Last Sunday I had the privilege of marrying a wonderful couple. At the wedding service, I read from the Gospel of St. John, chapter 2. You probably know this story, and you’re probably not surprised that this is the one
Read moreWEDDINGS AND WINE
RINGS ON THE WRONG HAND?!?
This Sunday I will have the pleasure of performing a wedding. Weddings are always happy events, and I always look forward to performing them. Orthodox weddings are especially beautiful, and it’s actually composed of two ceremonies: the betrothal and the
Read moreBECOMING CHRIST!?!
Yesterday I had the privilege of receiving two people into Holy Orthodoxy. Since they had been previously baptized (outside the Orthodox Church), they were received by anointing only. This ceremony is called chrismation (it’s typically done as a part of the
Read moreExiled Into the Desert
Lately my time has been taken up by a capital campaign to rebuild the church I pastor, St. Elias Orthodox Church. About a year ago we discovered that three of the four trusses that hold up our building’s roof had
Read moreMercy and Justice
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Read moreCHRIST HEALS OUR BLINDNESS
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Read moreTo Use the Sword? Peace? Or Both?
In the past few months, we’ve witnessed and read about many tragedies both in our country and around the world. A few days ago, the first funerals took place for victims of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church shooting. This
Read moreANGELS, DEMONS, and JINN – OH MY!
One of my ministries in Dubuque is serving on the board of Dubuque’s ecumenical conversations, the Children of Abraham. The goal of these conversations is to build an atmosphere of civic life that builds inter-religious solidarity, cooperation, and friendship. I
Read moreCOVERING THE GIFTS!
As I mentioned in my last post (click here to read), the priest prepares the bread, called prosphora, for the Divine Liturgy in a special serviced called Proskomedia. During that service he cuts out a section of the bread that
Read moreHOW DO WE REMEMBER CHRIST’S SACRIFICE?
One of the most popular posts, so far, was the post entitled, “Stamping Bread” (click here to read it). There I talked about the different parts of the bread used for the Orthodox Eucharist. I spoke about the lamb that
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