These sermons were discovered amongst my father's books. They were carefully typed and edited in his handwriting and included a hand-written “Table of Contents” which bears a number of titles which were not crossed off, as were those included in this book. They were found in a leather three-ring binder, approximately 10 by 7 inches in size. The copyright of the binder reads: National, Mogul, 4681, Patented Dec. 25, 1923, Sept. 16, 1924, Oct. 21, 1924, Made in U.S.A. On the inside of the front cover there is an inscription: “Best wishes, Junior Choir – 1934.” This was the year of my father's ordination, which was on June 18, 1934.
Albert P. Stauderman was a graduate of Wagner College on Staten Island, New York. He earned his Bachelor of Divinity degree from Hartwick Theological Seminary in Brooklyn, New York in 1934 and in 1936 he continued his studies at Columbia University in New York City. He was awarded honorary degrees of Doctor of Divinity from Wagner College in 1952 and Doctor of Letters from Susquehanna University in 1973.
The dates these sermons were first presented are unknown. Some were from the time he was Pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Teaneck, New Jersey and some were subsequent to that time, as well. Although Dad's career as a clergyman spanned over 7 decades and there are hand-written outlines and notes for hundreds of sermons, these were the sermons he had taken the time to type out.
When he was in failing health in his last year and could no longer speak without great effort, I asked him whether it would be all right to re-type these sermons and put together a little book, his last book. He nodded in agreement, and so this project was begun.
The title on the binder is “My Favorite Sermons.” Stretching my memory of our many telephone conversations, I can distantly remember him saying he had typed some of his favorite sermons but did not finish the project. He also spoke to me many times about the burden of leaving many papers and writings for others to “clean up” after passing away and reminisced how he was faced with this task after his father, also a Lutheran clergyman, had passed away.
So often during my childhood I recall the complements and gratitude from many people upon hearing his sermons. He believed in keeping sermons on the shorter side and often interspersed them with humor. This book may represent only a small portion of my father's “favorite sermons,” but it is with joy and great gratitude for his life and Christian example that I have helped to complete his project.
Susan L. ( Stauderman ) Deckhart