Today, July 28, is the commemoration of Johann Sabastian Bach, Heinrich Schutz, and George Frederick Handel church musicians. What a great day to give thanks to God for the gift of music. I’ve had some terrific musical experiences in recent months.
On March 21, I attended Bach’s Birthday Bash in St. Paul, an annual event I only learned about this year, sponsored jointly by the local chapter of the American Guild of Organists and Minnesota Public Radio’s classical station. It’s a bit like a progressive dinner, with successive courses (appetizer, soup, salad, entree, dessert) at different homes, but one dines on Bach’s music at five different church venues, which this year included one each Lutheran, Episcopal, and Presbyterian churches, and two Roman Catholic parishes. Each hour-long concert included a series of musicians – lots of organists, some piano pieces, and one piece transposed for saxophone, plus a cantata by the local choral ensemble Elm – with travel time in between (and a longer break for lunch). What a feast of Bach music! The first concert was broadcast live and can be heard here.
Early this month Mark and I attended Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at St. Olaf College, as part of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM) conference, “in conjunction with the 2026 Lutheran Summer Music Academy and Festival.” The webpage states:
St. Matthew Passion
The Bach Collegium Valparaiso is an ensemble composed of the finest period instrument and vocal forces in the Chicago area. The mission of BCV is to perform the great masterworks of the 16th-18th centuries with attention to historically informed practice and the highest standards of musical performance. At the helm of this multi-ensemble, multi-generational celebration is ChristopherCock, Senior Research Professor in Music at Valparaiso University. As Director of the Bach Institute at Valparaiso from 2001-2022, he led multiple performances of all of Bach’s major works and numerous cantatas. This distinguished conducting experience combined with his critically acclaimed performances as a Bach Evangelist have made him one of America’s foremost experts on the music of J. S. Bach.
It was a rich and beautiful performance, enhanced for us by the many friends who sang in the choir and other friends in attendance. To listen to the performance, find the link on this page. As Bach wrote, “The aim and final reason for all music should be the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul; where this is not remembered there is no real music but only devilish hubbub.” We are thankful to live in a place that is full of music opportunities and offer this prayer:
O God of majesty, whom saints and angels delight to worship: Pour out your Spirit on your servants who, with the gifts of music, enliven our praises and proclaim your word with power. Through this ministry give us new awareness of your beauty and grace, and join our voices with all the choirs of heaven, both now and forever; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (ELW, p. 74)
Yes, today is Trinity Sunday, but May 31 is also The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, a lesser festival (LBW & ELW)/principal feast of Christ (LSB) on many liturgical calendars. In More Days for Praise (Augsburg Fortress 2016), author Gail Ramshaw writes that this day “as focused both on joy at the coming of Christ and on the friendship between the two women” (124). Her suggested topics for prayers include
“Praise God for giving to us believers the company of others with whom to worship.
“Pray for the grace to sing thanks to God, no matter how life develops.
Pray for deepening friendships” (125)
For the first and third suggestions on this list, I praise God and give thanks for some new and renewed connections with deaconess sisters and daughters of deaconess sisters. As the keynote speaker for the LCMS NOW district conference for youth and family ministry (in April 2026), I met two deaconess sisters and the daughters of two deaconesses!
Left to right, Deaconess Ashley Bayless, Lutheran Hour Ministries (Spokane Valley, WA) and Deaconess Amanda Mumm, Immanuel Lutheran Church (Twin Falls, ID), and me. It was great to meet some deacs from other parts of the country doing important ministry in the church.
Left to right: DCE Patra Mueller (Hope Lutheran Church, Seattle, WA), daughter of Deaconess Rhoda Pfotenhauer, and DCE Dereem Hoff (Our Savior Lutheran Church, Tacoma, WA), daughter of Deaconess Eunice McKinney. I’ve known Dereem since she was a child, as Eunice and Bob brought their children to the Deaconess Annual Meeting every year; and I first met Patra’s mother, Rhoda, for 30 years – since we both live in the Twin Cities. When she saw my name on the program materials prior to the conference, Patra emailed me, saying that her mother is also a deaconess and also named Rhoda. I responded that I was sure I knew her mom!
As the retiree among these women, I would certainly be the “Elizabeth” to them and they are the younger “Mary” to me. I treasure the holy conversations we had together. What a gift to be with these dedicated deaconesses and deaconess daughters, all serving Christ and Christ’s church in “faith and service.”
For more about the NOW conference, click here and here.
++++ Visitation Photos (by Rhoda Schuler) … Banner photo: Marian Grotto, Portland, OR (March 2025) Closing photo: Monastery of the Visitation, Ein Karem (Jerusalem suburb), Israel (December 2017)
Each Wednesday at my congregation’s midweek Lenten services we have sung this beautiful Lenten hymn, (both text and tune written in the 17th century), which has been a favorite of mine for a half century-plus:
On my heart imprint Your image, Blessed Jesus, King of grace, That life’s riches, cares, and pleasures Never may Your work erase; Let the clear inscription be: Jesus, crucified for me, Is my life, my hope’s foundation, And my glory and salvation. LSB 422/LBW 102 Text: Thomas Hansen Kingo, 1634-1703; tr. Peer O. Stroemme, 1856-1921, alt. Tune: Johann Balthasar Koenig, 1691-1758
It’s a beautiful prayer that sums up the daily struggle against sin (life’s riches, cares, and pleasures) and the power imprinted on us to overcome temptation: Jesus, crucified for me – to whom we are joined in baptism.
Another hymn I commend to readers for Holy Week meditation is written by a Benedictine sister in the 20th century (Dolores Duffner, OSB, b. 1939) and appropriate both for Christ the King and, in my opinion, Palm Sunday (click on the title to listen): O Christ, what can it mean for us. It’s been a favorite of mine for a mere two decades (at most).
Christians claim Christ as King, yes; but One who “came, the law of love to bring; a diff’rent rule of righteousness, a diff’rent kind of king.” (ELW 431)
I hope to add some commentary on each group of photos, but not today! Too many other things to do to prepare for the celebration of the Incarnation. Does this gallery of photos look like a calendar? Good critical thinking skills at work.
I’m pleased to announce that I will be presenting a breakout session at Best Practices Ministry 2026, “A free conference to encourage ministry support workers as we reach out with the gospel of Christ,” hosted by Christ Church Lutheran in Phoenix, Arizona, February 12 – 14, 2026. As described on the website,
For over 10 years we have offered this FREE conference to remind professional and lay church workers that you are loved, you are not alone, and you matter. And when we say free, we truly mean that: free meals, free shuttling, free speakers, free snacks, free activities, free registration.
My session is titled “Searching the Scriptures, Discovering Jesus: Small group Scripture reflection tools for both seekers and disciples.” Click here to register for the conference and find more information about BPM.
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 to 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.
