Warner calls on his faith

CEDAR RAPIDS - St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner came home Friday to the city where he grew up, years before he became a household name and Super Bowl hero.

Many have asked the former Regis High School and University of Northern Iowa standout to return since his "bags-to-riches" season in 1999, but the former grocery store stock boy declined.

Publication Date: 04/19/2003

This time, he said, the timing was perfect - Good Friday and Easter weekend.

"Everything we do we try to pray about," Warner, 31, said after a 40-minute talk to more than 1,100 at the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast at the Crowne Plaza Five Seasons Hotel. "So many things get thrown at you, and you have to make decisions so quickly," he said. "I've just asked for God's grace to cover that and let me know where he wants me to go and when he wants me to go there. ... This time, for some reason, he led us back home."

After seeing the crowd and receiving a standing ovation, Warner said he made the right decision.

Warner, a native of Burlington who grew up in Cedar Rapids, was the highlight of a program that included talks by Mayor Paul Pate, emcee David Hite Jr. and program Chairman Bob Klaus.

Warner shared his message of faith and family. He and his wife, Brenda, have four children and are expecting a fifth.

"As soon as I got kids I realized that I took a back seat," he said. "It really showed me that that's how God loves us ... He's got the spotlight on us.

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