Grace and Peace Studio exists to make HIM visible in the places where life is actually happening. Through worship, pastoral care, sacred moments, the Daily Word, and Marc My Sabbath, I bring Scripture, presence, and care to ordinary days and the moments that change us. The aim is simple: show up, listen carefully, tell the truth, and carry grace into the room.
Maybe you are a congregation between settled pastors, or your pastor is on sabbatical or vacation or pulled away by something hard, and Sunday is still coming. Maybe you are a couple planning a wedding and you want a real liturgy, written for you, not pulled out of a folder. Maybe you are a family approaching a goodbye, looking for someone who will hold the room without performing it. Maybe you are bringing a child to baptism, or coming to baptism yourself for the first time as an adult. Maybe you are returning to faith after a long time away, looking for a steady voice along the way. Maybe you are in the middle of your own thaw, and you want a daily word that is not curated and is not loud.
This calling has been tugging at me since I was young. The studio is the visible form of what has been quiet for a long time, and now it is here.
I am based in Crystal Lake, Illinois, with deep ties to the Driftless region of Wisconsin, and I travel naturally to other places. The conversation determines what is possible. Distance is not a barrier.
I lead Sunday worship for congregations who need a guest in the pulpit. Pastorless congregations, vacation coverage, sabbatical, illness, or a special Sunday. The sermon is built for the day and the room, not pulled from a folder.
More about guest worship WeddingsI write the liturgy for the two of you. Vows that hold. A remembrance of the people who could not be there. Music if you want it. Everything customizable.
More about weddings BaptismsInfant, child, or adult. Indoor or outdoor. In a sanctuary or by a river. I prepare the liturgy with the family, choose scripture with care, and bring music if you want it.
More about baptisms FuneralsGraveside, memorial, or full service. A song over a grave when the family asks. Pastoral presence at the hardest moments.
More about funerals Pastoral CareNot therapy. A conversation with someone who has been in scripture every morning for a long time, and who is willing to sit with you in whatever you are carrying.
More about pastoral careFor songs that are meant to outlast the moment, I also offer custom studio recordings through working relationships with established producers and session musicians. A specialized capability, available in conversation.
Each morning I send a short reflection for the person who believes, the person who is not sure, and the person who simply needs a quiet place to begin the day. No noise. No performance. Just a word to carry.
Begin the daily wordFor many of us our faith has one foot in the world and the other in the church.
I think you must be an earth bound angel. There is only love in them.
Just an hour before you sent it, I was crying and grieving over the loss of one of the dearest friends I have ever had. That sermon was about one of my most favorite psalms.
HE spent HIS time with the people the religious authorities had labeled outside. HE sat at tables with tax collectors. HE talked with women at wells. HE touched lepers. HE let a sinful woman wash HIS feet. The people closest to HIM were not credentialed. They were the ones the system had passed over.
Grace and Peace Studio is not denominational. It is rooted in Christian foundation, shaped by years of exposure to and respect for many traditions, and open to anyone who is asking. Whatever your background or no background at all, whatever you have been told you are or are not, you are welcome here.