Sitting with the husband of a young woman who is on a ventilator, in the ICU, being tended by the very same nurse who took care of me when I was in the same ICU on a ventilator.
Yup. That’s how I spent this afternoon: being present and prayerful for those in need, while trying not to be [...]
How I Spent My Summer (afternoon)
Daily Centering
As the 5th century turned to the 6th, Christianity had been legal for nearly 200 years and many in the Church had become lazy. Many did not feel a sense of compelling mission from the Spirit. Resting on its comfortable position as an accepted institution in society, as the Roman empire crumbled in its own [...]
A Member of the Family
I have officated at 184 funerals and memorial services. I have journeyed with many of those families through the illnesses of their loved ones, sitting at bedsides, offering prayers as their loved ones have died. With others, I’ve responded to the news of tragic accidents, helping them to deal first with the shock that God [...]
Christian Community
What a significant congregational meeting we had yesterday. Big decisions on a $500,000 renovation project for our church building, including enlarging the narthex. A capital funds campaign for the next three years. Our leaders presented excellent information to give basis for the decisions. Some of us disagreed with the proposals. We shared honest opinions with [...]
It wasn’t even 94 degrees!
Just back from a 60 mile ride on the back roads of Sussex and Surry Counties, VA. (Well, 59.25 miles.)
We could tell it was getting hot because we started hearing these popping noises as we were riding. We were riding over bubbles in the asphalt! At one point, a couple of us were stopped at [...]
All Grown Up
One of the joys of longevity is following the young adults who were members of our campus ministry program, as they move on!
Here’s a group picture from Scott and Leslie’s wedding this past Sunday:
On Facebook, Virginia Synod Youth and Young Adult Ministries Director Dave Delaney commented, “Wow. You’ve all grown up!”
To which I replied, “Not [...]
Latest Sermons
- Please click on sermons under "Pastor" () on September 9, 2010.
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- The Faith Journey August 27, 2010“Eternal God, you call us to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (This prayer [...] […]Pastor
- My Monastic Prayer Stall August 25, 2010A feeling of confusion, of being unsettled. Fatigue. What’s up with that? The feeling persists. Not much sleep that night. Awake early. Some reading, but a feeling of disconnection. What’s going on? I’m grasping too much. Trying to force a resolution too much. Feeling the need to loosen my wound-up thinking: so I sit in the early [...] […]Pastor
- It’s So Easy to Forget August 18, 2010In recent days, I’ve been thinking about being sick. That’s because I’ve come back from a week in a monastery, and then a week of doing nothin’ at the beach, and now I’m trying to resist my old sinful self who defines himself by what he gets done. One would think that nearly dying would [...] […]Pastor
- Communities Change – II August 5, 2010A few days ago I poked around in the backyard of my father’s mother’s house, for the first time in decades. The yard has not been tended in years. Everything is overgrown. The foundations still exist for the garage, the chicken coop, but the buildings are gone. The house was vacant, so I was able [...] […]Pastor
- Communities Change – I August 4, 2010While I was at Mepkin Abbey, some of my reading was from a collection of Bob Benne’s essays. I e-mailed Bob a few days ago and told him I was enjoying the juxtaposition: spending time in a Trappist monastery, while reading his essays about how to think better as a Lutheran. He wrote back, “I [...] […]Pastor
- Where sermons come from July 20, 2010Here’s the way it works. Weeks earlier, I’ve gone through the lectionary, paying attention to which of the three passage catches my attention. I jot down a few ideas of why the passage seems important. Then, on the Monday of the week that the passage is going to be read, I do my work with the commentaries, [...] […]Pastor
- Listening July 20, 2010For the second morning in a row, this morning, when the clock struck 4:00, I was instantly awake and alert. The verse that has come to mind is from 1 Samuel 3: “Speak, for your servant is listening.” I think it’s part of the discernment process in our search process for a new staff member. We’ve [...] […]Pastor
- George Steinbrenner July 14, 2010How interesting to read all the nice things being said about George Steinbrenner, now that he’s died. (Come to think of it, I haven’t seen a “George Steinbrenner Ruined Baseball” T-Shirt in a good while, since his quieter son took over.) Since I think of life in terms of Christianity, I keep returning to Paul’s lists [...] […]Pastor
- Under Judgment July 13, 2010It rained last night! The roads were too wet for me to ride my bike. (This is something that I did not realize until I was dressed, had filled a water bottle, had topped off the air in the tires, and had walked the bike down the driveway, and actually looked at the [...] […]Pastor
- Well, we need the rain … July 10, 2010The alarm went off a few minutes before 6:00 this morning. I needed time to prepare, before leaving for a 54-mile bicycle ride in Sussex County beginning at 9:00 this morning. To get to the starting point of the ride, in Waverly, I would need to be on the 7:40 ferry across the James; the 8:00 [...] […]Pastor
- The Faith Journey August 27, 2010
Sunday Schedule
- 08:30 AM - Holy Communion 09:45 AM - Faith Formation 11:00 AM - Holy Communion
Recent Entries
- The Faith Journey
- My Monastic Prayer Stall
- It’s So Easy to Forget
- Communities Change – II
- Communities Change – I
- Where sermons come from
- Listening
- George Steinbrenner
- Under Judgment
- Well, we need the rain …
Downloads
- Preschool Registration Form (24.6 KiB, 291 hits)
- Proposed Narthex Floorplan (412.5 KiB, 123 hits)
- Site Plan for St. Stephen (382.8 KiB, 104 hits)
- North Elevation of St. Stephen (403.7 KiB, 101 hits)
- September 2010 Quill (1.1 MiB, 12 hits)
- September 2010 Calendar (33.2 KiB, 7 hits)
- A Letter From Mongai (695.2 KiB, 6 hits)
Blogroll
- Are You New or Returning to Church?
- Bible Study of Sunday Passages
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
- Journal of Lutheran Ethics
- Peninsula Pastoral Counseling Center
- Prayer Guidance
- Spiritual Guidance For Anyone Seeking A Path To God
- Virginia Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
- Young Adults! Who Is God Creating You To Be?

