To all God’s Beloved in the Zion United Church of Christ, Steubenville, OH, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from our Triune God, the Holy One of Israel.   Before my first Sunday in the pulpit back on October 12, and even prior to the Church Council inviting me to preach for six months, the council knew that I would not be able to preach every Sunday and that I would be away January 18 through February 8. That means that after January 11 I will not be at Zi

This year’s Christmas Eve Candlelight Service will be a traditional Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. There will be no sermon, no offering collected during the service, and no communion. There will be the singing of Silent Night, at least the first verse in German, by candlelight.   Most Christian congregations celebrate the eve of Christmas with some sort of candlelight service. Worshipers receive a small white candle inserted into a clear plastic cup, plastic holder, or p

To all God’s Beloved in the Zion United Church of Christ, Steubenville, OH, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from our Triune God, the Holy One of Israel. Let me introduce myself. I have been filling the Zion pulpit since October 19 th , and with three Sundays behind me, including one communion Sunday, I am beginning to become more familiar and comfortable with the physical attributes of the Zion sanctuary, the intricacies of UCC liturgy, and the technologic

This is the 21st century.  How can we minister to folks in downtown Steubenville and surrounding areas?  This is the question.  We have just read in the newspaper that the Urban Mission is closing their shelters by the end of the month.  This is due to lack of funding.  Where will these people go?  Is there some way we can help in this dire situation?  These are the questions we should be addressing.  Jesus said " whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me."    The

This congregation is 162 years old!  That's quite a milestone.  We began as a group of German immigrants who settled in the Steubenville area.  German was the language while everyone struggled to learn the new language--English.  The mission of the early church was to help the newcomers to find housing, find employment, to find basic necessities and to find a place where they could worship together.    Back then that was the "mission" of this church.  But today what is the mi

Dear Members, Friends, Brothers and Sisters,      Summer will be quickly drawing to a close as many of our young students head back to...

Dear Members and Friends,   Here we are in 2025 facing a radical time of transition for our beloved Zion church.  We have been in times...

Transitions can be bittersweet. As we bid farewell to our beloved pastor, who has faithfully shepherded us for six  years, we may feel a...

What is Important to You?         A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22.        ...

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)                               ...

In a small, forgotten corner of the forest, where sunlight struggled to penetrate the dense canopy, stood an old oak tree. Its gnarled...

Not long before his death, Henri Nouwen wrote a book called Sabbatical Journeys. He writes about some friends of his who were trapeze...

Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she did not know how she was going to make it....

Well, we have made it through another year. I have written many newsletters. I sometimes wonder how many are read. I sometimes wonder if...

Mirrors are generally symbolic of spiritual and psychological depth. They don’t just reveal our appearance. They can reveal who we are on...

When things get really bad, flood yourself with God’s word.  Sound easy doesn’t it? If we don’t follow this advice we tend to see things...

I read this story on a Facebook page “The Monk who sold his Ferrari”. A very simple but motivational story. I found it worth sharing, I...

None of us worry, RIGHT?  If we tell each other not to worry or be anxious in a world plagued by sin, you need to have a good reason....

I came across this Young Man’s Story about Answered Prayers. (From the Sunrise Chapel)           A young man had been to a Wednesday...

I found this little story back in 2015.  I tried to find it again so I could give credit, but I guess it is too old to find it and I...