Ben Sternke

Dear church, Our annual stewardship campaign is right around the corner, and one of the changes we’re making is moving everyone to a new online giving system that makes it so much easier to manage and track your giving, and makes year-end reporting much easier…

Dear Church, This past Sunday after church we held a Liturgy Walkthrough, where we briefly discussed some of the history, meaning, and power of the words, gestures, and symbols of our liturgy for Holy Eucharist that we pray together on Sundays. (Because there’s always way…

Dear siblings in Christ, This Sunday, March 29, is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, where we walk with Jesus toward the cross, from his joyous entry into Jerusalem, to a bittersweet meal with his disciples, to his betrayal, trial, and execution. As we…

Dear Church, This morning we awoke to the alarming news that the United States and Israel have launched a large military strike on Iran. In times like these (which have been relentlessly repeated over the past ten years), I find it easy to get sucked…

Dear Church, Lent begins in just a few days, on Ash Wednesday, February 18 (you’re invited to join us for Holy Eucharist with the Imposition of Ashes at 7pm). It’s easy for us to get the wrong idea about Lent. It is a solemn season,…

Dear siblings in Christ, What a beautiful celebration we had this past Sunday! Our new class on the Book of Common Prayer was well-attended and energetically engaged-in, we welcomed 5 new members into our community during worship, and our annual meeting and potluck was an…

Dear Church, The terror and violence unfolding in Minneapolis has been deeply disturbing to witness, and the horrific and tragic killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti have only multiplied our grief and anger over the past few weeks. Our Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe said…

Dear siblings in Christ, Because we are fragile and so often filled with fear, it’s easy for us as humans to fall into false binaries, where we collapse complex, multi-layered issues into two mutually-exclusive options that are labeled “good” and “bad.” This often happens when…

Dear siblings in Christ, Today is the Feast of Epiphany! Epiphany (which means “revealing”) commemorates the Magi who came from the far-flung places of the world bearing gifts and following a star to meet the child who would become the king of the whole cosmos.…