I’m so grateful to Concordia University, St. Paul for hosting this book event (yes, in the library) on October 7, 2025. And it was very affirming to have friends from our church and CSP colleagues from over the years attend the event. It was a chance for me to thank publicly many people who contributed in a variety of ways to the birthing of Journey Jesus and to share a bit about the contents of the book. The Q & A time after my remarks was full of interesting, thoughtful questions.
A special shout out to the Department of Theology and Ministry, especially Dr. Mark Koschmann, VP of Faith and Ministry, and DCE Kristi Bauer, staff for Church Relations at CSP. They did all the arranging for the event, and Kristi took all the photos here.
And yes, I was once again signing books afterwards! Thanks be to God for the interest in the book.
My friend and liturgy scholar, Thomas Schattauer came!Book signing for Mark, a member of our congregation, St. Peter’s. Book signing for friend and colleague Suzanne Hequet.
The month of September has been full of activities and travel for me. A few days after my “book event” at St. John in Wheaton, I flew to Arkansas for a weekend full of activities at Salem Lutheran Church in Springdale with these two fabulous, faithful, and fun pastors, Adam Gless and Brandon Martin. Kent Burreson and I had prepared a report on our visit in February, when we interviewed both Hispanic and Anglo members of this bilingual congregation. Although we presented to different groups three times over the weekend, we failed to ask anyone to take a photo of us as we presented. We do, however, have photos from each of the 4 breweries we visited! Yes, we had lots of fun and laughter (and there were many minutes of each visit when the guys had their eyes fixed on the beer rating app on their phones), but we also had serious and deep theological conversations over beer and wine (for me).
Pastors Gless and Martin invited us back to make our report (Titled “Pray with Ceasing, Live with an Eschatological Vision”) during the weekend of the “Festival of Nations,” a great event hosted by Salem with food from various cultures, a Gospel-centered message that precedes the meal, a great DJ, and some Latin dances. Our report praised the congregation for their sincere efforts to built bridges between the Hispanic and Anglo members of the congregation and the pastors for their leadership in this process. We also made a few recommendations to encourage their growth and maturity as a bilingual congregation. In short, as Kent and I joked (sort of), we can now add “church consultants” to our CVs.
Here are some photos and a video that show some the joys of the weekend:
The first brewery ….Brewery name is Orthodox.Yes, they all tasted and rated 8 beers.We closed the place down.Festival of Nations DJ!Fabulous food …… from a variety of nations!The gymnasium was full!I’m with Lydia Gless here.
I’ve never witnessed a more joyful time of clean-up than after the Festival of Nations. It helped that the DJ was still working!
And yes, Kent and I both signed our books for Pastors Gless and Martin.
On Holy Cross Day (Sunday, September 14) I was warmly welcomed by pastors and members, and visitors of St. John Lutheran Church, which was one of our four “case study” congregations. Invited in 2019 to be part of the study because of a strong adult faith formation process introduced by the Rev. Dr. Scott Bruzek (pictured with me in the banner photo) and refined by him over 20 years, Pastor Bruzek said YES to the invitation because of connection between us dating back to the 1980s (photo, right).
I was delighted to see Val Gaede (photo, left), a Lutheran classroom teacher who served her entire ministry at St. John, her first call upon graduation from Concordia, Seward. Our interview was invaluable for understanding some of St. John’s history; and it was great fun to get to know this fellow church worker, hearing about her varied ministry roles at St. John over four decades. From my interview with Val, I heard her perspective on training the new catechumens, who help with the stripping of the altar on Maundy Thursday. She begins her instruction by reminding the catechumens that the ritual is “all about Jesus.”
The word “love” permeated many of my interviews, a clear indication that Pastor Bruzek’s statement, “At St. John, love is the primary virtue,” is truly part of the congregation’s ethos. Like many of the people I interviewed, I was welcomed on this day and, as I signed books and chatted with folks, I heard over and over that St. John is a “special” congregation.
Pastor Bruzek had suggested I bring 20 copies of the book to sell; in a moment of optimism, I packed 2 boxes with a total of 45 books. We brought one box into the church to start, and my marketing assistant (and beloved husband) Mark had to return to car for the second box after the 8:30 service. Before the 11:00 service—well the photo says it all!
With thanks to …
Pastor Bruzek, for working on the logistics and publicity for the day and for preaching a great sermon;
Pastors Nelson and Ferguson, for their warm greetings;
John Crowe, parish administrator, for having our table set up in a prime location and who assisted with the set up;
Val Gaede, for her kind words about the book; and
Derek and Mary, a couple I interviewed in 2019, for their welcoming hugs.
In late July I attended the annual meeting of my deaconess community, the Lutheran Deaconess Conference, at which I sold a few copies of Journey to Jesus (at a special “sister” rate). Kent and I want to get the books into the hands of people serving professionally in congregations. I am thankful that so many of my deaconess sisters supported me by taking a copy home to share with others in their congregations.
At a chance sidewalk meeting with CSP President Brian Friedrich last month, I shared the news of the publication of Journey to Jesus, and then told him of my idea to email my former students now working in the church as Directors of Christian Education and Christian of Outreach, offering them a special deal on the book (and working with CSP faculty and staff to distribute the books at the upcoming LCMS National Youth Gathering). President Friedrich made a better offer, saying that CSP could purchase the books at the special discount price and gift them to my former students.
With the help of Kristi Bauer, CSP’s Director of LCMS Placement, I tracked down the emails of about 30 former students, wrote to them, and the first 15 who responded received Journey to Jesus when they stopped by the CSP booth at the Youth Gathering. Jessica Blocker, DCE at St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne, Minnesota, was the first to respond to my email with the words, “Oooo! Yes, please! That’s very exciting. Looking forward to seeing you in NOLA [New Orleans, LA, location of the youth gathering]! And I’d certainly love a signed copy.” Although I did not get to see Jessica or any others who received the book, she did send me this photo, and I personalized a message with my signature for each of the 15 book recipients.
Kent’s (my co-author) and my desire is to get the book into the hands of church professionals and lay leaders in congregations. These “front line” folks are the people who are most likely to find the stories of faith formation told by individuals and the descriptions of the various models of the adult catechumenate useful in their ministry. THANKS TO
President Friedrich, who first suggested this plan;
Mark Koschmann (CSP VP of Faith and Ministry), who facilitated the process;
CSP Campus Pastor Tom Gundermann, who transported the books to New Orleans; and
Everyone working at the CSP booth, who helped distribute the books to our CSP graduates.
Paul Turner is pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City, Missouri, and director of the Office of Divine Worship for the Diocese of Kansas City–St. Joseph. He holds a doctorate in sacred theology from Sant’Anselmo in Rome.
Turner is the author of numerous books published by Liturgical Press and a contributor to Give Us This Day. Most recently, he is the recipient of four awards from the 2025 Catholic Media Association Book Awards, including First Place for Author of the Year.
My co-author Kent and I are blessed that this distinguished author and scholar was kind enough to read an early copy of our manuscript and provide one of the “book blurbs” on the back cover of Journey to Jesus. Paul wrote,
With firsthand experience of privileged accompaniment that church leaders offer individuals exploring faith, the authors provide a clear, engaging guide through the spheres of evangelization, catechesis, and worship. Roman Catholics like me who engage in similar ministry will find much to inspect, ponder, and celebrate while reading about newfound faith through a Lutheran lens.
Congratulations, Paul, on the Author of the Year Award from Catholic Media Association, and thank you for your support of our work on adult faith formation.
The July 2025 newsletter from Wipf and Stock, publisher of Journey to Jesus, that arrived in my inbox this morning has this information about a discount!
20% OFF ALL PAPERBACKS WITH CODE “JULY25” (Offers good through 7/15)
Wipf and Stock Publishers 199 West 8th Avenue, Suite 3 Eugene, Oregon 97401 (541) 344-1528
Friday, June 13th was a fortuitous day at the Schuler home. From electronic proofs to a tangible book is a huge step! On Sunday I asked my 11-year old friend Ellie to give a reading from the introduction to the book. I will be having parties in the backyard all summer to celebrate with friends (and peddle the book at a “family and friends” discount).
Yesterday Kent and I finalized the index (the final step before publication) and sent it to Heather, our typesetter (along with news of a misspelled word I discovered while working on the index). We heard back from her with version 08 that included the index added to book proof (photo, right) and misspelled word corrected. I reviewed it, found one minor item that needed editing, and sent it back to Heather.
Today Heather sent us version 09 (photo, left). Notice that the box proclaiming “UNCORRECTED PROOF” is no longer there! We now await word that our book is published. As of this writing, it’s still listed on Wipf & Stock with a publication date of July 2025. Stay tuned!
