Many social media congratulatory comments posted upon the conclusion of the Naturalization Ceremony at the Illinois State Fair on Aug. 13, 2025, were meant for each one of the immigrants who at that time became America’s newest citizens. The congratulations were extended to every one of the nearly 400 people from over 70 countries, including […]
Community & Lifestyle
Posted inArts & Culture
Women for Women awards $70,000 to area nonprofits
Women for Women awarded a record-breaking $70,000 in grants to three local nonprofits during its 18th Annual Grant Reception on Wednesday, May 13, recognizing organizations addressing some of central Illinois’ most pressing challenges facing women and children. This year’s grants will support programs focused on childhood food insecurity, family support services, and care for children […]
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Hospital Sister Mission Outreach ships $1 million of supplies to Bolivia
Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach has shipped a container of medical supplies and equipment valued at $1 million to Bolivia. The 40-foot shipping container of requested supplies left the Mission Outreach warehouse, 4930 Laverna Road in Springfield, on May 5. This is the most expensive shipment since the medical supply and equipment recovery organization was founded […]
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Don’t let the summer slide take hold – reading resources exist right here in our community
Every summer, something quietly happens to young readers. School lets out, routines shift and before long, the books get pushed aside. What follows is well-documented. Research consistently shows that students can lose up to two to three months of reading progress over the summer months – a phenomenon known as the “summer slide” or summer […]
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Composing a life
The first Mother’s Day sermon I preached following the birth of our son Paul was a momentous occasion for me. I remember sharing that as a woman pastor I sometimes used the metaphor of “giving birth” for writing or composing a sermon. After the experience of labor, I wanted to set the record straight. There […]
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Antiracism and reimagining community
We are long past the denial stage in the face of increasingly open attempts to reassert white racial dominance. In just the past week: Race and white supremacy were socially constructed in Europe to justify the permanent enslavement of people based solely on skin color. That system became the economic engine of this country and […]
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The truth about a lie
I greet you in the morning as your thoughts begin to form. I nestle in your feelings – subtle – as if I am the norm. You may not sense my presence, as morn to night goes by – I have that subtle power – after all, I’m just a lie. I fill your mind […]
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Levitt AMP announces 2026 season
The Levitt AMP Springfield Music Series will return to downtown Springfield for a seventh season on Thursday nights starting May 28 through July 30. Presented by PNC, the 10-week live concert series will feature a diverse lineup of performers from across the world. Entertainment begins at 6:15 p.m. every Thursday in the vacant block north […]
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The Baha’i festival of Ridvan
The Baha’i Festival of Ridvan (pronounced Rez-vahn) is the holiest season of the Baha’i year. Beginning at sunset on April 20 and ending at sunset May 2, this 12-day period commemorates the time in 1863, when Baha’u’llah sojourned along with family and followers in the Najibiyyih Garden, situated on an island in the Tigris River. […]
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Dana-Thomas House Foundation to demolish adjacent property
When Susan Lawrence and family moved to the neighborhood, it looked a lot different than it does now. The three houses across the street from the Dana-Thomas House (302, 306 and 308 E. Lawrence) were originally built as two-story homes. They were destroyed in the fire of 1916, and the current houses were built around […]
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Bar and bat mitzvah – marking the passage to adulthood
Next month I will be marking my 83rd birthday and the 70th anniversary of my bar mitzvah, the ceremony in Judaism marking a young person’s passage to adulthood. In recent times, some Jewish men of my generation, on reaching the age of 83, have been celebrating a second bar mitzvah. Psalm 90 notes that “the […]
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The face of downtown
A man who holds a Springfield bowling record is on track for a milestone in his professional career. O.J. Crowder set a city high-series bowling record with an 886 in November 2008. Today, Crowder has served downtown Springfield as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service for more than 30 years. Crowder’s 2008 bowling […]
