Street Evangelization June 13th, 2025

A few days ago, I met with my friend Livia in Lewisburg for street evangelization. As I was setting up, I ran into an old friend from high school and had a nice chat. Later on we had a nice talk with a coworker of Livia’s husband. We were making music and a very nice lady doing Doordash kept passing us and singing along. She radiated the love and peace of Christ.

The highlight of the evening was a talk with Ravi. Ravi plays saxophone throughout the valley and has run into us several times. The first time I heard his story, it blew me away. He’s from India and was rescued from the streets as a baby and placed in one of Mother Theresa’s orphanages, and then at 21 months old he was adopted by an American family. Now he has a family of his own, works at the university, and is pretty well known in the area for playing sax. He expressed interest in joining us for street evangelization and making music together–maybe adding some cool jazz to some traditional hymns or spirituals.

It’s such a small world!

My Thoughts on Illegal Immigration

I posted this video on YouTube and have the script below. I also posted it on Facebook.

I’d like to share my thoughts on Illegal Immigration. 

I’m not proud of this, but when I was a stupid college kid, I did a fair bit of trespassing. I told myself I was just exploring, and that as long as I didn’t get caught, nobody would be affected negatively in any way. One day I got busted. I was exploring a basement below the university swimming pool with all sorts of interesting chemical tanks and pumps and motors in it. Climbing up a ladder behind some friends to the manhole exit, I heard some voices, and when I climbed out there was a flashlight shining in my face, and I was asked for ID. I insisted truthfully that I meant no harm, but truth be told, I shouldn’t have been there. The police officer had mercy, and let me off with a stern warning. 

Had he chosen to exact justice, it’s hard to know what that would look like. A fine? Suspension from certain privileges as a student? I don’t know. I don’t think jail time would be appropriate, nor expulsion from the university. Justice needs to be balanced. 

It’s through this lens that I look at the issue of illegal immigration. Yes, people should come to this country legally. Yes, we need to protect our borders. Yes, we should know who is coming in and out of our country and we have the right to say “no.” 

But if I was a college-age kid from a foreign country looking for opportunity in the United States, knowing how I was back then, I could almost see myself jumping the border, especially if I had family here, a job lined up, and if the legal route didn’t meet my budget or timeline. It would be a real win-win as long as I don’t get caught right? Now I’m not advocating for that! But I’m wiser now than I was back then. 

And then there’s the issue of those seeking asylum. If I was in that basement in college trying to save my life, I would hope the authorities would actually help me. 

I’m not going to call ICE a bunch of terrorists. I’m glad they’re cracking down on violent criminals. I’m glad we’re securing our borders, especially for reasons of trafficking drugs and human beings. 

But at the same time, it’s my understanding that under the current administration, families are being split up over infringements of the law that I don’t think merit such severe punishment. Families of asylum seekers are being split for having done nothing wrong at all. In our zeal for justice and order, or perhaps for less noble reasons, I think we’re actually doing some terrible things as a country and upending the lives of many people.  

I also think it’s important to recognize that our policies as a country have created this chaotic situation. We have a very broken immigration system. Our country needs immigrant workers to fill jobs in our economy, but the number of work permits issued doesn’t even come close to the demand. Going back to the college swimming pool basement analogy, what if for some crazy reason, it was illegal for me to be down there but at the same time, the university relied on me being down there to keep the swimming pool operational? Maybe there was a legal way to work that job but it took over ten thousand dollars to navigate the legal process, a decade or more of waiting, and maybe the job only pays minimum wage and nobody else wants to crawl down the dirty manhole entrance to do the work but me? What if I needed the money so that I could send it to my mother and grandmother so that they could eat and keep a roof over their head?

This scenario isn’t far from the truth for many immigrant workers. If you start looking into just how broken the system is and hearing the stories of immigrants, you realize that, yeah we want people to come here the legal way, but the legal way just doesn’t work for most, and so they find a work-around. I can identify with that. Lots of my friends and neighbors find work-arounds for laws that don’t work for them. Gosh it seems like you need a special permit or licence to do just about anything, and folks around here often skip that process and do what they need to do, and we just turn a blind eye as long as nobody’s getting hurt. 

Here’s another example. I’m sure we all know people who have a hard time making ends meet and accept money under the table and don’t claim it on their taxes. That’s illegal. But honestly, part of me thinks we should just let that slide. Another part of me thinks that they owe it to their countrymen to pay their taxes and that the IRS should keep them accountable. But I know these people personally, and no part of me thinks it would be right to upend their lives and tear their families apart, and I think it’s the same with the illegal immigrant who is just trying to work a job, feed his family and live a simple life. Isn’t that what our country is all about? 

If you’re so inclined, I’d appreciate you praying with me. “Lord, God, have mercy on us. Grant wisdom, courage, and humility to our leaders and to us. May we have eyes to see all people as you see them. May our laws be just. May our people be virtuous. Protect families, domestic and abroad, and guide us to the narrow way that leads to everlasting life. Amen.”

Street Evangelization May 31st, 2025 – Lewisburg Craft Festival

This was a new experience for me because my wife and daughters came along! We set up near the Hunfnagle Park playground so that the kids could play and I could make my coin rings and talk to passers by. It was also the Lewisburg Craft Festival at the park so lots of people were out and about.

My big take-away was the importance of being a community member. Lots of people stopped to talk who knew me. It felt less like street evangelization and more like going to the park with my kids and chatting with friends.

Towards the end, a woman stopped to talk who knew me because of my community involvement, but I didn’t know her. That said, after only a little bit of conversation, we realized I already knew of a very difficult situation that directly effected her, and she said she felt safe talking to me about it. She was a Christian and had the correct Christian standpoint, but I was able to affirm what she already knew: that God could redeem even the situation that ached her heart so much.

We parted with prayer and a hug.

May Street Evangelization Bloomsburg

Last Friday, May 2nd, I met my friend CJ in Bloomsburg for street evangelization. Being the first Friday of the month, the businesses were open late for shoppers, and there was also a fireman’s parade. On top of that, the weather was phenomenal, so lots of people were out and about.

Once again, we made coin rings. As soon as we started, we had regular visitors most of the evening. We started at 5:30 and went till 10:00.

Two Chinese exchange students stopped and were very excited about the coin rings. I asked if they were Christians and they kind of laughed but quickly realized it was a serious question, and the one said they were Marxists. I got to tell them a little about Christianity and we had a pleasant exchange of conversation.

Several times, parents stopped by with their young children, and the children made rings while the parents snapped pictures and graciously accepted prayer cards. I’ve found this to be a common occurrence other times too.

I had a rather lengthy conversation with a student who seemed not just interested in the ring but in the Christian message. I told her that what I really like about being a Christian is the worldview it offers me–that I can look at the world and see it’s good but that it’s also very broken, and that in hard times I can have hope in the redemption offered to us by Christ. I forget exactly how the conversation went, but I mentioned the resurrection of the body and she was shocked. I sometimes think regular people know more about what Christianity teaches than they do. Before parting she said, “I’m going to have to look into this more,” and I think she really meant it. I also suggested she try to start praying and gave her some prayer cards.

There were a few people who stopped who really seemed like they had been on hard times. One fellow with holes in his clothes and an unshaved face stayed for over an hour and told us about a lot of the things that he had been going through. It was hard to follow but I kept listening and at one point he said, “It feels really good to get this out. I’m just so used to people not even giving me the decency of treating me like a human being.” He had been attending a Church in the area but felt like all they cared about money. Before parting he took prayer cards and asked again what Church we go to, and CJ, who attends St. Columba in Bloomsburg, invited him there.

Street Evangelization – My Start – 2018

Here’s an excerpt from my book that tells about how I got started in street evangelization. For an overview and a few pictures of my street evangelization set-up, check out this link.

I got my start in street evangelization very reluctantly in 2018. 

For a few years prior to that, I mused on the thought, but I didn’t particularly feel an urgent calling. 

That changed when the 800 page Grand Jury Report came out in my home state of Pennsylvania documenting Catholic clergy child abuse. I was serving on my Parish Council at the time, and due to the public nature of the sin, I was convinced that we needed to have a public response. People in our community were angry, hurt, lost, and confused. We owed it to them to be a visible sign of reparation. We couldn’t put it on them to come to us–we needed to go out to them. 

I pitched the idea to my pastor and the council, but folks were rather hesitant, and my idea didn’t seem to be going anywhere. I was frustrated and disappointed, and for a split second, I took those feelings to God, and he spoke very clearly to my heart, “You do it.” Who me?!

I spoke aloud again. “Father, like uhh…would it be okay if I did something? Just me?”

“Well, there’s nothing stopping you, but, if you’re asking for my priestly blessing, then sure, I give you my blessing.”

Great, now what have I gotten myself into!

A few days later I drew up a big sign that read, “Here to listen and to pray for survivors and the dead.” I wanted my presence to be visibly Catholic, so I fastened a large crucifix to a pole and figured I would use bungee cords to fasten the pole to a folding chair that I would sit in. I planned to set up a second folding chair facing towards me to a visible sign of welcome and to encourage people to stop and talk, and I would put the sign behind the chairs in a way that it was visible to passersby walking from either direction. 

I loaded the supplies in the back of my car and headed off to the post office in the middle of the next town over, which was occasionally the site of other demonstrations of various sorts. 

As I drove past the post office, I saw a pretty good parking space just down from it, but drove around the block to see if I could find something better. I didn’t find anything better, but when I drove around the block a second time, the parking space was still there, but I passed it up again. As I drove around the block a third time, I knew I was stalling. A lot of things passed through my mind, including this book. How am I ever going to have the courage to publish my book if I can’t even do this? When the original parking spot was still available, I rolled in. 

I pulled the chairs out first and set them up. People were walking by and ignoring me. OK, Luke, this is no big deal. Nooo big deal. 

I went back and took my sign out of the car and laid it face down in the grass. This is still no big deal. But when I pulled out the processional crucifix, I broke out in a cold sweat. I quickly fastened it to my chair, set my sign up, and pulled a rosary out of my pocket. 

I was just about to sit down in the chair when I felt God speak to my soul again: “kneel.” 

God, how crazy do you want me to look! I traced the sign of the cross over my body and put my knees on the ground, and in that moment, God sent a wave of peace over my soul. I was doing it. I really was, and I knew that God was pleased with me. I looked heavenward and smiled and could have cried. I thanked God for his goodness, and I made a holy hour of prayer right there in the middle of the sidewalk. 

Nobody stopped to talk to me that day but it ended up being the first of many such outings for me. My sign now typically reads: “here to listen, share, and pray.” I’ve made some wonderful friends in the process who often join me, and we sing songs, pass out prayer cards, and engage with those who pass by in other creative and friendly ways. The response from the public has been overwhelmingly positive. 

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”  (Matthew 9:37-38)

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Street Evangelization – March 2025

Last Friday, March 28th, I made it out for street evangelization in downtown Lewisburg. Once again, my friend CJ was able to join me. The weather was beautiful and lots of people were out to enjoy the town and one another.

I’ve found that it’s nice to have a non-threatening “draw” for street evangelization. Sometimes it’s my cool truck. Sometimes it’s a guy with his banjo. Friday it was coin rings.

With the right tools (which I can fit on a child’s wagon), I can turn a regular quarter into a coin ring–all in about five minutes.

And the outside of the ring will say, “LIBERTY.”

Over the course of that five minute, we might get the opportunity to share some of the words of Jesus quoting Isaiah the prophet.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captive and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. (Luke 4:18-19)

The coin rings are wildly popular. As was the case the other times we’ve done this, we have a line of people pretty much the whole three hours we were there. The Bucknell girls field hockey team was out to we had a nice long chat with many of them and most of them took prayer cards. The last three to leave were seniors who were about to graduate, and we got to pray with them to ask God’s blessing on their futures.

There were three students visiting Lewisburg from Susquehanna University. I got the impression that they were wary of Christianity and they politely declined prayer cards, but we had enjoyable conversations for the 15 minutes that it took to make three rings. Perhaps they had bad experiences with Christianity in the past, but I feel certain that the experience they had on Friday was a positive one.

Twice people stopped who I discovered were co-workers of parishioners. Each time, the response was, “Oh they are so wonderful!” It’s heartening, but not surprising, to hear my fellow parishioners are such lovely people in the workplace.

Christ is surely at work in our community. I love it.

My Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year C

Why am I, a layperson, preaching a homely? You can read about it here.

Today’s readings were selected to be read according to the Church calendar my Church uses. If a person were to attend Church regularly, they’d hear basically the whole Bible over the course of 4 years–certainly all the gospels. 

I like this practice because it forces a preacher to reflect and preach on all of God’s word–even the challenging parts that they might feel uncomfortable preaching on. So when Pastor Jesse asked me to preach today, I decided to preach on the day’s readings whether I felt comfortable with them or not, and sure enough, after reading them the first time, they made me uncomfortable. There’s a challenge presented to us today, but it’s a good challenge, so let’s get to it. 

If I were to summarize what I think is the most important message God has for us today in his Word, it would be: Repent and be fruitful. 

Repent, and be fruitful. 

Repent, and be fruitful.

Repent. 

God wants us to repent–to turn away from sin. To turn away from anything that is keeping us from him. 

I want you to think about this question. What is keeping you from God? What is keeping you from being the kind of person God wants you to be? 

If there is sin in your life, in our lives, God is calling us to repent. I remember when I was a teenager, there were obvious sins in my life, and I knew God was calling me to change, and it was a struggle. I clung to the sins even as they were eating me alive. But when I started clinging to God instead, he rescued me from that bondage. Praise be to God, he rescued me. 

If you have obvious sin in your life–things that you know are wrong but you’ve been clinging to, even if you’ve been clinging to those sins for decades–it’s time to let it go. To repent. To turn to God and let him free you from that bondage. God loves you and he wants you in perfect communion and fellowship with him now and forever in heaven. 

As the psalmist sings, “the Lord is kind and merciful. He pardons all your inequities, heals all your ills, he redeems your life from destruction, crowns you with kindness and compassion.”

No matter how wicked and evil you were in the past–God loves you, and he wants to forgive you. We just need to go to him and say, “Lord, I’m sorry, please forgive me.” Better yet, the Bible tells us to confess our sins to one another. Confession can be very painful, but it’s powerful and healing, and really helps to solidify that repentance and helps us to stay rooted in Christ.

After God rescued me from those shameful sins I clung to as a teenager, he opened my eyes to a whole bunch of other sins in my life–things I kind of shrugged off before. How was talking to other people? Was I building people up with my words or cutting them down? Was I gossiping? Was I judging other people? 

It’s important for us to realize that repentance is not a one time event! God is asking us ALL to repent–not just those “sinners” over there, but each of us. 

In the Gospel today, we see the people coming to Jesus and telling him about this terrible thing that just happened. Apparently Pilot–the Roman governor of the region, was minglings the blood of Galilieans with the blood of their sacrifices. I looked up what this means and it seems that these Galileans–these Jews, were killed by the Romans right in their own temple. 

Elsewhere is scripture, we see the Apostles asking Jesus about a blind man: “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?” 

As so there was this idea among the people back then that if something bad happened to a person, it’s because they were a horrible sinner. 

And so it seems to me that the people were coming to Jesus with a juicy gossip–and casting judgement and condemnation on the people who were killed, and Jesus replied, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way, they were greater sinners and all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them–do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means? But I tell you, if you do not repent you will all perish as they did.”

Is Jesus saying if we don’t repent, A building is going to fall on us? Of course not, because that’s probably not true. Is he saying that if we don’t repent, we’re going to die? Well, it’s true that we’re all going to die, but we’re going to die even if we do repent! 

And so what does Jesus mean when he says, “Unless you repent, you will parish as they did? 

I think he’s saying, “These people died, and you’re condemning them. If you don’t repent, you’re going to stand condemned too. If you don’t repent, you’re going to the parish in condemnation.” 

We need to approach God as people who are repentant. As people who are continually walking with God, growing closer to him, trusting in Jesus and the mercy he offers us by his cross, and turning our hearts away from anything that is not of God. 

I used to think that being a Christian meant trying not to sin, and that’s certainly part of it, but I see now that God wants us to be fruitful. 

That’s the second part of today’s message. Repent, and be fruitful. 

Be fruitful.

God wants us to do good things with our lives. He wants us to build up treasure in heaven. He wants us to build up his kingdom on earth. He wants to make our lives into something beautiful and good that we can set before his heavenly throne and feel good about. We are called to make our lives and offering to God–we’re to present ourselves before God as living sacrifices. Let’s make it a good offering. 

What fruit have you produced with your life? What good have you done for God?

I hope that you folks can look back at your life and see good fruit. Perhaps it’s a beautiful family, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren–people who do good work for the church and the community and who are making the world a better place. Perhaps your good fruit is in the workplace. Perhaps for decades you served your employer or clients with faithfulness and integrity and compassion and grace, and the community is a better place because of it. Perhaps you can see good fruit being produced right here in your home at Penn Village. Perhaps the people around you, on a daily basis, walk away from you feeling blessed and encouraged and you have the privilege of knowing the good work you’re accomplishing. I hope that’s the case, and if it is, thank you. This world needs people who bear good fruit!

But perhaps you’ve followed the Lord, but you’ve not seen the good fruit. I want to encourage you. Perhaps you’ve borne good fruit, but you just haven’t seen it. There are people who have blessed my life, and they have no idea how much they’ve blessed me. I try to tell those people but sometimes I can’t. Perhaps you’ve labored in God’s orchard but the fruit he’s asking you to tend is one that takes a long time to mature. Your role is still very important, the fruit of your labor is still very real, but maybe it just hasn’t matured yet. Maybe it’s a beautiful fruit that takes decades–even centuries to mature. Maybe the fruit that you’ve produced has no tangible early resemblance, but is purely spiritual–something that only God sees but that he delights in tremendously. This is important work. Thank you. The world needs people who can persevere and do the hard things for God, even without seeing the return of their labor, and I believe your reward will be great in heaven. 

But it’s also a possibility that you’ve not produced good fruit. Perhaps you’ve even produced bad fruit. Maybe you’ve hurt people. Maybe looking back at your life, you see a path of destruction and chaos and of which you’ve been the cause. Do not despair. 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us of the fig tree that produced no fruit, and the man who planted it wanted to cut it down, but the gardener said, “sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; and it may bear fruit in the future. If not, you can cut it down.” 

There is still time. God is cultivating the garden around you. He’s preparing you to produce fruit. You’re here today, which is wonderful. The word of God is fertilizer. Spending time with other faithful Christians is fertilizer. Praying is fertilizer. Cling to Jesus–he loves you. Respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in your life, and you will produce good fruit that will last forever in the kingdom of God. If you’ve squandered your whole life up until this point. There is still time. And it’s often the late harvest that produces the sweetest fruit.  

Now if you’re thinking, “no, I’ve not wasted any of my life,” the second reading today is for you, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall. 

We all need to repent. We’ve all squandered some of our gifts. We all need to repent not just from sin, but from all that keeps us from being fruitful with our lives. 

Repent and be fruitful. 

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Preaching at the Nursing Home

On Sunday, I preached a sermon at The Manor at Penn Village nursing home in Selinsgrove! Let me give the back story first.

A year or two ago, I befriended Jesse Bingaman. You might know him as the paint manager at Mifflinburg Cole’s Hardware. He’s also a local pastor and author of the book: Embrace the Pain: A Biblical Approach to Living in a World of Anxiety and Depression. (It’s a very good good book and I highly recommend it!) He saw me street evangelizing and we started talking and occasionally getting breakfast together.

Once a month, he preaches as the nursing home and couldn’t make it this month, so he asked if I would be willing to be his replacement. Of course I said yes 🙂

It was a lovely experience. The folks at Penn Village are beautiful people. I brought my banjo and sang songs and hearing them sing along was just wonderful.

I praise God for my friend Jesse, the people I met on Sunday, and the opportunities God has given me to serve him and his people.

If you want to see what I preached on, I have it here.

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On The 21 Coptic Martyrs

The 21 Coptic Martyrs were killed by ISIS in 2015 in northern Africa. This short film beautifully tells their story. To me, this sounds like something you’d hear of Christian persecution a 1000 years ago–not in the 21st century. You might know Jonathan Roumie from The Chosen. He helped produce it.

On February 14th, 2025–just a few days ago–the bodies of 70 beheaded Christians were found in a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Have you heard about it on the news? I think I only learned about it because I was researching the beheaded Coptic Martyrs and the algorithm thought I might be interested.

This led me to learn more about the conflict in the DRC. I have to admit, I’m embarrassed by how little I know. I’ve heard of the Hutus and Tutsis before but their story has largely gone in one ear and out the other. They say it’s one of the most complicated humanitarian crises in the world with over 7 million people displaced and over 25 million people facing food insecurity. My research also mentioned that the humanitarian crisis has magnified tremendously after the United States cut all funding from USAID, which was a key player in contributing funds.

21 Coptic Martyrs: Pray for us!

70 Christian Martyrs from the DRC: Pray for us!

All holy saints and angels: Pray for us!

I’m taking some action steps today, and then I’m going to let God be God, and tap some maple trees. What is God asking you to do today?

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Street Evangelization Feb. 2025

Hello friends! Thank you for your prayers. Last night was really blessed. My friend CJ and I set up at Bucknell University on the corner of Moore and 7th at 6:30pm. Things started out slow without many people stopping other than to accept an occasional prayer card. Then three guys sat down and asked what we were doing and and saw our little sign reading “care to discuss objections….” and they asked about LGBTQ. I was able to acknowledge that LGBTQ folks are often an unjust target for persecution and that as Christian we need to respect and love those people like anybody else, but that God intends for sex to happen only between and man and a women in the context of marriage. CJ talked about how we’re all sinners in need of Gods mercy. The young men agreed and thanked us and left, and then CJ and I talked amongst ourselves about that issue and how to best approach it as Christians. A little while later, two young women approached and asked what was going on and we told them, and then we asked if they were Christians, and they sort of didn’t know what to say. Both grew up going to church and had positive experiences. I asked if they prayed and they said no, but the one girl, who was more talkative than the other, said how in high school, the girls on her track team would pray before the 4×4, and she really liked that, and she went on to say she wants to get back to church but…she took a deep breath “I’m homosexual.” We told her how much God loves her and he wants a relationship with her and shared the story of the prodigal son and we encouraged her to keep drawing close to God. She asked about a Church and CJ suggested going to Mass. We prayed together and and they left with some prayer cards. The timing was really incredible. CJ and I had some really nice conversation among ourselves and then a young man from Bangladesh sat down and asked us about Christianity. He was Muslim and curious to learn. We talked for almost an hour, exploring the similarities between our faiths (far more than I realized) but also the differences. During our conversation, two other students sat down just hear what was going on. At the end of our conversation I offered him a Bible which he accepted and CJ suggested he start with the gospels which we marked off with bookmarks.

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