselves know how I lived among you...”“Okay fine,” we say, “but at least Paul impressed these commoners while he was there, right? Showed them he was a cut above the rest — how strong, how intelligent, how skilled he was right?”Wrong again. Verse 18,“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews.”Humility, tears, and trials. I mean if Paul was trying to impress, then clearly, he failed. Good thing he wasn't. He let his tears fall. His humility show. He bore the marks of trial not because he was trying to impress anybody, but because he was living in response to God's word. TearsHis tears were there because God's word had told him that he should love people and care about their souls. His tears were there because God's word has told him what happens to souls if deceived by twisted things and led away from their Savior. His tears were there because God's word had shown him that the loss of a person's faith deserved them. He was not aiming to impress people, but help people to follow Jesus. And so he let his tears fall in the process.TrialsLikewise, Paul's trials were there because God's word had called him to the front lines of battle. His trials remained there because God's word had assured him that the battle was well worth fighting no matter how heavy or tiresome they got. He was content to have his trials there and to show the marks of them to others because God's word showed him that in times of trial, his weakness showed most, and God's power shined greatest — and that was a good thing. HumilityFinally, his humility was there because of God's word, not his skill. God's word, not his eloquence. God's word, not his work ethic. God's word, not man, was able to guard these followers of Jesus so that they kept on as followers of Jesus even in the midst of the battle. He says, verse 32,“And now [that I'm leaving, and false teachers are coming…] I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give to you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” What enabled three years-worth of humble service to the Ephesians? The fact that he knew the power for his ministry was not in himself, but in God through his word.Brothers and sisters, go back to that young man or young woman who you had in your mind just a bit ago. The one who is just a bit younger, a bit further behind you in their walk with Jesus.What if you were to begin discipling them today? What if you were to begin gladly and purposefully seeking to help them follow Jesus by speaking God's word to them, and living God's word before them, this week? And what if, after you kept at it for three years, they were not impressed by you?Like, what if, as you discipled them, there came moments when you didn't have the answers, but were willing to seek them out alongside that person? And, what if, as you discipled them, it became apparent that even you are not yet totally sanctified, but are hoping to grow in sanctification alongside them? And what if, as you discipled them, there were no fireworks, and no fanfare, and no accolades, but instead, a thousand little moments, filled with the unimpressive and ordinary stuff, of speaking God's word to that person, and living God's word out before them?What if you did that? Well, then you would then be doing exactly what Jesus has commanded you to do. Making disciples, and then helping them to follow Jesus by teaching them to observe (to live out) all that he has commanded them. Cities Church, you can do this. You can help others to follow Jesus. With Bibles open, you can speak the word. With front doors open, you can live the word. With the desire to impress behind you, and humility flowing out from among you, and even with trials raging all round you, and tears welling up within you —You can help others to follow Jesus. And one last, quick word before we close. Cities Church, not only can you do this, but you can do so generously. Do So GenerouslyVerse 35, final word,“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”Do you see it? Jesus said, that it is more not less, but more blessed — more happy, more joy-producing, more delight-inducing — more blessed to give than to receive. To give than to withhold. To give and expend yourself for the good of others, rather than preserve yourself the supposed good of self. We don't want to be begrudging disciplers. We don't want to be exacting disciplers. We don't want to be duty-driven disciplers. Jesus tells us we should want to be generous disciplers because it is not less, but more blessed to give. The TableNow, what brings us to the table this morning is the fact that Jesus did not call his disciples to himself begrudgingly. He did not teach them his word disinterestedly. He did not cover up, but unfolded his life before them. And on the night he was betrayed, seated among his disciples, he invited them generously — take and eat, this is my body given for you. This table is Jesus' table. A fellowship meal for all who profess faith in him.

Explore legendary Summit Avenue later this month for their annual fall tour.Listen to our chat with Marcy Wengler.   https://www.summithilltours.org/  

Explore legendary Summit Avenue later this month for their annual fall tour.Listen to our chat with Marcy Wengler.   https://www.summithilltours.org/  

Sara Joy Proppe is a native of Texas, but lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has a degree in urban planning, and has over a decade of professional experience and managing private real estate development projects, as well as leading community placemaking workshops throughout the Midwest. She's the founder and director of Proximity Project, a consultancy that helps churches discover how they can use placemaking to connect with the local community. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Proximity Project (website). Check out Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, Summit Avenue, Cathedral Hill, and West 7th St. Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram). Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!

We talked with:Lynn Cullen is a bestselling author of several historical novels including "The Sisters of Summit Avenue," "Twain's End," "Mrs. Poe," "Reign of Madness," and "I Am Rembrandt's Daughter." Lynn's novels have been translated into 17 languages. Her latest book is "The Woman with the Cure."Dr. Shikha Jain is a board-certified hematology/oncology physician. She is a tenured associate professor of medicine at the University of Illinois Cancer Center in Chicago. She joins us today as the founder and chair of the Women in Medicine Summit, and founder and president of the nonprofit organization Women in Medicine.We talked about:In this episode, Dr. Millstine and her guests discuss:Where are the women? When we look through history at incredible accomplishments, they're often credited to men. But where are the women? Usually they were in the background, generating work, ideas and discoveries that provided critical links to success and progress — but their contributions were downplayed, stolen or erased from the history books.We've come so far, we've got so far to go. While many more women are employed in the science and medical fields today, there are still plenty of instances of bias and discrimination when it comes to promotion, pay, credit and leadership roles. You've probably heard personal stories to this effect, and there's data and research on these topics as well. As Dr. Jain says, "It's a slow, slow, slow train moving toward progress."We've got to work together. As cliche as it sounds, women have to support other women and minority gender identities — and need to find male allies. Highlight other women's accomplishments when they're not in the room and speak highly of their work. And help yourself — ask for awards, promotions and raises — hopefully backed up by your allies.Can't get enough?Purchase "The Woman with the Cure."From Bookshop.orgFrom AmazonFrom Barnes & NoblePurchase the Mayo Clinic Press book "You're the Leader. Now What?"Want to read more on the topic? Check out our blog:Leadership check-in: Are you the leader you intend to be?Balancing life as a busy professional and a mom Got feedback?If you've got ideas or book suggestions, email us at readtalkgrow@mayo.edu. We invite you to complete the following survey as part of a research study at Mayo Clinic. Your responses are anonymous. Your participation in this survey as well as its completion are voluntary.

Alex Hannah with Golden Cow Creamery joins Trent and special guest host, Josiah Boling, on “At Home with Roby”.  Alex opened his first location of Golden Cow Creamy eight years ago on Summit Avenue in South End.  Today, Alex has two additional locations in SouthPark and Uptown.  Every scoop of ice cream at Golden Cow Creamery is made from scratch by Alex and his team, who enjoy creating new flavors and experimenting with special, real ingredients.  Tune in to meet Alex to learn more.  This show will make you hungry!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this exhortation, Pastor Joe Rigney reminds us of the important liturgical symbols we see during our Sunday worship services as well as the significant architecture of our church building on Summit Avenue and explains why they have been intentionally chosen to be the way they are.

On today's episode, we welcome Lynn Cullen, national bestselling author of the historical novels The Sisters of Summit Avenue, Twain's End, Mrs. Poe, Reign of Madness, and I Am Rembrandt's Daughter.  Her newest book, The Woman with the Cure, follows the life of Dr. Dorothy Horstmann, who paved the way for the polio vaccine.

If you enjoy food, hear about some novels and other non-cookbooks that feature food. Cheryl McKeon of the Book House suggests the following reads: "Eight Hundred Grapes" (Dave, 2015); "Breaking Bread: Essays from New England on Food, Hunger, and Family" (Spark & Corey, eds, 2022); "Chocolat: A Novel" (Harris, 2000); "Delicious: A Novel" (Reichl, 2015); "Heartburn" (Ephron, 1996); "Love and Saffron" (Fay, 2022); "Kitchens of the Great Midwest" (Stradal, 2015); "The Lager Queen of Minnesota" (Stradal, 2019); "Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club" (Stradal, 2023); "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant" (Tyler, 1982); "The Sisters of Summit Avenue" (Cullen, 2019); and "Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake" (Bender, 2010). For details, visit the Book House in Stuyvesant Plaza, or look online at www.bhny.com. Produced by Brea Barthel for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

The essential contribution of The Woman with the Cure (Berkley Books, 2023) can be summarized in one sentence: like most of its future readers (I assume), I had never before heard of Dorothy Horstmann and her fundamental role in the research that led to the near-eradication of polio, despite having benefited hugely from her work. Throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and into the 1960s, she devoted her considerable talents and endless hours to tracking how polio spread throughout the body, but like the other remarkable women portrayed in this novel, she was forced because of her gender to play second fiddle to Doctors Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, her academic colleagues. Their contributions, of course, were also real and worthy of acclaim, but it was Dr. Horstmann—too often dismissed as “Dottie” or “Dot,” as if she were someone's secretary—who made the crucial discovery that early in its path from the digestive to the nervous system, the polio virus created antibodies in the blood. That finding made the polio vaccine possible by defining an entry point for medical intervention. Reading this novel has a particular resonance at this moment, when polio outbreaks are again affecting US cities because of vaccine hesitancy and the final eradication of the disease has been deterred in certain countries by political concerns—not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed everyone's experience of quarantine and disease. But I would like to emphasize that this is, first and foremost, a novel, centered on complex characters, a gripping plot, and the age-old battle between science and nature. I don't know, for example, whether Dorothy's love interest is a real person or the author's way of contrasting the attractions of home with the pull exerted by fulfilling work. In the end, it doesn't matter, because The Woman with the Cure works as a story, provoking questions about the choices its heroine makes and what we might do in similar circumstances—and that's what counts. Lynn Cullen is the bestselling author of the historical novels The Sisters of Summit Avenue, Twain's End, Mrs. Poe, Reign of Madness, and I Am Rembrandt's Daughter. The Woman with the Cure is her latest book. C. P. Lesley is the author of two historical fiction series set during the childhood of Ivan the Terrible and three other novels. Her next book, Song of the Storyteller, appeared in January 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The essential contribution of The Woman with the Cure (Berkley Books, 2023) can be summarized in one sentence: like most of its future readers (I assume), I had never before heard of Dorothy Horstmann and her fundamental role in the research that led to the near-eradication of polio, despite having benefited hugely from her work. Throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and into the 1960s, she devoted her considerable talents and endless hours to tracking how polio spread throughout the body, but like the other remarkable women portrayed in this novel, she was forced because of her gender to play second fiddle to Doctors Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, her academic colleagues. Their contributions, of course, were also real and worthy of acclaim, but it was Dr. Horstmann—too often dismissed as “Dottie” or “Dot,” as if she were someone's secretary—who made the crucial discovery that early in its path from the digestive to the nervous system, the polio virus created antibodies in the blood. That finding made the polio vaccine possible by defining an entry point for medical intervention. Reading this novel has a particular resonance at this moment, when polio outbreaks are again affecting US cities because of vaccine hesitancy and the final eradication of the disease has been deterred in certain countries by political concerns—not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed everyone's experience of quarantine and disease. But I would like to emphasize that this is, first and foremost, a novel, centered on complex characters, a gripping plot, and the age-old battle between science and nature. I don't know, for example, whether Dorothy's love interest is a real person or the author's way of contrasting the attractions of home with the pull exerted by fulfilling work. In the end, it doesn't matter, because The Woman with the Cure works as a story, provoking questions about the choices its heroine makes and what we might do in similar circumstances—and that's what counts. Lynn Cullen is the bestselling author of the historical novels The Sisters of Summit Avenue, Twain's End, Mrs. Poe, Reign of Madness, and I Am Rembrandt's Daughter. The Woman with the Cure is her latest book. C. P. Lesley is the author of two historical fiction series set during the childhood of Ivan the Terrible and three other novels. Her next book, Song of the Storyteller, appeared in January 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

The essential contribution of The Woman with the Cure (Berkley Books, 2023) can be summarized in one sentence: like most of its future readers (I assume), I had never before heard of Dorothy Horstmann and her fundamental role in the research that led to the near-eradication of polio, despite having benefited hugely from her work. Throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and into the 1960s, she devoted her considerable talents and endless hours to tracking how polio spread throughout the body, but like the other remarkable women portrayed in this novel, she was forced because of her gender to play second fiddle to Doctors Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, her academic colleagues. Their contributions, of course, were also real and worthy of acclaim, but it was Dr. Horstmann—too often dismissed as “Dottie” or “Dot,” as if she were someone's secretary—who made the crucial discovery that early in its path from the digestive to the nervous system, the polio virus created antibodies in the blood. That finding made the polio vaccine possible by defining an entry point for medical intervention. Reading this novel has a particular resonance at this moment, when polio outbreaks are again affecting US cities because of vaccine hesitancy and the final eradication of the disease has been deterred in certain countries by political concerns—not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed everyone's experience of quarantine and disease. But I would like to emphasize that this is, first and foremost, a novel, centered on complex characters, a gripping plot, and the age-old battle between science and nature. I don't know, for example, whether Dorothy's love interest is a real person or the author's way of contrasting the attractions of home with the pull exerted by fulfilling work. In the end, it doesn't matter, because The Woman with the Cure works as a story, provoking questions about the choices its heroine makes and what we might do in similar circumstances—and that's what counts. Lynn Cullen is the bestselling author of the historical novels The Sisters of Summit Avenue, Twain's End, Mrs. Poe, Reign of Madness, and I Am Rembrandt's Daughter. The Woman with the Cure is her latest book. C. P. Lesley is the author of two historical fiction series set during the childhood of Ivan the Terrible and three other novels. Her next book, Song of the Storyteller, appeared in January 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/medicine

The essential contribution of The Woman with the Cure (Berkley Books, 2023) can be summarized in one sentence: like most of its future readers (I assume), I had never before heard of Dorothy Horstmann and her fundamental role in the research that led to the near-eradication of polio, despite having benefited hugely from her work. Throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and into the 1960s, she devoted her considerable talents and endless hours to tracking how polio spread throughout the body, but like the other remarkable women portrayed in this novel, she was forced because of her gender to play second fiddle to Doctors Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, her academic colleagues. Their contributions, of course, were also real and worthy of acclaim, but it was Dr. Horstmann—too often dismissed as “Dottie” or “Dot,” as if she were someone's secretary—who made the crucial discovery that early in its path from the digestive to the nervous system, the polio virus created antibodies in the blood. That finding made the polio vaccine possible by defining an entry point for medical intervention. Reading this novel has a particular resonance at this moment, when polio outbreaks are again affecting US cities because of vaccine hesitancy and the final eradication of the disease has been deterred in certain countries by political concerns—not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed everyone's experience of quarantine and disease. But I would like to emphasize that this is, first and foremost, a novel, centered on complex characters, a gripping plot, and the age-old battle between science and nature. I don't know, for example, whether Dorothy's love interest is a real person or the author's way of contrasting the attractions of home with the pull exerted by fulfilling work. In the end, it doesn't matter, because The Woman with the Cure works as a story, provoking questions about the choices its heroine makes and what we might do in similar circumstances—and that's what counts. Lynn Cullen is the bestselling author of the historical novels The Sisters of Summit Avenue, Twain's End, Mrs. Poe, Reign of Madness, and I Am Rembrandt's Daughter. The Woman with the Cure is her latest book. C. P. Lesley is the author of two historical fiction series set during the childhood of Ivan the Terrible and three other novels. Her next book, Song of the Storyteller, appeared in January 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

The essential contribution of The Woman with the Cure (Berkley Books, 2023) can be summarized in one sentence: like most of its future readers (I assume), I had never before heard of Dorothy Horstmann and her fundamental role in the research that led to the near-eradication of polio, despite having benefited hugely from her work. Throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and into the 1960s, she devoted her considerable talents and endless hours to tracking how polio spread throughout the body, but like the other remarkable women portrayed in this novel, she was forced because of her gender to play second fiddle to Doctors Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, her academic colleagues. Their contributions, of course, were also real and worthy of acclaim, but it was Dr. Horstmann—too often dismissed as “Dottie” or “Dot,” as if she were someone's secretary—who made the crucial discovery that early in its path from the digestive to the nervous system, the polio virus created antibodies in the blood. That finding made the polio vaccine possible by defining an entry point for medical intervention. Reading this novel has a particular resonance at this moment, when polio outbreaks are again affecting US cities because of vaccine hesitancy and the final eradication of the disease has been deterred in certain countries by political concerns—not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed everyone's experience of quarantine and disease. But I would like to emphasize that this is, first and foremost, a novel, centered on complex characters, a gripping plot, and the age-old battle between science and nature. I don't know, for example, whether Dorothy's love interest is a real person or the author's way of contrasting the attractions of home with the pull exerted by fulfilling work. In the end, it doesn't matter, because The Woman with the Cure works as a story, provoking questions about the choices its heroine makes and what we might do in similar circumstances—and that's what counts. Lynn Cullen is the bestselling author of the historical novels The Sisters of Summit Avenue, Twain's End, Mrs. Poe, Reign of Madness, and I Am Rembrandt's Daughter. The Woman with the Cure is her latest book. C. P. Lesley is the author of two historical fiction series set during the childhood of Ivan the Terrible and three other novels. Her next book, Song of the Storyteller, appeared in January 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

The essential contribution of The Woman with the Cure (Berkley Books, 2023) can be summarized in one sentence: like most of its future readers (I assume), I had never before heard of Dorothy Horstmann and her fundamental role in the research that led to the near-eradication of polio, despite having benefited hugely from her work. Throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and into the 1960s, she devoted her considerable talents and endless hours to tracking how polio spread throughout the body, but like the other remarkable women portrayed in this novel, she was forced because of her gender to play second fiddle to Doctors Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, her academic colleagues. Their contributions, of course, were also real and worthy of acclaim, but it was Dr. Horstmann—too often dismissed as “Dottie” or “Dot,” as if she were someone's secretary—who made the crucial discovery that early in its path from the digestive to the nervous system, the polio virus created antibodies in the blood. That finding made the polio vaccine possible by defining an entry point for medical intervention. Reading this novel has a particular resonance at this moment, when polio outbreaks are again affecting US cities because of vaccine hesitancy and the final eradication of the disease has been deterred in certain countries by political concerns—not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed everyone's experience of quarantine and disease. But I would like to emphasize that this is, first and foremost, a novel, centered on complex characters, a gripping plot, and the age-old battle between science and nature. I don't know, for example, whether Dorothy's love interest is a real person or the author's way of contrasting the attractions of home with the pull exerted by fulfilling work. In the end, it doesn't matter, because The Woman with the Cure works as a story, provoking questions about the choices its heroine makes and what we might do in similar circumstances—and that's what counts. Lynn Cullen is the bestselling author of the historical novels The Sisters of Summit Avenue, Twain's End, Mrs. Poe, Reign of Madness, and I Am Rembrandt's Daughter. The Woman with the Cure is her latest book. C. P. Lesley is the author of two historical fiction series set during the childhood of Ivan the Terrible and three other novels. Her next book, Song of the Storyteller, appeared in January 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The essential contribution of The Woman with the Cure (Berkley Books, 2023) can be summarized in one sentence: like most of its future readers (I assume), I had never before heard of Dorothy Horstmann and her fundamental role in the research that led to the near-eradication of polio, despite having benefited hugely from her work. Throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and into the 1960s, she devoted her considerable talents and endless hours to tracking how polio spread throughout the body, but like the other remarkable women portrayed in this novel, she was forced because of her gender to play second fiddle to Doctors Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, her academic colleagues. Their contributions, of course, were also real and worthy of acclaim, but it was Dr. Horstmann—too often dismissed as “Dottie” or “Dot,” as if she were someone's secretary—who made the crucial discovery that early in its path from the digestive to the nervous system, the polio virus created antibodies in the blood. That finding made the polio vaccine possible by defining an entry point for medical intervention. Reading this novel has a particular resonance at this moment, when polio outbreaks are again affecting US cities because of vaccine hesitancy and the final eradication of the disease has been deterred in certain countries by political concerns—not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed everyone's experience of quarantine and disease. But I would like to emphasize that this is, first and foremost, a novel, centered on complex characters, a gripping plot, and the age-old battle between science and nature. I don't know, for example, whether Dorothy's love interest is a real person or the author's way of contrasting the attractions of home with the pull exerted by fulfilling work. In the end, it doesn't matter, because The Woman with the Cure works as a story, provoking questions about the choices its heroine makes and what we might do in similar circumstances—and that's what counts. Lynn Cullen is the bestselling author of the historical novels The Sisters of Summit Avenue, Twain's End, Mrs. Poe, Reign of Madness, and I Am Rembrandt's Daughter. The Woman with the Cure is her latest book. C. P. Lesley is the author of two historical fiction series set during the childhood of Ivan the Terrible and three other novels. Her next book, Song of the Storyteller, appeared in January 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The essential contribution of The Woman with the Cure (Berkley Books, 2023) can be summarized in one sentence: like most of its future readers (I assume), I had never before heard of Dorothy Horstmann and her fundamental role in the research that led to the near-eradication of polio, despite having benefited hugely from her work. Throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and into the 1960s, she devoted her considerable talents and endless hours to tracking how polio spread throughout the body, but like the other remarkable women portrayed in this novel, she was forced because of her gender to play second fiddle to Doctors Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, her academic colleagues. Their contributions, of course, were also real and worthy of acclaim, but it was Dr. Horstmann—too often dismissed as “Dottie” or “Dot,” as if she were someone's secretary—who made the crucial discovery that early in its path from the digestive to the nervous system, the polio virus created antibodies in the blood. That finding made the polio vaccine possible by defining an entry point for medical intervention. Reading this novel has a particular resonance at this moment, when polio outbreaks are again affecting US cities because of vaccine hesitancy and the final eradication of the disease has been deterred in certain countries by political concerns—not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed everyone's experience of quarantine and disease. But I would like to emphasize that this is, first and foremost, a novel, centered on complex characters, a gripping plot, and the age-old battle between science and nature. I don't know, for example, whether Dorothy's love interest is a real person or the author's way of contrasting the attractions of home with the pull exerted by fulfilling work. In the end, it doesn't matter, because The Woman with the Cure works as a story, provoking questions about the choices its heroine makes and what we might do in similar circumstances—and that's what counts. Lynn Cullen is the bestselling author of the historical novels The Sisters of Summit Avenue, Twain's End, Mrs. Poe, Reign of Madness, and I Am Rembrandt's Daughter. The Woman with the Cure is her latest book. C. P. Lesley is the author of two historical fiction series set during the childhood of Ivan the Terrible and three other novels. Her next book, Song of the Storyteller, appeared in January 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The essential contribution of The Woman with the Cure (Berkley Books, 2023) can be summarized in one sentence: like most of its future readers (I assume), I had never before heard of Dorothy Horstmann and her fundamental role in the research that led to the near-eradication of polio, despite having benefited hugely from her work. Throughout the 1940s, 1950s, and into the 1960s, she devoted her considerable talents and endless hours to tracking how polio spread throughout the body, but like the other remarkable women portrayed in this novel, she was forced because of her gender to play second fiddle to Doctors Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, her academic colleagues. Their contributions, of course, were also real and worthy of acclaim, but it was Dr. Horstmann—too often dismissed as “Dottie” or “Dot,” as if she were someone's secretary—who made the crucial discovery that early in its path from the digestive to the nervous system, the polio virus created antibodies in the blood. That finding made the polio vaccine possible by defining an entry point for medical intervention. Reading this novel has a particular resonance at this moment, when polio outbreaks are again affecting US cities because of vaccine hesitancy and the final eradication of the disease has been deterred in certain countries by political concerns—not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed everyone's experience of quarantine and disease. But I would like to emphasize that this is, first and foremost, a novel, centered on complex characters, a gripping plot, and the age-old battle between science and nature. I don't know, for example, whether Dorothy's love interest is a real person or the author's way of contrasting the attractions of home with the pull exerted by fulfilling work. In the end, it doesn't matter, because The Woman with the Cure works as a story, provoking questions about the choices its heroine makes and what we might do in similar circumstances—and that's what counts. Lynn Cullen is the bestselling author of the historical novels The Sisters of Summit Avenue, Twain's End, Mrs. Poe, Reign of Madness, and I Am Rembrandt's Daughter. The Woman with the Cure is her latest book. C. P. Lesley is the author of two historical fiction series set during the childhood of Ivan the Terrible and three other novels. Her next book, Song of the Storyteller, appeared in January 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/historical-fiction

In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to the author of THE WOMAN WITH THE CURE, Lynn Cullen, about Dr Dorothy Horstmann the pioneer of the polio vaccine who gave up everything and changed the world. Lynn Cullen grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and is the bestselling author of The Sisters of Summit Avenue, Twain's End, and Mrs. Poe, which was named an NPR 2013 Great Read and an Indie Next List selection. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, their dog, and two unscrupulous cats. Her latest book is The Woman with the Cure. Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zach, Tor and Belly stumble, struggle and sincere-post their way through an entire ep without Mike. Luckily, Mike Lester sends in a special road diary featuring a very special guest. Timestamps: (0:30) Sorry, man (5:35) I'll Grieve You With This Episode 11 (with Zach Kagan) (11:43) Rescue Me  (14:05) twitch.tv/bellytelevision (16:20) Horizon Zero Dawn (18:39) Zach freaks out (20:48) Mike Lester's Road Diary Pt.I (22:38) Parasocial blankets  (25:30) Zach's performance review (29:25) Summit Avenue (33:45) M.L.R.D. Pt.II (39:10) Shared DNA (43:00) Tor lore reveal (44:10) The Arrogant Worms (46:35) ILYM REACTS  (52:37) Metaverse  (1:03:27) M.L.R.D. Pt.III (1:08:00) Horizon Zero Dawn & cultural appropriation (1:15:30) Virtual photography (1:31:05) Hapa Haole (1:43:38) M.L.R.D. Pt.IV (1:49:47) Full body tattoos  (1:59:20) Highschool Zach Follow us on Twitch! twitch.tv/iloveyoumanatv twitch.tv/bellytelevision ILYM Plugs Mike Lester's upcoming shows: https://linktr.ee/Justmikelester Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/iloveyoumana/ Discord: https://discord.gg/VeVs3g2 IG: https://www.instagram.com/Iloveyoumana/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ILoveYouMana ILYM Theme: dmoon ILYM Outro: Neel Ghosh Editing: Micah/Belly

Lynn Cullen's novel Mrs. Poe was named a Book of the Week by People Magazine, an NPR Great Read, an Indie Next List selection, Oprah Book of the Week, and Best Book of the Year by Atlanta Magazine. Twain's End was a People Magazine Book of the Week.  Her novels have been translated into seventeen languages and she has appeared on PBS American Masters. Her newest novel, The Sisters of Summit Avenue is a moving and heartfelt tribute to mothers, daughters, and sisters everywhere. In this episode, she discusses her early memories of libraries, her writing process, why she likes writing about strong women throughout history, and her upcoming book, The Woman with the Cure.

Welcome to another episode of The Savvy Property Investor Show! This week's Session 4 Episode 1 of The Savvy Property Investors Show focuses ““HOW TO STOP GIVING AWAY ALL THE HOWS IN YOUR CONTENT!  with special guest: JEN LIDDY DO YOU KNOW: Why do we HAVE to create content for our audiences? Do you know some of the myths surrounding creating content? Do you know HOWs in your content is making it harder for YOU? Why giving away all the HOWs in your content actually hurt your audience? This week's podcast episode covers all this and more. Jen left her career teaching high school English to avoid a life doomed by grading crappy 9th-grade essays. In 2013, she made a terrifying leap into entrepreneurship & learned everything the hard way! Now, as a Content Creation Specialist, Jen helps personal brands step off the content creation treadmill & get out of content chaos with strategies that ease-iffy , simplify, and actually make content FUN! As one client said, “Jen shows you how to create content that FEELS GOOD to you In a way that WORKS for you!” GUEST CONTACT DETAILS: SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES ARE: FREE RESOURCE FOR YOUR AUDIENCE: The Customized Content Planner - free resource: https://www.jenliddy.com/contentplanner DIRECT CONTACT INFORMATION: E: jen_liddy@me.com C: 315-430-0456 308 Summit Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13207 ONLINE LINKS: Website: https://www.jenliddy.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenliddycoach Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenliddycoach YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8qQaajFXqn_ceK41xDwfg Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jenliddy/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-liddy-bb95a95b/ Remember to subscribe and join our podcast community on Facebook using the following links: Connect with Sapphire on: WEBSITE https://www.savvywomen.co.uk/podcast https://www.sapphiregray.co.uk/podcast https://www.swiacademy.com/podcast EMAIL podcast@savvywomen.co.uk SOCIALS https://www.facebook.com/50savvywomen     https://www.instagram.com/50savvywomen Clubhouse @SapphireGray Click our Listen Now to learn more.  

Talking Joy with Gabrielle Newkirk, stylist, collector and owner of designer consignment boutique The Collective—a place where everything old is new again! The Collective is a designer consignment boutique offering a curated collection of sought-after clothing, bags, shoes and accessories. Gabrielle builds community while styling others in your treasures. She is always looking for the hottest items and the merchandise is always changing.  Located right off the main drag in Summit, NJ at 101 Summit Avenue. www.talkingjoy.org

The Streel -Published May 12th 2020 by Univ Of Minnesota PressWhen I was fifteen and my brother Seamus sixteen, we attended our own wake. Our family was in mourning, forced to send us off to America.The year is 1880, and of all the places Brigid Reardon and her brother might have dreamed of when escaping Ireland's potato famine by moving to America, Deadwood, South Dakota, was not one of them. But Deadwood, in the grip of gold fever, is where Seamus lands and where Brigid joins him after eluding the unwanted attentions of the son of her rich employer in St. Paul—or so she hopes. But the morning after her arrival, a grisly tragedy occurs; Seamus, suspected of the crime, flees, and Brigid is left to clear his name and to manage his mining claim, which suddenly looks more valuable and complicated than he and his partners supposed.Mary Logue, author of the popular Claire Watkins mysteries, brings her signature brio and nerve to this story of a young Irish woman turned reluctant sleuth as she tries to make her way in a strange and often dangerous new world. From the famine-stricken city of Galway to the bustling New York harbor, to the mansions of Summit Avenue in St. Paul, and finally to the raucous hustle of boomtown Deadwood, Logue's new thriller conjures the romance and the perils, and the tricky everyday realities, of a young immigrant surviving by her wits and grace in nineteenth-century America."I would have wanted to be a writer when I was a child if I had known it was possible. When I could only read two words: "you" and "I," I went through a wholebook and circled them. I knew reading was the key to the rest of the world. I wrote my first mystery when I was in sixth grade—it was about a mysterious trail around a pond. I continue to write about mysterious trails around Lake Pepin in my Claire Watkins mystery series. Some things never change.Poetry, however, is the foundation of my work. I have written four books of poetry, my latest is Hand Work, which came out in 2009. This book was the result of an experiment to write a poem a day for a year. I have also published a young adult novel, Dancing with an Alien, and the Bloodwater mysteries with Pete Hautman. My non-fiction books include a biography of my grandmother, Halfway Home, and a book on Minnesota courthouses, both published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press.She was an editor at the Village Voice, Graywolf Press, and The Creative Company. She published articles in the Village Voice, the New York Times and the Hungry Mind Review. For many year she taught at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. Currently, she on faculty in the low-residency Children's Literature MFA program at Hamline University in St. Paul.She is a bi-riverbank, living on both sides of the Mississippi, with writer Pete Hautman in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Dozens of President Trump’s supporters gathered peacefully at the State Capitol in St. Paul, with helicopters circling the building and a notably stepped up law enforcement presence. Police were also seen in front of the Governor’s Residence on Summit Avenue, where other demonstrators gathered. This is an MPR News Evening update for January 6, 2021. Hosted by Nina Moini. Our theme music is by Gary Meister.

Award winning author Lynn Cullen is a Fort Wayne native who draws heavily on her childhood memories to spin the plot of her latest novel, The Sisters of Summit Avenue. The tightly woven story, set in the era of the Great Depression, is driven by a host of that day's sociological issues, as well as its pop culture icon, Betty Crocker, and the impact her marketing campaign had on the nation. WBOI's Julia Meek spoke with Cullen by phone to learn what motivated this approach, and how the author regards her hometown, and those family dynamics and relationships, now that they have shaped the tale. WBOI Artcentric is brought to you by WBOI's own Julia Meek and Ben Clemmer. Our theme music is “Me voy pal campo'' by KelsiCote. Our administrative assistants are Olivia Fletter, Keegan Lee, and Brittany Smith. Our production assistants are Monica Blankenship, Steve Mullaney, and Sydney Wagner.

DeLand police are working to find out how a man ended up dead, apparently murdered, deep in the woods off of Summit Avenue near West New York Avenue, officials said on Monday.

DeLand police are working to find out how a man ended up dead, apparently murdered, deep in the woods off of Summit Avenue near West New York Avenue, officials said on Monday.

Railroad titan James J. Hill added a gallery to his sprawling 1891 house on Summit Avenue in St. Paul to showcase his expansive art collection. The room, with its high glass ceiling, still functions as a gallery to show off that collection. But starting Saturday, it will display new works. The pieces, by ten Minnesota botanical artists, will be just as classic in style, but their subject matter will be a contemporary one: climate change. “Normally we exhibit work here that focuses on our permanent collection, which consists of many images of [the Minnesota] landscape. So I thought it was an interesting contemporary bookend to our collection to focus on botanically trained artists who are taking a very scientific approach, in a very quiet in a sort of way, to our changing climate,” said Minnesota Historical Society curator Brian Szott. The pieces in “Art from the Edge of the Boreal Forest: Reflecting Biodiversity” focus on the tree species in northern Minnesota that are most vulnerable to climate change and the wildlife species that depend on them. The trees include balsam poplar, the balsam fir and the jack pine. Winters have warmed about five to six degrees in northern Minnesota since 1970, and that’s taken a toll on the boreal forest where those trees live. “A boreal forest relies heavily on a long, cold winters and short, warm summers with ample rainfall,” Szott said. “When that balance starts to change, the trees and the ecosystem start to break down.” Already, trees such as red maples that grow further south are moving into the region. “That's what's so significant about this exhibition title, because it's ‘From the Edge of the Boreal Forest,’ which is that southern part of this great biome that spans most of northern North America. But it's also the boreal forest on the edge of some significant changes,” Szott said. Artist Marj Davis and her colleagues featured in the exhibit spent 10 years on the project. In that time, she said, she’s noticed the hotter summers and more damaging storms associated with climate change. “Sometimes when we look at big problems, it's hard to figure out what you can do as an individual,” Davis said. “But this gives me personally a lot of satisfaction.” The exhibit runs through June 21 and is free with admission to the James J. Hill House.

This week, Liberty and Kelly discuss Gideon the Ninth, Unpregnant, Stargazing, and more great books. This episode was sponsored by Book Riot's Mystery/Thriller giveaway;  HMH Books and Media, publishers of The Years That Matter Most: How College Makes or Breaks Us by Paul Tough; and Ritual. Pick up an All the Books! 200th episode commemorative item here. Subscribe to All the Books! using RSS, iTunes, or Spotify and never miss a beat book. Sign up for the weekly New Books! newsletter for even more new book news. Books discussed on the show: We Speak In Storms by Natalie Lund Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir  Stargazing by Jen Wang  Pet by Akwaeke Emezi  Some Places More Than Others by Renée Watson A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker  Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan What we're reading: Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado  More books out this week: The Last Train to London: A Novel by Meg Waite Clayton  Free Lunch by Rex Ogle The Fifth Column: A Novel by Andrew Gross  The Ghost Collector by Allison Mills  The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir by Samantha Power  Where the Light Enters by Sara Donati Women in Art: 50 Fearless Creatives Who Inspired the World (Women in Science) by Rachel Ignotofsky  The Sisters of Summit Avenue by Lynn Cullen  The Truth About Magic: Poems by Atticus  29 Seconds: A Novel by T. M. Logan  A Treason of Thorns by Laura E Weymouth  The Corner That Held Them (New York Review Books Classics) by Sylvia Townsend Warner The Divers’ Game by Jesse Ball She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey Live a Little: A Novel by Howard Jacobson Don't You Forget About Me: A Novel by Mhairi McFarlane  Bloomland by John Englehardt What Is A Girl Worth?: My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth about Larry Nassar & USA Gymnastics by Rachael Denhollander Out of Darkness, Shining Light by Pettina Gappah Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez  Lost in the Spanish Quarter by Heddi Goodrich  Malamander by Thomas Taylor and Tom Booth The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff The Starlet and the Spy: A Novel by Ji-min Lee The Ticking Heart by Andrew Kaufman The Siege of Troy: A Novel by Theodor Kallifatides, Marlaine Delargy (Translator) Animalia by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, Frank Wynne (translator) Akin by Emma Donoghue  The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas  The Vanished Bride (A Brontë Sisters Mystery) by Bella Ellis Rebel Girls By Elizabeth Keenan The Second Chance Supper Club by Nicole Meier  For the Love of Men: A New Vision for Mindful Masculinity by Liz Plank  Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty and Dianné Ruz (Illustrator)  How to Be Remy Cameron by Julian Winters Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell  A Choir of Lies by Alexandra Rowland and Drew Willis Hope Is Our Only Wing by Rutendo Tavengerwei  Tinfoil Butterfly: A Novel by Rachel Eve Moulton  Are You Listening? By Tillie Walden  Listening to the Wind (Seedbank) by Tim Robinson When She Reigns (Fallen Isles Book 3) by Jodi Meadows Three-Fifths by John Vercher  Homesick by Jennifer Croft  Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann  Frankly in Love by David Yoon The Testaments by Margaret Atwood His Hideous Heart: Thirteen of Edgar Allan Poe's Most Unsettling Tales Reimagined by Dahlia Adler  So Much More: A Poignant Memoir about Finding Love, Fighting Adversity, and Defining Life on My Own Terms by Zulema Arroyo Farley The Institute: A Novel by Stephen King The Nanny: A Novel by Gilly Macmillan The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow  Gun Island: A Novel by Amitav Ghosh  Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers: Poems (National Poetry Series) by Jake Skeets Mother Knows Best: A Novel of Suspense by Kira Peikoff  Transaction Man: The Rise of the Deal and the Decline of the American Dream by Nicholas Lemann  Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS by Azadeh Moaveni The Light in the Lake by Sarah R. Baughman  A Match Made in Mehendi by Nandini Bajpai  Diamond Doris: The True Story of the World's Most Notorious Jewel Thief by Doris Payne  Ruby & Roland: A Novel by Faith Sullivan Fanny and the Mystery in the Grieving Forest (Literature in Translation Series) by Rune Christiansen and Kari Dickson  

It's fall, also known as Oscar season for books. In this episode, Gayle and Nicole talk about the fall books they are excited to read, with a focus on authors who have published before. (In future episodes, we'll talk about debut authors and paperbacks.) Get your TBR lists ready! Books mentioned during this episode: https://amzn.to/2NSokEy (Summerlings) by Lisa Howorth https://amzn.to/2ZM6aGN (In The Pleasure Groove) by John Taylor https://amzn.to/2ZMd4f9 (Wild Game) by Adrienne Brodeur https://amzn.to/2ZQC19w (Verity) by Colleen Hoover https://amzn.to/2MWzKYm (The Testaments) by Margaret Atwood https://amzn.to/2LnzEGY (The Dutch House) by Ann Patchett https://amzn.to/2UxHAbQ (Waking Lions) by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen https://amzn.to/2NTL72H (The Liar) by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen https://amzn.to/2zR4Vf0 (Olive, Again) by Elizabeth Strout https://amzn.to/2LoaZCt (Olive Kitteridge) by Elizabeth Strout https://amzn.to/34q8ebi (Anything Is Possible) by Elizabeth Strout https://amzn.to/2zYdYL2 (My Name Is Lucy Barton) by Elizabeth Strout https://amzn.to/2ZIRzjn (Amy And Isabelle) by Elizabeth Strout https://amzn.to/34qXg59 (Abide With Me) by Elizabeth Strout https://amzn.to/2MUWoQL (The Sisters of Summit Avenue) by Lynn Cullen https://amzn.to/2MYQrSL (All This Could Be Yours) by Jami Attenberg https://amzn.to/2LmVURu (The Middlesteins) by Jami Attenberg https://amzn.to/2MUWyYn (All Grown Up) by Jami Attenberg https://amzn.to/2PKhDHc (Ninth House) by Leigh Bardugo https://amzn.to/2MU9L3O (The Topeka School) by Ben Lerner https://amzn.to/2ZGPLaO (Leaving The Atocha Station) by Ben Lerner https://amzn.to/2NXEvAJ (10:04) by Ben Lerner https://amzn.to/2MWBDnU (Dept. of Speculation) by Jenny Offill https://amzn.to/2MWCeGa (A Bitter Feast) by Deborah Crombie https://amzn.to/2NMYhPf (Akin) by Emma Donoghue https://amzn.to/2MSAxJL (Room) by Emma Donoghue https://amzn.to/2Uweutj (Pursuit) by Joyce Carol Oates https://amzn.to/2LqpMLy (Right After The Weather) by Carol Anshaw https://amzn.to/2LmrsXF (Carry The One) by Carol Anshaw https://amzn.to/2LujSZQ (The Water Dancer) by Ta-Nehisi Coates https://amzn.to/2ZV1cb6 (Nothing To See Here) by Kevin Wilson https://amzn.to/2MW6iBD (Talking To Strangers) by Malcom Gladwell https://amzn.to/2MVVgfN (Find Me) by Andre Aciman https://amzn.to/2Lmait7 (Girl) by Edna O'Brien *Books linked above are our affiliate links. There's no additional expense you, but if you make a purchase through us a small portion of that contributes to the costs associated with making our podcast. Thanks so much for listening and for your support! Please help support the podcast and take a few minutes to https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-readerly-report/id1141898658?mt=2 (leave a review and/or rating) for the podcast on https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1141898658?i (iTunes), a commenton https://soundcloud.com/user-399446357 (Soundcloud) or interact wherever you listen to podcasts and talk about books.  Connect With Us We'd love to hear from you at any and all places that you love to talk about books. You can find us at& Support this podcast

City of Greensboro Interim Division Manager Mark Wayman consults with Code Enforcement Officer Terri Buchanan. DAVID FORD/WFDD This week, we’ve been reporting on the aftermath of a tragic fire that spread through a low-rent Greensboro apartment earlier this year, killing five young refugee siblings. Their family was placed there by a resettlement agency tasked with finding safe, affordable housing for new North Carolinians. But as the number of low-cost rentals has dwindled here, safe and affordable is becoming increasingly rare. For this chapter of our series "Unsafe Haven," WFDD’s David Ford surveys the Gate City’s response to a housing crisis that’s been years in the making. “We Can’t Afford To Be Biased” Code enforcement officer for the city of Greensboro Terri Buchanan is following up on repairs that she requested a landlord make to a small, two-bedroom rental house. That’s how it works: a tenant files a complaint with the city, and if warranted, they send out people like Buchanan to inspect. Even though this property owner lives out of town, Buchanan says he’s been extremely responsive. He’s gone above and beyond in resolving the roughly dozen or so code violations that needed to be addressed, the only conflicts arising when contractors he’s hired have cut corners, and they’re easily resolved. City code enforcement officer Terri Buchanan inspects recently installed replacement siding used to cover an entry point for rodents. DAVID FORD/WFDD Other landlords, she says, consistently fail to meet even minimum standards.  “We have to be so careful, and we can’t afford to be biased with someone. We can’t afford to let our emotions or our opinions enter in and we don’t," says Buchanan. “That’s one of our strong points as a team. We may grumble amongst ourselves, but we cannot let those opinions enter into the inspection and the process.” Buchanan acknowledges that this even-handed approach can be frustrating, particularly for the affordable housing advocates, and thousands of low-income renters throughout the city of Greensboro who want bad actors held accountable. But Buchanan contends that the city’s reasoning is sound.  “I think that’s been an asset to everybody and eventually helps get landlords back on track if they’ve lost their way, without really pointing fingers at anybody,” she says. But there are many who argue it doesn’t work. Case in point? The Summit-Cone apartment complex near the intersection of Summit Avenue and Cone Boulevard. City inspectors came to investigate living conditions in the sprawling 42-unit complex following the deadly fire there, and after several tenant complaints surfaced in a petition. While there, code enforcement officers discovered 466 code violations. It’s the second time in five years this property has been condemned, so how does it keep happening? "A Tool In Our Toolbox"  To find out about one contributing factor, we have to rewind the clock, when state laws changed that made it more difficult for the city to prevent the abuses from happening in the first place. Specifically, the Rental Unit Certificate of Occupancy (RUCO).  Mayor Nancy Vaughan says RUCO was groundbreaking in holding more landlords accountable, and it served as a model for other cities. “We were able to go in and do proactive inspections of units before people rented them,” says Vaughan. “And then the legislature took that away not only from Greensboro, who pioneered that legislation, but from the entire state which took away one of the tools in our toolbox.” So, by 2012 RUCO was no more. Brett Byerly with the Greensboro Housing Coalition laments the loss as well, but admits the program also ruffled feathers. City nuisance contractor Bruce Glass (far) boards up a missing window on a condemned rental in East Greensboro. DAVID FORD/WFDD  “Philosophically, a lot of it had to do with real estate lobbies feeling like they were being pushed on too hard and overregulated,” says Byerly. “And I get it. Maybe one of the weaknesses of RUCO was that it was an across-the-board inspection program. "So, we’re spending a lot of time inspecting what investors refer to as A and B Class properties. And A and B class properties by definition don’t generally need to be inspected, because the people living in A and B Class properties, if their owner landlord is not taking care of the property, they leave.” Byerly says that, meanwhile, people in C Class properties, without $1,500 in their pocket for a deposit plus the first month’s rent, have no ability to vote with their feet. They’re stuck. With RUCO gone, city code inspectors were invited to investigate properties only after receiving complaints from residents, or petitions—as was the case at Summit-Cone. After inspections, problems are identified to the owners who are then given two months or more to correct them. If no action is taken, the building can be condemned as a last resort, followed by civil penalties and fines levied to further entice them to comply. If the owners still don’t make repairs, it can be pricey, with escalating reinspection fees eventually totaling $400 per unit, per month. And the last resort: demolition. “Are We Doing Enough?” When buildings are condemned, people can’t live in them. That just makes the dearth of affordable housing even worse, says City Councilman Justin Outling. “The fact is there are 26,000 households in our community where people are not able to afford the price they pay for housing.” With regard to making up the affordable housing gap, City Councilman Justin Outling says, "We have to go really far, really fast." DAVID FORD/WFDD  That’s why, after negotiations with housing advocates and real estate officials, the city passed a $25 million bond referendum to support more affordable housing. That’s helping to fund a 176-unit apartment community in East Greensboro called Cottage Grove. It’s being refurbished with a $400,000 investment from the city for energy efficient upgrades. Then in October, the City Council passed a new housing ordinance. Outling says it will target substandard properties, like the Summit-Cone apartments.  “That property was in compliance as of 2016,” says Outling. “We know now, 2018, a mere two years later, it’s woefully out of compliance. This revision to the housing ordinance will help address situations like that one to ensure that properties stay in compliance for a longer period of time.” Outling says, that unlike RUCO, this ordinance allows the city to inspect all units of an apartment complex where just one serious threat to safety was found. It also gives them permission to follow up with multiple, rollover inspections there over the course of one year without having to start back at the beginning: scheduling, notifications, hearings, and demolitions.  “Are we doing enough?” asks Outling. “The answer is, ‘No, but we’re making tremendous progress.’ If you want to go fast, you go alone. If you want to go far, you go together. On this topic, we have to go really far, really fast.” Construction at Cottage Grove seems to be moving along at a good clip, with a move-in date scheduled for some time this spring. Story does not include AP content #greensboro #affordable housing #code inspectors #rental unit certificate of occupancy #ruco #ordinance #bond referendum #unsafe haven #real estate lobbies #greensboro housing coalition Health & Safety Politics & Government Normal Tweet

This vacated rental property on Huffman Street in Greensboro is owned by Irene Agapion-Martinez. The photo reveals several code violations including a crumbling porch foundation and a missing porch roof pillar. DAVID FORD/WFDD In May, a kitchen fire at a low-rent apartment in Greensboro claimed the lives of five refugee children—siblings from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After months of investigation, officials determined that “unattended cooking” was the likely cause, but the tragedy led to dozens of tenants stepping forward to share their stories of what they described as landlord neglect at the Summit-Cone apartments. The 42-unit complex is owned by Bill, Sophia and Basil Agapion, and managed by Arco Realty. In the second installment of our five-part series “Unsafe Haven,” WFDD’s David Ford investigates Arco, and the Greensboro family that has run the company throughout its 60-year history. “Long List Of Code Violations” In August, 466 code violations were found at Summit-Cone, and the entire complex was condemned. It was the second condemnation in less than five years. DAVID FORD/WFDD Every home in Greensboro—owner or tenant-occupied—must meet minimum housing standards: safe, sanitary, and fit for human habitation. But often even those basic thresholds are not being met. At a routine home inspection, Mark Wayman with the city's Code Compliance Division is checking out a property in East Greensboro on a tree-lined narrow street, dotted with small rental homes in various states of disrepair. He points to work being done to secure windows of the home.  “For the safety of the neighborhood and also to protect what’s there, we’re going to go ahead and do that," says Wayman. "The owners had more than twelve days to take care of this and they have not.” Wayman adds that the missing windows and an open crawl space are ideal entry points for rodents, children, and homeless adults. He scans the scene and ticks off a long list of code violations including a crumbling front porch foundation, gaping roofline holes, vandalized electrical panel, suspect roof, missing handrails—and those are just on the home’s exterior.   “It would take five minor violations or one major violation to start a case,” says Wayman. “And I think we definitely have one here, just at a glance.” Coincidentally, the day after this home inspection tour, Wayman called to say that the owner of the small rental we visited just happens to be Irene Agapion-Martinez, of Arco Realty. She’s also the property management representative for the Summit-Cone apartments, the site of the deadly fire where nearly 500 minimum housing standards code violations were discovered after the fire. The entire complex was condemned, the second time in less than five years. “A Reputation For Cutting Corners” Built in the early 60s near the busy intersection of Summit Avenue and Cone Boulevard, the apartments are not much to look at: nine brick, barracks-style, two-story buildings spread out across one long block along Summit. But back in 1963, just a year after construction, to young real estate lawyer Bill Agapion, it looked like a money-maker. Roughly ten years earlier he formed AAA Realty—later Arco Realty—in a converted bank building on South Elm Street. Specializing in low-income housing for people with very few options, he catered to those with poor credit, recent evictions, and the underemployed, and at Summit-Cone, immigrants and refugees. Arco’s stated mission: provide quality, affordable rentals. But by the 1970s the Agapions' reputation for cutting corners was already well established. The Summit-Cone apartment complex is located at the busy intersection of Summit Ave. and Cone Blvd. Apartment G (the site of the deadly fire) is pictured far right with plywood boards. DAVID FORD/WFDD When a landlord’s property fails to meet minimum standards, the buildings can be condemned, resulting in fines, civil penalties, reinspection fees, orders by the city to repair, and in extreme cases, demolition. Bill Agapion has a well-documented history of delaying fine payments, postponing necessary repairs, and bringing his apartments up to minimum code just in time to avoid demolition, says journalist Eric Ginsburg.  “This is a landlord who is not doing anything proactive to make sure people are living in safe conditions,” says Ginsburg. Three years ago, he reported for Triad City Beat that the Agapion family, through their hundreds of Greensboro properties, had accumulated nearly $350,000 in outstanding fines. “This is someone who does the minimal amount that they have to, and they only make those minimal changes when they’re caught by the city,” says Ginsburg. “And that has a huge cost for the rest of us.” Ginsburg says neighborhoods and the city pay for blighted apartments: depressing property values, the ability to attract new employers, and the jobs that come with them. But for Sudanese refugee, and former Summit-Cone tenant Juma Juma, inaction on the part of his property manager, Arco Realty, led to months of frustration and anger. Forced to relocate from his Summit-Cone apartment after it was condemned, Juma Juma waits in line at the Greensboro Housing Coalition-sponsored Landlord Fair. DAVID FORD/WFDD “The landlord was not so courageous to come and see what’s inside to evaluate either [if] the light is working or the fire detectors or the water either it is leaking or not leaking,” says Juma. WFDD reached out to the Agapions on multiple occasions to request interviews for this story. Those requests were denied, but finally a written statement was provided through their attorney’s office. "Many criticisms we currently face are not factual or do not account for complicating factors. Regardless, we will continue to work to provide our residents with safe, affordable housing, to improve and maintain the properties we manage, and to serve our community as good corporate citizens." It goes on to reiterate that the Greensboro Fire Department concluded that the fire was a result of unattended cooking by tenants. For city officials and inspectors who have dealt with the Agapions over the years, accruing multiple violations and delaying repairs until the last possible moment is a familiar pattern, but not an illegal one. Former Greensboro Chief Code Enforcement Officer Beth Benton describes her office’s relationship with Irene Agapion-Martinez as cooperative.   “From my perspective, if you own hundreds and hundreds of properties, you’re going to have violations,” says Benton. “That just kind of comes with the territory.” Benton blames some of the backlog in tenant complaints in apartments primarily populated with refugees on language barriers, education, and the process itself. “They don’t realize that they have another option, that they can call us if the landlord is not being responsive,” she says. “The other thing [is] a lot of immigrants and refugees settling here often see code officers—we are a form of government, we are a form of police. So, we are not welcome. It creates fear from where they’re from as political refugees." “Unwanted Headlines” And the code violations continue to accumulate. Members of the Agapion family are currently being sued by the widow of a plumber electrocuted while working in the crawl space of a rental property managed by Arco Realty. The suit alleges that the electrical system had bare wires and was dangerously below code. Bill, Sophia and Basil Agapion responded in nearly identical filings denying those claims. Decade after decade, the Agapions have made unwanted newspaper headlines: 2006: Judge signs city order to demolish several Arco homes on Guerrant Street. 1992: Dozens of refugees from Vietnam settle at Summit-Cone apartments, which had been condemned and vacant. 1987: Survey shows 200 of the city’s 250 boarded-up houses are owned by Agapions. And the paper trail dates as far back as 1970, when hundreds of AAA Realty tenants staged a 3-month rent strike. Some marched past the Agapion’s South Elm office holding signs that read: “When does this city plan to do something?” Story does not include AP content #arco realty #greensboro #summit-cone #agapion #housing #unsafe haven Health & Safety Normal Tweet

Today, the only reminder of the May 12th fire is the charred brick facade and soot-stained pillars of Apartment G at Summit-Cone. DAVID FORD/WFDD It was just over six months ago when a tragedy amplified deep issues within the Greensboro community. A kitchen fire quickly swept through a low-rent apartment, claiming the lives of five young children - siblings who were refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But the circumstances leading up to the fire live on in the fractured lives of the surviving parents and in their adopted community. Our series, "Unsafe Haven," looks at what happened and the unanswered questions that remain. "A Charred Brick Façade" The back-alley parking lot of the sprawling, spartan, 42-unit Summit-Cone apartment complex is riddled with deep potholes and broken glass. Cars wind their way between overflowing dumpsters, abandoned furniture, and small bands of young refugee children.  While their parents are off working long shifts at factories and poultry processing plants many miles away, these kids are left largely unsupervised; zooming up and down the dirty sidewalk on makeshift scooters, and occasionally onto one of the city’s most heavily trafficked intersections: Cone Boulevard and Summit Avenue. Firefighters were called shortly before 4 a.m. Arriving units found smoke and flames coming from this front entrance to Apartment G. DAVID FORD/WFDD Across the courtyard, plywood boards cover the blackened windows and rear door of Apartment G, the site of the early morning fire, and the home of Mugabo Emmanuel and his wife Faraha Lucy.  The first 911 call was placed at 3:54 a.m., and the fire department arrived on the scene five minutes later. Records show that emergency crews immediately initiated CPR to four of the children. Two of them died later that day, and the remaining three died Sunday after being taken off life support at Brenner Children's Hospital.  For weeks after the fire, the front entrance to the apartment was covered with weathered sympathy cards, balloons, and handwritten notes. Today the only reminder is the charred brick façade and soot-stained pillars.    The fire department conducted dozens of interviews. It took months to investigate the unit’s circuit breakers, smoke alarms, and stovetop burners. Finally, the cause of the fire was determined to be accidental due to unattended cooking. But the final report also states that “certainty may not be an absolute or without any doubts.” And accusations of a faulty stove—burners that would not shut off for hours—and an inattentive landlord continue to swirl. “Killing You Little By Little” Louis Mashengo is a Congolese refugee speaking out about living conditions at Summit-Cone. The former educator is soft-spoken, fluent in several languages, and a leader in the African community here. His cell phone is practically attached to his hand—constantly texting and advising residents, sometimes, he says, until 2 or 3 in the morning.  Much of the advice Mashengo offers comes from hard lessons he’s learned from personal experience battling the property manager since his arrival here two years ago. Louis Mashengo is a leader in the African community offering counsel to fellow refugees. DAVID FORD/WFDD “If the landlord can’t respond to what you need, it’s terrible,” says Mashengo. “It’s like the landlord is killing you little by little.” He says he complained to property managers for weeks about foul odors at his apartment, and nothing happened. After two months, he and four other tenants signed a petition requesting that all 42 Summit-Cone units be inspected. It arrived at the City’s Code Compliance Office, inspectors were dispatched, and they soon discovered major problems in his basement. “It was too hard to prepare food here because of bad smelling” he says. “Sometimes you have to go and buy fresh air—money that maybe you could keep for other issues—because of the bad conditions. And sometimes the worms were coming from the basement because the basement was full of sewage.”  The Summit-Cone apartments are owned by Bill, Sophia, and Basil Agapion, and managed by Arco Realty. In August, after city code inspectors discovered 466 violations, the entire 42-unit complex was condemned. WFDD reached out to the Agapions on multiple occasions to request interviews for this story. Those requests were denied, but finally a written statement was provided through their attorney’s office. "Many criticisms we currently face are not factual or do not account for complicating factors.  Regardless, we will continue to work to provide our residents with safe, affordable housing, to improve and maintain the properties we manage, and to serve our community as good corporate citizens." It reiterates that the Greensboro fire department concluded that the fire was a result of unattended cooking by tenants. It goes on to say that Arco realty will continue to work to provide safe, affordable housing, and to improve and maintain the properties it manages. “These People Have Suffered” Emily Wright was a school social worker at Rankin Elementary School in Greensboro. She provided guidance and support for Mugabo Emmanuel, Faraha Lucy and their children from their first day of school. The 42-unit Summit-Cone complex has been condemned twice in the past five years due to code violations. DAVID FORD/WFDD “One was a first-grader and the other was a second-grader and they were little girls. When they came into the school they didn’t have backpacks. They didn’t have appropriate school clothing. They would be wearing pajamas and cowboy boots," says Wright. "So, I got to know the families, and this family has suffered. They have suffered unimaginably. And they continue to suffer.”   Louis Mashengo says the Emmanuels and the children’s grandparents moved from Summit-Cone following the tragedy, and won’t return. He says it pains him to send photos back home of his current surroundings. "The way people—they treat America that is on top," he says. "But when you send a picture: 'Oh, my gosh! No, this is not America,’ you know? Because, honestly, I can say, okay, in Africa, I’ve found some cities more beautiful than here. But [it] is in Africa." Mashengo packs up his car and gets ready to help some friends find new apartments nearby. He’ll serve as a translator and help with the necessary paperwork. Mashengo has adapted to this environment and says he’s determined to lift up his fellow refugees from the DR Congo in their new home, Greensboro, North Carolina. Story does not include AP content #unsafe haven #greensboro #summit-cone apartments #agapions #arco #refugee #democratic republic of the congo #africa Health & Safety Normal Tweet

Bill and Mike got your snowy 1st full day of spring up and running with Spring Snow-Austin Bomber Killed-Cavs VS Raptors-Summit Avenue Moses Cleaveland Tree-Facebook Scandal-Trump Congrats Putin

John Palmer, Certified Arborist and a member of the Keep Lakewood Beautiful Tree Committee spoke to Bill and Mike about Lakewood Summit Avenue Moses Cleaveland Tree Forced To Be Cut Down From Rotting

En el episodio de hoy: Introducción - Estamos con María esta vez- Información general de Minneapolis y Saint Paul. 00:06'35'': Actividades Outdoor: 00:07'50'': La fiesta de fin de curso de María. La canción de la Banana. Regalos de colegio. 00:15'00'':Parque interestatal - Las rocas volcánicas, la glaciación y el mar provocaron erosión de las rocas en forma de pozos. Este parque es el lugar donde vivían muchos de los nativos americanos. Hay basura antigua, señoras frikis que curran en el parque y máquinas para imprimir un centavo como recuerdo del parque. 00:31'46'': Museo de escultura al aire libre: FRANCONIA SCULPTURE PARK - http://www.franconia.org/ está en St. Croix River Valley. 00:40'43'': Granja de bisontes 00:44'00'': Pueblo Scandia - podéis entrar en su web http://www.ci.scandia.mn.us/ o en la del museo aquí http://www.gammelgardenmuseum.org/index.shtm 00:50'14'': Curiosities: Visto en televisión. Hablamos de The Jinx - una serie-documental de HBO, escalofriante. Mira información aquí o en la página de imdb. 00:54'00'': Uno de los anuncios para la fibromalgia que decimos puedes verlo aquí. 01:05'10: La promo amiga. Esta vez, Del sofá a la cocina. Hablamos un poquito de su proyecto de Verkami. Podéis entrar aquí a ver el proyecto y aportar dinerito, y aquí para entrar en su web http://delsofaalacocina.com/ 01:08'15'': Esta comida es Good Food: Feria de Summit Avenue. El maíz, el perrito, la banana, la limonada, el helado con cookie dough. 01:25'16'': Mensajes de la people: Comentamos todos los mensajes que nos habéis mandado por las redes sociales. ¡¡Muchas gracias!! 01:39'00'': Despedida y cierre.

En el episodio de hoy: Introducción - Estamos con María esta vez- Información general de Minneapolis y Saint Paul. 00:06'35'': Actividades Outdoor: 00:07'50'': La fiesta de fin de curso de María. La canción de la Banana. Regalos de colegio. 00:15'00'':Parque interestatal - Las rocas volcánicas, la glaciación y el mar provocaron erosión de las rocas en forma de pozos. Este parque es el lugar donde vivían muchos de los nativos americanos. Hay basura antigua, señoras frikis que curran en el parque y máquinas para imprimir un centavo como recuerdo del parque. 00:31'46'': Museo de escultura al aire libre: FRANCONIA SCULPTURE PARK - http://www.franconia.org/ está en St. Croix River Valley. 00:40'43'': Granja de bisontes 00:44'00'': Pueblo Scandia - podéis entrar en su web http://www.ci.scandia.mn.us/ o en la del museo aquí http://www.gammelgardenmuseum.org/index.shtm 00:50'14'': Curiosities: Visto en televisión. Hablamos de The Jinx - una serie-documental de HBO, escalofriante. Mira información aquí o en la página de imdb. 00:54'00'': Uno de los anuncios para la fibromalgia que decimos puedes verlo aquí. 01:05'10: La promo amiga. Esta vez, Del sofá a la cocina. Hablamos un poquito de su proyecto de Verkami. Podéis entrar aquí a ver el proyecto y aportar dinerito, y aquí para entrar en su web http://delsofaalacocina.com/ 01:08'15'': Esta comida es Good Food: Feria de Summit Avenue. El maíz, el perrito, la banana, la limonada, el helado con cookie dough. 01:25'16'': Mensajes de la people: Comentamos todos los mensajes que nos habéis mandado por las redes sociales. ¡¡Muchas gracias!! 01:39'00'': Despedida y cierre.

Not unlike the divided household of Downton Abbey, we have a dramatic example of upstairs/downstairs life right here in Minnesota. The “Empire Builder” James J. Hill and his family were the primary occupants of 240 Summit Avenue but another, less familiar group of people lived there as well: the 10 to 12 live-in domestic servants [...]

Welcome to Summit Avenue. An impressive street filled with impressive homes - as well as some fabulous greenspaces and beautiful churches. We’ll begin in the little park, known as Lookout Park, on the corner of Summit, between Western and Arundel. Once we get moving, I’ll let you know when we’re going to move onto the [...]

Just in front of you, you can see the University Club, situated at a prime location on the corner of Ramsey Hill and Summit Avenue, with a great view out the back windows over the river valley. This building was designed by Reed and Stem in 1913 – the same architecture firm that designed the [...]

We’re standing on the sidewalk, in front of 432 Summit, looking up the walk to the second oldest house still standing on Summit Avenue. When it was built in 1862, there was a hotel across the street on the site of Lookout Park, where we started, and there were a total of six other houses [...]

People often ask me, “Where’s F. Scott Fitzgerald’s house?” Well, as you know, the truth is there isn’t just one house – but frequently, this one is the one people are looking for. 599 Summit Avenue is one of two Fitzgerald residences that have a plaque commemorating the author – the other is [...]

We’re pausing just for a moment here to look at Summit Avenue’s own secret garden. This is a rather unusual re-use of land on Summit - the house that originally stood here was torn down in 1970. Why? - I don’t know. At some point after that, the land was purchased by the [...]

Well, that’s the full route for our walking tour today. Thanks so much for joining me as we explored just a little section of St. Paul’s Summit Avenue. Now, if you’re not done walking, I recommend venturing off onto any of the side streets to see more of the area. If you’re hungry, keep [...]

Robert Rulon-Miller is an antiquarian book dealer who lives, if not in a mansion, then at the very least in a great big house on Summit Avenue, one of the toniest in St. Paul, Minnesota. Not that toiling as a bookseller is anyway to get rich quick. He has worked hard for many years in the business, specializing in 'Rare, Fine & Interesting Books in Many Fields; 1st Editions, Americana; Literature; Fine & Early Printing; Travel; and the History of Language.' His most recent catalogue is titled Language and Learning. Robert is also the Director of the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar scheduled for August 2nd-7th, 2009, at Colorado College, Colorado Springs, immediately following the Denver Antiquarian Book Fair. We met at his home to talk books. Topics covered include de-accessioning, railway and mining tycoon James J. Hill, Robert's friendship with Elmer Anderson, book collector and Governor of Minnesota; Robert's interest in words and language, his expertise in dictionaries and grammars, and lack of interest in Dr. Johnson's Dictionary, Better World Books's business model, partnering to buy and sell expensive books, and advice for the novice bookseller.