I love a good mystery. I grew up in a house where missing a day from school meant a Columbo marathon on the couch with mom. From that came the obsession over the forensic sciences and “true-crime TV.” Mystery can also find its home...
It’s odd to even say it, but Lent may be one of my favorite seasons of the church year. No, it’s not a wardrobe-related love (although sporting purple shoes and ashes does seem to be a trend just...
There comes a point every winter where I think to myself, “Enough is enough!” I reached that point this last week. I reached that point this last week. The wonderment of the season’s first snowflakes has long since disappeared as we...
Get ready for the 501st Anniversary of Martin Luther and the reformers of the church. On the surface it seems like a ho hum celebration compared to the pomp and circumstance of the 500th Anniversary last fall. From special liturgies and logos to...
I can’t wait for summer to arrive for good. I’m looking forward to time spent outside with family; walking the neighborhood and the north woods of Wisconsin, coaching T-Ball games and lounging in inflatable pools. This is what we call in the church...
As the Easter Season rolls along, we continue to dwell in the reality of resurrection. The challenge for me, of course, is that in my reality, physical resurrection seems to be an abstract concept. As far as I can tell, I’ve...
The sermon essentially writes itself this time around. For the first time in some 70+ years the quirkiness of our calendars merges together two things: the Easter resurrection and practical jokes. I think about the individuals who show up...
Lent is a time for us to get ready. We are getting ready to enter into the “Mystery of Easter.” As we continue to get ready throughout this season we hear Sunday after Sunday about the covenants that God has made with us, the People of God, starting...
It is hard to believe that we stand on the cusp of Lent, a season that begins with ashes (strangely enough on Valentine’s Day this year) and ends with the solemnity of the cross. Lent is a season defined by the “3 Lenten...
Merry Christmas! The above refrain is fresh in our minds. Generally speaking it’s one reserved for a narrow 48-hour window (Christmas Eve & Christmas Day). By this point in time it’s a faux pas to use the phrase as...