Mayor Landwehr's Blog

We Might Hear Echoes of the Past @ the New Ecco

Last night at the Old Munichberg Association meeting new owner Don Powell announced plans for the historic renovation and re-opening of Ecco Lounge, a Southside tradition going back to 1945. Part of the credit goes to Larry Kolb and Steve Rollins for getting the ball rolling in this important block on Dunklin Street. 

Prayer Force One Will Land at Capitol Saturday

Ed Moore served as an Oklahoma Sate Senator. Ed and his wife Sandy decided to take a pretty interesting road trip in 2006. They converted a very large bus to a traveling inspirational experience, "Prayer Force One." It's painted to resemble the airplane. They have visited 26 states and 17 capital cities. Sandy says Missouri's Capitol is the best she's seen so far. She's right.

I bumped into them while taping a segment on KNLJ TV  on West Dunklin. They (and the bus) will be at the South Circle of the Capitol all day Saturday. The bus has a virtual tour of the White House and allows visitors to pray all the way. They're really nice folks. No hard sell. Just a "back to basics" approach to a complicated world. Grab some some coffee downtown and walk over to check this out.

This TV station is a great new community resource. Phenomenal tech investment. More to come on that. 

The Modern Version of Life After Death: Three News Cycles

At about the same time our ancestors discovered fire, they started to think about whether there is any individual identity after being eaten by a saber tooth tiger. Some modern cultures have rejected traditional Judeo Christian conepts of life after death. Humanists in Sweden recently paid for billboards questioning whether God exists.

Translation:  "God Probably Does Not Exist."

 (Note that they're hedging their bets a little!) 

Reminds me of an old joke in college that appeared as four lines on the blackboard:

"God is Dead." 

  Nietzsche

"Nietzsche is Dead." 

God

Putting aside Sweden and Nietzsche for the moment, there does seem to be a basic human need to look beyond the cadaver. This week the national media attemtped in its goofy, breathless way to have Michael Jackson live past his autopsy. Rest assured that Michael will be celebrated, castigated and litigated for a long time. He was a talented, complex and tragic guy whose heart stopped beating, prematurely perhaps, but as all our hearts will some day.

It's interesting that modern culture still looks for immortality, albeit immortality of its own making. 

A REALLY Holy Week for Some Helias Students

Christians enjoy a rich heritage of the liturgy and reassessment during the week before Easter. We call it Holy Week. Didier ("D") Aur, President of Helias High School will make the week holy in an unforgettable way for ten students and one alum. They will team up with students Hermasillo, Mexico on an evangelical mission to sixteen small villages in the Sonoran Desert. I caught Mr. Aur on his way out of town and had him tell me about the trip. Any time you can get people to look outside their bubble it's a good thing.

Huckabee to Speak at Vitae Foundation Event March 23

Mike Huckabee is no stranger to the Heartland. He was Governor of Arkansas for twelve years and ran for President in 2008. He now has a show on Fox. Mike Roberts and Warren Krech will introduce Huckabee at this year's Vitae Caring Foundation Pro-Life Benefit Dinner at the Capital Plaza.  For tickets call (573) 634-4316 or visit the Vitae website.

Huckabee visited Jefferson City during the presidential campaign. Here's a clip, courtesy Jason Rosenbaum's Blog and the Columbia Daily News.

Marc Backes' Agenda is Really, Really Long Term

In a capital city we rarely look past one fiscal year, and alleged visionaries can look four years down the road to the next administration. Marc Backes returned to Jefferson City for a family funeral and decided to stick around. His website suggests his agenda might be longer than we're used to: www.eternityjc.com Here's his video about why he decided to come back. It's heartfelt, straightforward and challenging. He called me a while back to ask how he could help us be a better capital city. I liked the question and I am still thinking about the answer. 

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Helias Assembly Exposed to "New Think" about Service

This week is Catholic Schools Week and the theme is "Serve the Lord." I told the student assembly at Helias High School today that "Old Think" says service is always boring and hard. I suggested a different way to look at service. Instead of "Service = Suffering," in the real world "Service = Success." There are countless ways that service expands your mind and opens new doors.

A great example is Father Brendan Doyle, a very holy person who demonstrates the upbeat, engaging, serious and sometimes fun side of service. This video imitates the classic Vanderfeltz cheer with D-O-Y-L-E. They concluded with the ROLLER COASTER. 

Go Cardinals! Catholic U. Grads Alive and Well in the Midwest

If you say, "Go Cardinals" anywhere within 500 miles of Missouri, the baseball meaning is clear. But for two Missouri political figures the statement is ambiguous. 

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri and former house speaker Catherine Hanaway and the Mayor of the Capital City are rare birds - graduates of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. CUA's sports teams are the Cardinals.

Hanaway and Landwehr combined forces at the annual Governor's Prayer Breakfast this morning and, by chance, both encouraged humility among elected officials. Landwehr gave the invocation and Hanaway gave a stirring main address.  Political rivals Governor Blunt and Governor Elect Nixon shared the main stage and had very positive things to say.

Immanuel Lutheran at Honey Creek is Way Above Average

Garrison Keillor ends his Prairie Home Companion radio narratives about fictional Lake Wobegon with a summary: "The women are strong, the men are good looking, and the children are above average." 

I'm not sure about the men and women, but the kids at Immanuel Lutheran School in Honey Creek are really special. They invited the Mayor to read Christmas stories last week. 

Even Scrooge would have been smiling on the way home.

Christmas 101 at Central United Church of Christ

I find myself a little confused and overwhelmed with the barrage of Christmas traditions, symbols and agendas. Every year Pastor Steve Buccholz and his many helpers open the doors of Central United Church of Christ in Old Munichberg to the entire community to celebrate Christkindelfest with "A Celebration of German Music." The event is a good way to get re-oriented.

This year, in addition to the wonderful musical selections and the traditional German Luncheon that followed, attendees got an extra treat — a pamphlet authored by neighborhood patriarch and historian Dr. Walter Schroeder, "German Christmas Traditions." He said he would gladly make the text available to post. Here are just a few of his historical tidbits:

Protestant leaders did not recognize the Catholic "saint system," so they replaced St. Nicholas with the scriptural "Christkind" ("Christchild") in the 16th Century, and eventually they moved the feast from December 6 to the traditional birth of Christ on December 25.  Later, "Christkind" morphed into "Kriss Kringle" and was popularized in the American movie, "Miracle on 34th Street."