Remembering Al
When a Facebook friend posted a link to an article about a Lutheran pastor who was murdered this week in Fort Dodge, Iowa, outside his church, I clicked on the link to see what had happened. I didn't expect to know that particular pastor, so I was surprised to recognize his name, and see that he was the same age as I am. When the article further stated that he had attended Concordia College in Seward, I remembered that I had once known Al pretty well. We went to college together but, more than that, when we were freshmen, we sang together on the same folk worship team of eight or ten students. Our team, "Joyful Noise," was extremely active, traveling all over Nebraska, and even into Iowa, to sing and minister at worship services, youth group meetings, and retreats. As a group, we spent a lot of time together, practicing, and riding in a school van from one engagement to another. At least half of us played guitars, because more was always better in those days before easy...