Dear Friends in Christ, I have some good news to share. Last week, congregational council president, Marla Holt and I wrote to you about the water problems in the lower level of our building and the belief that we were facing a major water mitigation project. At that time, the estimated cost was close to … More A Surprise Blessing and an Invitation to Help
My wife, Lori has a large family. She has 6 brothers and sisters, plus, kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, in-laws, nephews, nieces, great nephews, great nieces…you get the idea. There’s a lot of ‘em! So, when her family gathers for Christmas, or other holidays… well, it can be a little nutty. What they consider a medium sized family gathering is probably 25-30 people. And … More Come and See
According to the United States Coast Guard, Minnesota has the highest number of recreational boats per capita of any state in the country. By a lot. There are 143.6 boats in Minnesota for every 1000 residents. (Which leads me to one important question: Where’s my boat?) That’s roughly 35% more than the next highest state, South Carolina, with 108 … More Know Your Name
I was baptized at Diamond Lake Lutheran Church in South Minneapolis on June 6, 1965. Don’t bother doing the math. There is nothing particularly remarkable about that day…it was just a day like any other. June 6, 1965 was the 21st anniversary of the D-Day invasion in World War 2. On that day, the top 3 songs on … More Remember
Knee High by the 4th of July On the 4th of July, Lori and I took Kennedy for a walk “around the block.” It’s a long block. A little over a mile. And it takes us past the corn fields that are on Partridge Ave. I commented to Lori that the corn was definitely “knee … More Knee High by the 4th of July
June 6, 1965, 57 years ago today, my parents brought me to the baptismal font at Diamond Lake Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis. There, they held me over the font while Pastor Gordon Bergin poured water over my head 3 times: “In the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and in … More Water Always Wins
Two summers ago, I took a trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness with our youngest son, Sam. On our last day, we were paddling back to the outfitter’s when we took the portage from Alpine Lake into Seagull Lake. Seagull is what Boundary Waters veterans call “big water.” It’s a really big lake to paddle … More When God Whispers in Your Ear
Sister Helen Prejean is the Catholic nun who wrote the book Dead Man Walking, the story of her experience as a spiritual advisor to a man on death row. We might assume that Sister Helen ended up in this position because, well, she is a nun, and don’t nuns often end up serving the people … More Sneaky Jesus
The power of water is an amazing thing to witness. Certainly, we saw that earlier this week. The heavy rains Thursday and the flooding between here and Rochester were a stark reminder of what water can do. At an earlier stage of my life, I spent a lot of time on the water, in canoes. … More Nope. Never Again.
I’m going to make an assumption here, that most of you have had the opportunity to go to a wedding. I have. Actually, in my line of work, I go to a lot of weddings. Since becoming a pastor, I’ve had the joy and the honor of marrying well over a hundred different couples. That’s … More Through Jesus’ Love, We Learn
Test Driving Theology 