The New Year! The 2,020th year of the Common Era, and Anno Domini. And as Wikipedia points out, “the 20th year of the 3rd millennium, the 20th year of the 21st century, and the 1st year of” a brand new decade. Yet, all I can think about is an icon of the late 20th Cent...

When the world was dark

and the city was quiet,

you came.

You crept in beside us.

And no one knew.

Only the few

who dared to believe

that God might do something different.

Will you do the same this Christmas, Lord?

Will you come into the darkness of today's world

not the friendl...

What is your favorite Christmas carol? Is it a grand hymn like "Hark! the Harold Angels Sing" (and yes there is an “!” in the title - the ELW [Evangelical Lutheran Worship] says so). Is it something somber like "In the Bleak Midwinter" or calming like "Silent Night"?

To...

Who cares?

If men go to hell, who cares?

I’ll wait a few minutes as you go through all the ways that can be said.

Sarcastically.

Woefully.

Shruggingly.

Joyfully.

Questioningly.

"If Men Go to Hell, Who Cares?" is the name of a hymn written in 1939 by E.M. Bartlett.

While the wor...

I remember as a child getting Advent calendars from my grandmother. You probably know what I am talking about, the calendars with a winter scene or Santa Claus on them with tiny perforated doors revealing a piece of chocolate each day as we get closer to Christmas. Inc...

We give thanks for:

• Those who worship with us on Sunday morning

• Those who volunteer at the food pantry

• Those who work to keep things running at St. Stephen's: Kanchalee, Oksana, Bonnie, Armand, Tony, Pastor Jason

• Those who volunteer and support activi...

I pulled up to church one Sunday morning when the bells at Westminster Presbyterian started to play "Holy, Holy, Holy." It's one of those hymns I know, so I was singing along:

    Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty! 

    Early in the morning our song shall ris...

2 Corinthians 4:15:

“Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.”

The theme for this year’s Commitment Sunday is “give thanks.” As we approach Thanksgiving it is fitting to talk a...

I can’t say that I have an all-time favorite hymn, but there are several that I’m always glad to sing.

There are the standards: "Built on Rock," "A Mighty Fortress," "The Church’s One Foundation." Those are hymns that have been around for generations, not only in the Lu...

This is a letter that is intended to be given to my chaplain at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, IL. I graduated from the College in 2003...a few years after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. I know first hand the power of community when the world seems to be a frighteni...