Sermons at St. James Gettysburg

On a July afternoon in Oxford, England, in 1862, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford, took the dean of the College’s three girls – Lorina, Alice, and Edith – on a boat ride on the Thames. While boating,the girls asked Dodgson to tell them a story. He began improvising a tale … More What Does This Mean? Confirmation, Faith, and The Importance of Asking Questions

The Wedding Banquet Matthew 22:1-14 As many of you know, Hunter and I were away the last two weekends for our honeymoon in Ireland and Scotland. The trip was everything I dreamed of — more castles than Hunter ever wanted to visit, beautiful views, beans on toast, eating more good Irish soda bread than I … More What Are We Clothed With?

In 2017, my freshman year at Penn State, Lutherans around the world celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. I had joined the Lutheran Student Community, and over spring break, four students, our campus ministry advisor, and her daughter, Mara, signed up for a Reformation tour of Germany. We planned to meet students from Arizona … More When the Plant Withers

On October 2, 2006, I was staying for a few days with my mom’s cousins, a couple I affectionately called Aunt Sandy and Uncle Danny, who lived in Belleville, an Amish community near State College. I remember coming back to their house after school, after a trip to the farmers market, and seeing the evening … More A Community of Forgiveness

Romans 12:9-21 This past Tuesday, during our staff meeting, Pastor Andrew looked at us and said that Mark Withrow had just texted him to let him know that Dolly Parton had died. It was one of those strange “where were you when you heard?” moments. Raised on country and folk music, I grew up with … More Dolly, Paul, and Our Part in Peace