Steven J. Rye

Tonight I was on YouTube and, like so many evenings on the internet, I got pulled down a rabbit hole. The video that caught my attention was about life aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier. I’ve always been fascinated by the scale and complexity of those floating cities—thousands of people living and working together in an… Continue reading

Week Two: Letting the Master Work In the second message of the series, the focus turns to what happens after we acknowledge the broken places in our lives. Drawing on Jeremiah’s image of the potter shaping clay, the message reflects on the humility and trust required to allow God to do the work of repair.… Continue reading

Week One: Admitting the Crack The first message in the series introduces the theme of honest self-examination. Drawing on Psalm 139:23–24, the sermon reflects on the courage it takes to invite God to “search” our lives and reveal the places that need attention. Using the familiar experience of preparing a house for sale—walking through each… Continue reading

I was studying Psalm 2 this morning – and this reflection seemed worthy of posting on my blog. The more things change – the more they stay the same….Psalm 2:1-31 Why this uproar among the nations, this impotent muttering of the peoples?* 2 Kings of the earth take up position, princes plot together against Yahweh and his anointed,* 3 ‘Now let us break… Continue reading

This three-week Lenten series reflects on the ways God restores and renews our lives. Using familiar experiences of fixing things that have fallen into disrepair, the series explores how faith invites us into a process of honest self-examination, surrender to God’s healing work, and renewed purpose in the world. In the first message, Admitting the Crack,… Continue reading

Hello friends, I write this blog post about a sad chapter from my life that has recently resurfaced during the bishop’s election process in the Northeastern Minnesota Synod. This spring, my name was put forward in the process our synod has to elect a bishop.  As part of our church’s commitment to safety and transparency,… Continue reading

Recent events surrounding federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota — including the loss of life and the protests that followed — raise urgent and painful questions for our communities. We need space for grief. We also need truth, accountability, and transparency. Public safety and the rule of law matter — and so do human dignity, proportionality,… Continue reading

A number of women I know, happen to be adjusting to a new normal of living their lives without a husband. This seems to be a worthy subject for a haiku: his chair holds the spacewhere laughter once eruptedsilence breathes his name Continue reading

On this cold winter’s day – I find myself yearning for a beautiful summer day. How about you? I’ve been going through all of my work from this past six months at ALC & BLC in Windom…and came across this video that I put together as part of an invitation to take a “God Pause”… Continue reading

In the lead-up to Christmas 2025, the Pequaywan Lakes Association website got hacked and shut down. For over a year previously I served as the webmaster. That just meant I corrected inaccurate things and posted items from time to time. I kept the site in basically the same condition that I got it — figuring… Continue reading

This happened while I was away. Cub Foods was a favorite place to get groceries. One of the hardest parts of being a pastor is walking alongside people who are struggling with difficult changes. The spiritual journey involves relinquishment of all sorts — and with that, often comes grief. It takes time for new patterns… Continue reading

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record the words of Jesus – A house divided cannot stand. Ours is a house divided, sadly. And I’m not happy that my wife has better swag. Continue reading

As my time at American Lutheran Church comes to a close, I find myself very appreciative of the great staff that I got to work with “for a season” (two actually). They are a passionate, committed, “get-er-done” crew and it was a privilege to accompany them at this time. My prayers will continue to be… Continue reading

Christmas Eve at Bethany Lutheran Church in Bergen… this was a bitter-sweet moment for me as folks started coming in for the Christmas Eve service. I deliberately arranged it so that this would be my last service in the Windom area. I was wonderful to worship with this small group of caring, devoted, christ-followers. They… Continue reading

I was so grateful to receive this gift of a “Senior Living” communion set. All I asked was for Laverne to “drill some holes in a board to hold the cups, like I had in my last congregation”. Laverne did a little more than that. ;o) Continue reading

My last sermon note to “grade” (really – just sharing words of clarification or encouragement to the confirmation kids) I really had a wonderful time teaching confirmation this year. It was a great bunch of 8th graders (all 18 of them), we had lots of fun – learned lots about the Old Testament and the… Continue reading

Laverne is a master woodworker who lives in Windom, Minnesota. One of the blessings of being a pastor is that you get invited into peoples homes and people’s lives. Such was the case in my last week at American Lutheran and Bethany Lutheran in the Windom area. I was blown away by Laverne’s mastery of… Continue reading

No, the picture above is not a recent one. It was taken circa 1995 in my first year in the pulpit. The sermon below IS a recent one. It was originally delivered in front of a congregation, but has been re-recorded here for better sound quality, and to provide a better, more intimate, experience. Readings… Continue reading