After my confirmation at St. Luke’s, I knew I wanted to become more involved in the church services. I primarily attended Sunday School instead of the services as a child, but as I grew older I found that I enjoyed listening to the sermons and liked the traditional aspect of the services. After looking for a way to become involved in the service, I became an acolyte. The acolytes light the candles at the opening and closing of every service, providing light at the altar and to God. At the end of the service, the acolyte carries the [...]

There are two types of nutcrackers… those that crack nuts and those that do not. I collect nutcrackers that are usually carved of wood in the shapes of soldiers, knights, kings or other professions and are not functional for cracking nuts. Since at least the 15th century, carving nutcrackers in rural forested German towns became an industry that often provided the only income. Nutcrackers became popular in the United States after World War II due to the first production of the Nutcracker Ballet in 1940 and to soldiers talking about the carved “dolls” when they returned home from [...]

A dear friend and mentor, Craig Hella Johnson, describes choosing music for a day like today as listening to “knockings” that happen deep inside. That is a very accurate picture of how certain selections seem to float to the top as the Christmas Festival takes shape in my head. Some results of those quiet voices need no explanation, but for a few, it might help to crack the door just a bit in order for us all to understand what we are hearing, and why. We begin this morning with an antique music box -— the 19th century [...]

Charles Dickens said it best in A Christmas Carol when he gave Timothy Cratchit the line, “God bless us, everyone!” Seen through the eyes of Tiny Tim, Christmas is a time of blessings and miracles. As children, we anticipate the coming of Christmas mostly because of the expectation of gifts, and of relatives, food and fun. As we grow older, and hopefully wiser, we see the true meaning of Christmas as a time of anticipation of the coming of Christ as well as gifts, relatives, food and fun! For the past 20 years, I have played an annual [...]

Love is patient, love is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, it isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t keep a record of complaints, it isn’t happy with injustice, but it is happy with the truth.  Love puts up with all things, trusts in all things, hopes for all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 On June 5, 1999, my wife and I stood trembling inside a church. We were getting married at the age of 20. Half the people there thought we were [...]

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. Luke 2:20 It’s better to be a shepherd than an angel. You remember the angels. They’re the glowing, larger-than-life mysteries who showed up in the middle of the night and scared a bunch of shepherds out of their pajamas. In a second, they formed the best choir that anyone ever heard. They sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace!” They had news to share, news that would spread across the earth, news that would [...]