St. John’s Lutheran Church
Pastor’s Blog
Is the Church Only for the Faithful?
In the past month we have been rejoicing over the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Remembering Jimmy Carter
Yesterday I watched Jimmy Carter's funeral procession arrive in Washington, D.C. and his casket carried into the Capitol. In the atrium of the Capitol he was surrounded by his family and some of the most powerful people in our government. Speeches were made, beautiful music was sung, kind words were shared.
In Memory of Quincy Jones
This week we lost a giant in the world of popular music, Quincy Jones. I first became acquainted with the name Quincy Jones when I started following the works of Frank Sinatra.
50 and Counting
Looking back over 50 years of ministry, it’s been quite a journey. I never thought about what this journey would look like. In fact, when Kathy and I started out, I didn’t know where Staten Island was (and I certainly couldn’t find Mamaroneck on a map). Somehow we made our way to these places as we discovered what lox and bagels were and that the Big Apple is not a really an apple.
Remembering 9/11
I remember going through some neighborhoods in Dresden and Berlin a number of years ago noticing how they were so pristine, organized, and well designed. I said to a friend, "What a contrast to some of the places in the Bronx, Brooklyn, or Queens." He responded, "That is because they were bombed in WW II and rebuilt from total destruction."
Let Us Not Become Weary in Doing Good
It doesn't take long to realize that living is trying to move forward against a lot of resistance. It's like having the wind in your face, climbing up a hill, or trudging through a foot of snow. Yes, when I look around, I see the struggle - the epidemic of opioid addiction, alcohol addiction, the worried look on people's faces on the train home from the city, the people lining up in front of food pantries, the exhausted parents picking their kids up from school. In some ways many are looking at a "defeated life".
To All Our Fathers
Being a father is a vocation. It is a calling and it comes, in a certain way, with many surprises. First of all, there is nothing - and I mean nothing - like a nurse handing you a beautiful baby. Wow!, this little thing, so small, vulnerable, dependent, and helpless!
The 80th Anniversary of D-Day
Today is the 80th anniversary of D-Day. I have been very fortunate to go to Normandy on a number of occasions and I walked through the cemetery of white crosses and some Jewish Stars of David. I also walked along Omaha Beach.
Faith "in the Clutch"
I am a cradle-to-grave Lutheran Christian. While I am not in the grave yet, I do sometimes wonder how I would fare if I was taken prisoner by Hezbollah, the Islamic State, or Putin’s Russia. Would I have the grit and determination and courage to withstand existence in a jail cell in a Russian prison?
Proud of What We Do at St. John’s
Have you ever been proud of a place, an institution, a person? When I visited the site of 9/11 many years ago, with heaps of dust and rubble everywhere and a stench that made it hard to breathe and overwhelmed the place, I saw a battered firetruck with a flat tire, unable to move.
We Recommend
A History of St. Johns
Explore the seasoned history of St. John’s Lutheran Church.
Worship
Glance at the St. John’s schedule of services so you don’t miss out.
Events
Find out about all the great things St. John’s has to offer.