Over 20,000 visit the unincorporated farming community of Maria Stein, Ohio every year to visit the National Shrine of the Holy Relics, which displays around a thousand relics of Roman Catholic saints. Rev. Dr. Alex A. Gondola, Jr. would often visit this peaceful setting and, as he watched devotees come to honor these figures and pray, he realized he didn't quite "get it." Could there be spiritual enrichment for him, a Protestant, in a place like this?
Discover the answer for yourself in Saints Alive: Claiming the Saints for Protestant Teaching, sermons from a year Rev. Gondola devoted to preaching on one saint per month. He offers this volume as a companion for pastors and group leaders prepared to take a deep dive into matters of faith, calling and the hope Christ offers the world through his humblest of servants, from St. Augustine to Mother Teresa.
Seasonal sermons include:
- St. Patrick: "Christ in All Things" for Lent
- Nicholas of Myra: "An Advent Saint" for Advent
- You and I: "Called to Be Saints" for Year End/New Year's Day
Rev. Dr. Alex A. Gondola, Jr.was ordained in the United Church of Christ (UCC) in 1975, and served as an Associate Pastor, Pastor and Senior Pastor, mostly in larger membership churches. He retired in 2011. He is a graduate of Allegheny College (Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies), Andover Newton Theological School (Master of Divinity), California State University, Dominguez Hills (Master of Arts) and Colgate Rochester Divinity School (Doctor of Ministry). In addition to his five books, and contributing to a sixth, more than 150 of his articles, sermons, stories and/or preaching illustrations have reappeared in clergy journals. He and his wife, Bonnie, reside in Amherst, New Hampshire.
