Blessed Are the Ordinary Saints
All Saints Sunday on Matthew 5:1–12, and who we name when we say the word saint.
Country pastor
I’m Norma. I’m the Lutheran pastor of a small white church in northern Minnesota, and I post each Sunday’s sermon here and sell my devotionals, journals and study guides.
Sunday sermons and Advent devotionals
This week
The next gathering
Saturday, November 14 · 7:00 PM
All are welcome, whatever brings you.
Blog
Sunday sermons
Each Sunday’s sermon as a short written post, with the reading it came from.
Downloads and a course
Shop
Downloads arrive by email as soon as you pay.
PDF · 48 pages
Advent Devotional Workbook
Twenty-eight days from the first Sunday of Advent to Christmas Eve, each with a reading, a reflection and a prayer.
Lent Devotional
Forty days of short readings, reflections and prayers from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday.
Prayer Journal
A plain journal with a page for each week: the reading, a prayer, and space for what you noticed.
Mark: A Six-Week Study Guide
Six weeks on the Gospel of Mark for a small group, with questions, a prayer and a reading for each meeting.
Printed to order
Merch
My designs, printed to order and shipped by Printful.
Snowy pines mug
An 11 oz glossy mug, dishwasher safe.
Loon on water hoodie
A heavy, warm hoodie, printed to order.
Spruce wreath print
A matte print, 12 by 16 inches.
About
Hello, I’m Norma
I have been the pastor of a small white church beside a lake in northern Minnesota for fourteen years. We are about sixty on a good Sunday, and in winter we are a few fewer and the coffee is stronger.
I write my sermons at the kitchen table, usually by candlelight on Thursday night, with a notebook, a fountain pen and a pressed aster or two between the pages. After church I post the sermon here as a short written piece, so that anyone who could not come can read it.
Each year I also write a devotional for Advent and one for Lent, and a few small journals and study guides for people who want a plain companion for their own reading. I write them the way I talk on Sunday morning: plainly, with the reading in front of me.
Newsletter
The Saturday Reading
Next Sunday’s reading and a short prayer, every Saturday, with a line or two on what I’m thinking about.
Questions
How do the downloads arrive?
After checkout you receive an email with a download link, and the same link is shown on the confirmation page. You can use that link again whenever you need to download the files.
How do the courses work?
You get access as soon as you buy, and you can watch the lessons in any order and as often as you like. Each lesson is a short video with a page of notes you can print.
How often does the newsletter come?
Every Saturday, with next Sunday’s reading and a short prayer. Every email has an unsubscribe link at the bottom, and it works at once.
Who are the devotionals for?
Anyone who wants a short, plain companion for their own reading, in church or at home. I write them as a Lutheran pastor, but you do not need to belong to any church to use them.
Can I print the workbooks and journals?
Yes. The files are PDFs made for ordinary Letter paper, and you can print them at home or at a copy shop, then staple them or keep them in a binder.
Do I need to be Lutheran to use these?
No. The readings are from the Bible and the prayers are plain, so they work in most Christian traditions. My sermons follow the Revised Common Lectionary, which many churches share.