On the Altar

My interest in the Church Calendar and its seasons started a bit by accident. From childhood through my college years, I attended evangelical and non-denominational churches which really only concerned themselves with select seasons of the Church Year (primarily around the Christmas and Easter holy days). When I started attending a Lutheran church, I just […]

On the Power of a Song

As far back as we can understand history, music has been a constant companion for humankind. Countless melodies, chants, hymns, and songs have provided hope, comfort, encouragement, and challenge to each generation. When it comes to worship experiences, it is often the form of worship that has the greatest “staying power”. Long after sermons, prayers, […]

On Church Worship

During this year in which I have been pondering the Church Calendar and its seasons, I’ve also been thinking a bit about church worship services in general. How do we keep our worship practices rooted in the Universal Church, which receives direct nourishment from the Holy Spirit of God? One of the arguments against the […]

On the Table

The Lord’s Supper (also referred to as Holy Communion or the Eucharist) is venerated on Maundy Thursday, as we remember when Jesus first instituted this sacrament during his final Passover Seder. (Side note: The responses I received from my reflection on Maundy Thursday last year inspired this current year-long series on the Church Year.) For […]

On the Calendar

I have come to really appreciate the seasons of the church year—Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost and Ordinary Time. These are the primary seasons of the Liturgical Calendar that I hope to reflect on over the next year in this series of writings. Growing up in the American evangelical church, I used to […]

On Maundy Thursday

I’ve come to view Maundy Thursday as one of the most meaningful dates on the Christian calendar for me. It is a day steeped in lessons that seem to become more and more needed in our modern times, where we have become so desensitized to the dehumanization around us and partake in such acts so […]